Post Sale Update: This MHR sold for $20,701 after 24 bids on eBay.
Built to celebrate Mike the Bike’s comeback triumph at the ’78 Isle of Man TT, the Ducati 900 MHR (Mike Hailwood Replica) was initially produced solely for homolgation purposes. As such, just 200 were built in 1979. But demand was so high that Ducati decided to keep production going, and by the end of the run in 1986 the Italian firm had built approximately 7,100 examples – meaning that even though Ducati originally wanted it to be limited production, it ended up being the best selling bevel-drive twin they ever built.
When the MHR originally debuted, it was basically a 900SS in fancy clothing, emulating Hailwood’s bike that had been adorned in the privateer livery of Sports Motor Cycles out of Manchester, England. Ducati themselves say it was built for “hard-core Ducatisti” as it “was not even fitted with an electric starter.” But just like the average human, as the bike got older, it got softer. By 1985 (the last update to the series), the motor was bored out to 973cc and the model name got changed to MHR Mille as a result. Output numbers went up – 76 horsepower and 62 pound-feet of torque, but it also got Brembo brakes, Conti exhaust, an electric starter, different gauges, folding foot pegs with rubber inserts, adjustable Verlicchi clipons, and more. Between ’85 and ’86, approximately 1,100 MHR Milles were built, and they were the last bevel-drive twins to come from Ducati. For more on the MHR, check out this article on Motorcycle Classics.
This example has 4,359 miles and it’s said to look and run like a brand new bike. The seller says that it’s perfect except for “a small scuff on the lower left side fairing.” Find this MHR for sale in Miami Beach, Florida with bidding up to $19,000