Description
Additional photos of this Ducati 916 Senna are available here for your perusal.
Ducati’s 916 was an instant classic as soon as it was shown to the world. Built for 5 years before evolving into the 996, this bike was one of Massimo Tamburini’s crowning achievements. Though it produced less horsepower than the Japanese competition, the engine made more torque, and no bike from any country could compete on style. In 1998, the Guggenheim featured an exhibit called “The Art of the Motorcycle”. The 916 was one of the few modern bikes to make the cut.
But you probably already know all about the 916 and what makes it fantastic – the lovely single-sided swingarm, designed to speed up wheel changes during races, for example. Or the underseat exhausts that cleaned aesthetic lines, but also aerodynamic flow. Forget all that for a moment. Today we’re featuring a very special version of this classic – the Ducati 916 Senna. Built as a fund-raiser for the late Ayrton Senna’s namesake foundation, Ducati took just under 1,000 of their standard 916 two-seaters (known as biposto), and added carbon fiber in a few choice places – like the subframe, chain guard, clutch cover, front fender, exhaust pipe insulation panel, and mudguard. You also got one of the coolest paint schemes to ever grace a Duc – metallic gray with red wheels, and a Senna decal.
Ayrton Senna was a personal friend of the Castiglioni family (partially, no doubt, because he was a repeat high-profile Ducati customer), and had actually personally agreed to the first run of 200 bikes named in his honour before his demise. Profits from the reps went to the Senna Foundation, to provide Brazilian kids with free sports facilities, as long as they went to school. The first run arrived in 1995 – silver with red wheels, with a Strada-spec engine (minus the posh Pankl rods) with an SP chassis (Öhlins shock, cast-iron, fully-floating Brembo discs and braided brake hoses).
This specific Ducati 916 Senna is number 227 of 300 – from the first of three series’ of production that made the total of approximately 1,000.
There are just 10 km (6 miles) on the odometer, and it’s been with the owner since December of 2001 – he acquired it from the now-closed European Cycle Specialties in Garden Grove, California. The sale includes the Owner’s Manual as well as the original invoices/pre-delivery checklist, limited warranty notice, and instructions for headlight fairing/wing mirror assembly.
It’s offered on a bill of sale only, and would make for an impressive piece in any collection!
