1988 Ducati 750 Paso Tricolore
The 1988 Cagiva North America Motorcycle Show Display Bike
Custom Corbin Saddle, Australian Staintune Pipes, Twin Dell'orto Carbs
PLEASE WAIT FOR ALL PHOTOS TO LOAD!

Offered for your consideration is one of the finest oil-cooled Ducati 750 Pasos left in existence anywhere.

This particular example was in the same hands for over 20 years in upstate New York following its use on the show circuit for Cagiva.

If you know the Paso, you'll know that the factory bikes for the USA were offered in red, blue or pearlescent white metallic (Limited). That's right, there were no factory bikes offered in Tricolore. What my contact who was at Cagiva during this period remembers is that they had a Tricolore 750 Sport, a race bike and wanted a matching Paso to go along with this on the stand. I vaguely recall seeing all three at the NYC Coliseum during the New York show that year. It would appear that this bike was originally red and was 'scuffed and shot' albeit to a high standard, for the purposes of making the show. As for the custom Corbin saddle, it looks like one we had on our '87 Paso Limited when it was new and was hand-made by Mike Corbin himself (it was a small business back then!). This saddle is in great shape; the colors match the bike a lot better in real life vs how they appear in the digital photograph.

(The front fender also appears scuffed - a trick of the light, as there is no damage.)

According to someone I spoke with on acquiring the bike, it spent time at either Eraldo Ferracci's shop in Pennsylvania or another metro New York City Ducati specialist upon going into private ownership in late 1988. It is believed that the bike got its Staintune pipes and Dell'orto carburetor conversion at that time. Again, if you know these bikes, you'll know that they were fitted with a troublesome 2bbl Weber from the factory and that US bikes had very restrictive noise-reduction pipes. The Dell'ortos and Staintunes make for a serious bump in power and a much nicer sound to boot. Dad had Eraldo put Dell'Ortos on his 750 Paso Limited in 1988 as well as an N.C.R. pipe. I know others who got Staintunes for Ducatis from Eraldo, so it is possible that he sold them.

I did not receive an original rear fender with the bike - I assume the long-term owner removed it as he (and I) look at that as a real eyesore on a sporting bike. They seem to come up pretty often on eBay if you want to restore the bike to stock.

Overall, the finish quality is excellent for being 23 years old. There's some light cracking around the fairing screws. When I received the bike, the front windscreen portion of the fairing was chipped and cracked in places and in an off-shade of red against the tank, front fender and tailpiece. The original mirrors were also prone to falling off over bumps (a common problem) so I acquired one of the last sets of Cagiva Freccia mirrors NEW OLD STOCK and had them modified, primed and painted to match the repaired windscreen. The color match is better than factory against the tank, my paint guy buffed one of the original mirrors and matched this rather than use a generic color so that the light age-related fading throughout would not look bad against the new finish.

All electrical items work - lights, horn, et.c. The fuel gauge sending unit is somewhat inaccurate - it reads 2/3 when full and goes from there. It's really quite remarkable that it works at all. The clock keeps perfect time... now that's amazing.

Close-up of the saddle, marked "Ducati" where retail saddles would have read "Corbin".

The original sticker beneath.

On receipt of the bike, the battery was toast so I put a new AGM battery in. You'll notice how clean everything is. The tool kit is complete - a very rare item. The owners manual suffered from some water damage at one point but is still legible (if you can read Englalian).

The paintwork up here is just as good as the rest of the bike, no sloppy masking or damage. The top of the tank is not scratched, the light was just glaring when I took these photos and you are seeing reflections of tree branches...

Here, the engine is running on choke, I rode it 30 miles yesterday and got some fuel on the way home, note the trip-odometer.

And at cold idle. The bike has seen very little use in the last year or so but the carbs are waking back up, I suggest running about 2 tanks through it then making any desired adjustments to the carburetors as I suspect one of the pilot jets has some varnish buildup in it, resulting in a low idle even when warm. The mains are perfect, the Paso pulls like a freight train.

Not a very flattering self-portrait but I thought you might like to see this detail...

Since the original tires are hard to come by (not that close replacements are, but these are absolutely correct type and size) I thought you should know that these are practically as-new without dry-rot or loss of appreciable tread.

I did not clean the engine for these photos, but all you'll see is road grime and dust... note the conical filter on the front Dell'Orto, the rear has one as well. This was how it was done... it does matter!

The original owner spent nearly $1,600 on the bike less than two years (and less than 100 miles) ago. I have no other records but I suspect that maintenance before this time was just as comprehensive.

In addition, we just had the forks apart for new seals and dust boots as the originals leaked. They handle great now with Spectro 10W!

who am I / why am I selling?

I'm Chip Lamb, automobile journalist & collector car parts vendor. I've been involved with cool bikes like this Paso since, well, my father had two Pantah 600SLs and one of the first 1987 750 Paso Limiteds, among many others. I bought this on a lark over last winter and received a bike different from the description, to be kind to the interim owner. Suffice to say I've done plenty of 'fettling' - cleaning and mechanical work - as I could find time to, as well as the aforementioned high-quality paintwork and 'bodywork' to the mirrors and windscreen fairing. At 6'3" I find this Paso very comfortable - my father is 5'8" and likes it just as much, so height/size/girth is not a problem for any prospective new owner....

If I kept every bike I bought, I'd have a few hundred by now, but I just keep a few around at all times. I just sold a BMW I rode for a couple years and bought a newer ST4s from my local Ducati guy, so I think that one is enough (for me, anyway) so I've resolved to find myself a nice dual-sport machine like an airhead BMW G/S or similar. I would consider a swap, up or down, for the right R80G/S or R100GSPD, maybe a Honda Transalp or NX650 ***in truly excellent condition***... you get my drift. If I wanted a KLR 650, I'd go down to my local dealer and buy one... same goes for the XL650R or Suzuki DR - they are just a bit on the crude side for me. Suggestions welcomed...

All in all, no guarantees or warranties convey with the Paso, but I don't see why you couldn't ride it home, my stuff is all healthy relative to most sellers on eBay or other classified sites.

payment / shipping terms

Payment is due within seven days of auction close unless alternate arrangements are made with me in advance of any bid. Accepted forms of payment include cash on pickup, cleared wire transfer or cashier's cheque in my bank prior to any pickup. I am not a bank and do not offer a layaway or payments program so please do not ask if I'll take payments for x number of weeks or months.

I'm happy to have you come look at the Paso - test rides, however, will require a guarantee that you can and will immediately pay the Buy it Now price if anything happens to the bike during your ride, no matter how insignificant. 'No joy rides' is the short version of that...

Pickup or shipping needs to occur no later than the 15th of August as I leave for California for a week following this. If you absolutely cannot pick up before that date, you may do so after the 23rd on my return home to Virginia provided we have that conversation in advance.

If you are outside the USA and do not plan on using a commercial carrier/have no experience with importing a bike from the USA, you need to figure out what you need to do prior to your purchase. My responsibility ends at the driveway - mine, not yours. If you are in Western Europe or elsewhere not connected to the USA where ship transport comes into play, I can get this down to the Port of Norfolk or the Port of Baltimore for you for an additional $250 provided that you have paid for the bike according to the above terms and that it can be delivered to the port no later than the end of August. Please contact me prior to bidding to make these arrangements - sooner, rather than later.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS?

E-MAIL ME OR CALL 804-357-4926