Description
Additional photos of this Ducati Paul Smart 1000LE are available here for your perusal.
As Bike magazine wrote at the time, “Want it for Paul’s achievement, want it for Ducati’s heritage, want it for how it looks.”
Smart’s famous victory in the 1972 Imola 200, riding what would become the 750SS, was instrumental in establishing Ducati as a high-performance brand for the modern era. So what better way to celebrate the Bologna marque’s heritage than a limited edition model in the spirit of the iconic, bevel-drive, “green frame” 750SS? And why not duplicate the rest of the original bevel-drive twins line-up while you’re at it? That was Ducati’s reasoning behind the launch of its new “Sport Classic” range in 2005. However, none of the three models – Paul Smart 1000 LE, Sport 1000 and GT1000 – is in any way a “replica.” All are thoroughly modern motorcycles with only the styling and color schemes to acknowledge the past.
The Paul Smart 1000 LE uses the belt drive, desmo, air-cooled, fuel injected, electronic ignition 1000DS (dual spark) 90-degree v-twin engine, as similarly found in a number of other Ducatis – 992cc, two-valves, a quoted 92bhp at 8,000rpm and enough torque to surprise its four-valve superbike brethren.
All this modern technology is housed in the Italian firm’s trademark trellis frame – a striking shade of “green frame” green – the latter complemented by some top-quality Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes, a wet clutch, a six-speed gearbox, a curvaceous two pipe exhaust on the right side in black, and wire-spoke wheels beneath a swoopy, silver half-fairing and tail hump.
At the PS 1000 LE’s launch in 2006, the Bike magazine tester concluded, “After 20 miles I was totally sold on the bike, as I had been after five minutes of looking at it. Exclusivity, style, power, handling … what else could I want?”
In May of 2006, Cycle World proclaimed, “We are suckers, all of us, and this limited-edition Ducati is proof. If the aqua-green frame and silver metal flake paint don’t catch your attention, surely the sweet-sounding accessory Termignoni megaphone pipes will. This bike exists precisely to suck us in, to tweak our nostalgia, even if not everyone was around (or aware) when Paul Smart ripped up Imola for 200 miles to take the epic 1972 race win that put Ducati on the v-Twin sportbike map. Actually, there wasn’t really even a v-Twin sportbike map at that point!”
This Paul Smart (VIN: ZDM1WABP26B000876) is a “zero mile” machine and is available for viewing at our headquarters in Marina del Rey, California. It is offered on MSO as it has never been titled. It is in excellent condition aside from a broken turn signal mount – our White Glove service can have this fixed for you before pickup/delivery.
The sale includes 2 black keys, 1 red key, the code card, the owner’s manual…and a basically-new example of one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever built. Few motorcycles were as instantly collectible as the Paul Smart – and very few remain in this condition.
