The Ducati 996 was the Italian marque’s flagship super bike from from 1999-2002, replacing the legendary 916 before eventually being replaced by the 998. Aside from the raw performance and sexy Tamburini-designed aesthetics, many love these bikes as they were the last all-mechanical Ducati’s, possessing no electronic riding aids – not including the fuel-injection. Like Ducati’s offerings from today, the 996 was an envelope-pushing motorcycle that hugely benefited from race-bred technology.
Powering the super bike was a liquid-cooled, 996cc, fuel-injected, 90-degree V-Twin that made a claimed 122 hp at 8,500 rpm and 68.58 ft-lbs of torque at 8,000 rpm. Thanks to the machine’s dry weight of 437 lbs, the 996 was capable of breaking 160 mph. These machines featured Ducati’s signature tubular trellis frame that was married to high-end suspension typical of the brand, consisting of an upside-down Showa unit in front and Ohlins progressive cantilever linkage with adjustable monoshock in back. The 996 would see various updates in its four years of production, including increasingly high-performance suspension and engine revisions.
Ducati also released the 124 hp 996 SPS (or Sport Production Special) and the 136 hp 996 R (or Racing) model of which only 500 were built. These models were lighter and more powerful than the base 996, plus they boasted more race-oriented components and a smattering of precious materials. Though the example that is currently for sale doesn’t have the same upgraded engine (and frame) found on the SPS or R spec 996 models, it does have a lot of trick upgrades from the elite 996 variants. According to the seller, more than $20K worth of upgrades have been dumped into this machine – a claim I wholeheartedly believe.
While the ad doesn’t list all of the upgrades, highlights include full top-of-the-line Ohlins suspension fore and aft, full Brembo brakes with Ferodo pads, five-arm Marchesini rims (which are actually lighter than the stock three-arm wheels and were featured on the SPS-spec 996), steering damper, billet upper tree, quad carbon fiber exhaust, and an ECU to match that’s been tuned by Pro Italia Motorcycles who are responsible for servicing this machine and installing all of its aftermarket components. This example also sports a generous amount of carbon bits, such as intakes, sidecovers, heat-guard, front and rear fenders, tank cover, clutch cover, and more.
As well farkled as this Ducati is, a big part of what makes it truly special is that it only has 3,100 original miles on its odo. From photos, this bike looks to be damn-near showroom clean, and has only ever had one owner who babied and garage-kept it. This example is also wearing a pretty nifty “DUCA SS” license plate. At the end of the day, this bike is just begging to be taken to the track or canyons, though it would undeniably make for a pretty rocking living room or office display bike.
You can find this 2000 Ducati 996 for sale here on Craigslist in Los Angeles, California with a price of $6,900.