Highlights

One of fewer than 250 ‘Square Case’ 750 Super Sports built by Ducati

Fastidiously restored by the renowned Italian specialist Giuliano Ricchetti, who was entrusted with maintaining the Ducati heritage collection

Unridden since it was restored in 2023

A thinly veiled racer for the road, complete with right-hand shifter, Conti megaphone exhausts, a half-fairing and a glass-fibre fuel tank

Accompanied by its Official Dating Certificate from The Old Italian Bike Registry

Representing extraordinary value compared to its ‘Green Frame’ 750 Super Sport predecessor – and significantly rarer, too

Road-registered in the United Kingdom

The 750 Super Sport ‘Square-Case’

A thinly veiled racer with a registration plate. It’s an apt way to describe Ducati’s gorgeous 750 Super Sport ‘Square Case’, a model born of its clientele’s refusal to bid ‘arrivederci’ to the legendary 750 Super Sport ‘Green Frame’. You see, production of what is commonly held as the most sought-after and significant road-going Ducati ended in 1974. But when the replacement 860 ‘Square Case’ was introduced shortly thereafter, there were many customers around the world who still wanted a 750cc Ducati with which to go racing in domestic production-based series.

As an on-the-downlow concession, Ducati’s ingegneri sleeved down its new 860cc bevel-drive V-twin engine, with its clever Desmodromic valve actuation and twin open Dell’Orto pumper carburettors, to 750cc. Nine thousand rpm was genuinely achievable and the bike wouldn’t fall apart. In 1973! Said engine was then installed in what was essentially the exact same frame as its hallowed predecessor and built out in a very similar fashion.

Present was the glass-fibre fuel tank. Present was the wind-cheating fairing. Present was the right-hand gear shifter. Present were the dual front disc brakes. And present were the gorgeous Conti megaphone exhausts, which were basically straight-through and produced the most haunting noise. Concessions to road-going practicality and refinement were near non-existent. The dual Smiths gauges, crude and minimal dash switchgear and the zipped saddle pocket large enough for a packet of cigarettes weren’t fooling anybody.

‘Our’ 750 Super Sport ‘Square Case’ bears the distinction of having been fastidiously restored by the late Giuliano Ricchetti, who was the man Ducati itself entrusts with keeping its extensive heritage collection of motorcycles in the finest possible fettle. Frame number 075811 left Bologna in 1975 destined for Germany. It subsequently made its way to the United Kingdom, where it was registered and issued with an official Dating Certificate from The Old Italian Bike Registry.

After it was acquired by its current owner in 2022, this Ducati was sent to Ricchetti for a nut-and-bolt frame-off restoration, the results of which are truly astonishing. It’s a cliché to say something looks better now than when it left the factory, but in the case of this 750 Super Sport, it’s absolutely true. Every inch is gleaming and spotless, helped also by the fact is has not been ridden since leaving Richetti’s workshop in 2024. Satisfyingly, the bike also retains its glass-fibre fuel tank and its right-hand gear shifter. Number 075811 really is one of the finest examples anywhere.

Just 249 of these 750 Super Sport ‘Square Cases’ were built, making them considerably rarer than the ‘Green Frame’. Yet in the annals of history, it’s this comparative obscurity that means they’ve not garnered quite the same adoration. That’s a strange thing given how Ducati experts wax lyrical about how accomplished they are to ride (not to mention their unquestionable beauty). In our opinion, future values are going one way.

Price: £89,000 (GBP)