Ducati introduced the 500cc parallel twin in 1975, and it was a commercial failure. To try and shake things up, the Italian company asked Fabio Taglioni to give the engine desmodromic valves. The result was the Sport Desmo, which had a significant jump in power but didn’t do much to shake the engine’s reputation for reliability issues.
On paper, there were a lot of nice parts – triple Brembo disc brakes, Marzocchi suspension, and Borrani rims. For a little more information on this bike, check out Tanshanomi’s Snap Judgments, where it’s summarized as “It’s like a two-wheeled Chevy Vega…built in Italy.”
This example (VIN: 502895) has under 15,000 miles. It’s equipped with Tomaselli bar risers and a white leather seat cover instead of the OEM black. It’s recently had some brake work done and a new ignition switch will be included. For what it’s worth, the seller is someone I know and trust – he recently acquired a chunk of bikes and this was bundled in with them. Find this Desmo for sale in Kempton, Pennsylvania with bidding up to $2,100 and the reserve not yet met