Folks:

A friend of mine is considering buying a 1997 Ducati Supersport 900ss cr with about 4500 miles on it. I was hoping to gather a list of things to watch out for/ask seller etc.  I would greatly appreciate any info you could provide.  If you can also comment on the advantages of the fuel injected 1999 model versus earlier carbed versions, that would also help him decide.

Thanks in advance.
-Baski

PS: I did point him to a thread on 97 M750, but if there are 900ss specific issues to be aware of ...

Some of the SS's had frame and swingarm cracking issues, I don't know which ones though.

IIRC, the swingarms would crack at the weld next to the pivot, and the frames would crack up near the steering head.

Have him ask for maintenance records, that bike isn't even due for the first valve adjust yet, as far as mileage goes, but it would be good if that was done.
Also ask whether the belts have been changed in the last 2 years.

That bike has done a lot of sitting around....

It could even have the original tires on it. 

IMO, unless it's been serviced recently, the bike needs a '12k' service.
Not due to miles, just time and sitting.

 I did stumble into that "cracking swingarms" bit on the web about the older models. I saw one FS-ad (99 model) that advertises the fact that the stock swingarm was replaced with one without the problem of cracking at the weld. The CR model supposedly had steel swingarms- no idea if those had that problem too.

Thanks for the tips Speeddog!

I think it was just the aluminum swingarms that had the cracking issue.

There's other folks that know quite a bit about the SS's, like where to look on the frame for the cracks.
Hopefully, they'll chime in.

Nice bike, I had one just like it. The only thing I'd check would be the color of the studs, if they are silver, they will probably break sooner or later. If they are bronze, they are the newer model. All in all, if the bike looks good & the price is right, buy it, anything else is a little issue that can be delt with if/when they come up.

Things to look for:

1) Cracks in frame.  Only occurs in the top two framerails where they go into the steering tube.  First 2.0inches is where they occur.  Usually '97 era bikes have no problems. (mostly '95 and early '96)  If you do find one that is cracked, it can be easily welded up in a few minutes with a TIG welder.  I doubt Ducati is doing warranty / frame replacements for this anymore as they are 10+ years old. (it was tough back in the era to get it done)

2) aluminum swingarms do tend to crack.  They can be rewelded without problems.  Trick is they need to be heated with a gas torch BEFORE TIG welding and then slowly cooled using a gas torch POST welding.  Removes the stress and they usually never crack again.  If you just TIG weld cold and call it a day -- you will go back and weld again in a few months or year.

3) no problems with steel swingarms except they are heavy and ugly

4) Head studs.  Usually '97s are better than earlier ones

5) Headlight ground wire / connector.  They all melt due to the small diameter ground wire.  Replace/upgrade the ground wire and problem solved and you get a brighter headlight as a result.  (most headlights of that era are usually melted within a few hundred miles from new)

6) If CR model, it will have a 4.5in wide rear rim.  Pretty simple to upgrade to the 5.5in wide rear. (and 180 series tire) Also upside the front tire to work with the rear tire. (Ducati underspec'd the front tire ratio to work with the smaller rear tire)

7) Check to make sure the vent with the one-way check valve works that comes out of the gastank.  They have a history of not working and the fuel tank can implode onto itself.  Not catastrophic or anything -- just bizarre when it happens due to internal tank vacuum.

given the age of the bike, I'd highly recommend replacing the rubber fuel lines and internal tank gas filter.  Both to save headaches later.

The 900 SS/CR's are pretty bulletproof bikes.  Too bad they don't make them anymore as I really liked how they looked / handled.

When i was looking at these (wound up with an ST2 instead) I came across this info at the DucatiTech site:

http://www.ducatitech.com/2v/sp_cr_faq.html

Frame cracking occurred in early 96 and before frames.  No reports on the SS group of any post 96 frames cracking.

Only Aluminium swingarms had a cracking issue, and IME it was due to over-torquing of the pinch bolts by Ducati.  Relieve the bolt, use new washers, re-grease and retorque at 10nm less than factory spec (I have that on paper somewhere).   I believe the original factory spec is 45nm and the revised spec is 35.

The main beef with the post 95 CR bikes is the forks were crap.  Well, not crap, but they were cheap cheap cheap and all you coulddo with them is swap springs and tweak the oil.  They are not re-valve-able.

The engine is nice, one of the best I think.  The only fishy thing on the 97 CRs was SOME of the later models had the small-valve heads (yes, folks, it's true).  Look for a V2 stamped on the head, that's what you want.

Value on these runs 3000-4000 depending on condition/mileage/color etc.

Gee guys, you're going to scare him off with all these "it could..............."
Terrorists could single out any of us as a prime target for assasination..........but not likely.

Quote from: Norm on June 28, 2008, 06:01:46 AM
Gee guys, you're going to scare him off with all these "it could..............."
Terrorists could single out any of us as a prime target for assasination..........but not likely.

exactly, now where is that bike for sale again?

Whoa!  You people know way too much stuff about ducs  Thanks so much Norm, MotoCreations, triangleforge, and ducatizzzz- for the detailed tips and resources. My buddy's following this thread and it will definitely help him decide.
BTW ducatizzz, the bike's the yellow one on ebay, located in Chicago. So I don't know if he'd have a chance to inspect it himself.

Quote from: Norm on June 28, 2008, 06:01:46 AM
Gee guys, you're going to scare him off with all these "it could..............."

I don't think it will scare him off- think he likes SSs quite a bit.

Quote from: Norm on June 28, 2008, 06:01:46 AM
Terrorists could single out any of us as a prime target for assasination..........but not likely.

Except for Matt Lauer. I heard that from an authentic source