Rare 1997 Ducati 916 SPS Is What $45K of Track-Ready Italian Goodness Looks Like

Our protagonist started out as a Moto Guzzi mechanic more than two decades ago, having completed his formal training at a dealership in New Orleans. However, his passion for Italian machinery goes a lot further back, and it’s what made him establish Moto Borgotaro back in 2008. Nowadays, Peter is something of a guru in his line of work, which involves marques like MV Agusta, Laverda, and even BMW.

Ducati is undoubtedly his main interest, though, and the latest specimen he made available for sale is the stuff of collectors’ wet dreams. For starters, the motorcycle comes from Bologna’s fabled 916 lineup, but it’s no regular variant of the said family. This, ladies and gents, is one of many homologation specials introduced by the manufacturer during the 916’s production run, more specifically the SPS from 1997.

The masterpiece penned by Massimo Tamburini in the early nineties is a cult classic even in its base iteration, but versions like the SPS are on another level. As a matter of fact, the Sport Production Special – which is what the SPS acronym stands for – was the top dog among rarities of its kind, too. Released for Superbike homologation purposes, this bad boy came with Ducati’s then-new 996cc Desmoquattro powerhouse.

A fresh engine was necessary by that point, as the company’s previous 916 homologation bike didn’t give its crankcases an easy time on the racetrack. We are, of course, talking about the ultra-rare Sport Production America (SPA) from 1996, which was built to compete in the AMA Superbike Championship and bored out to 955cc. The crankcases were pushed to the very limit with this capacity, so critical stress fractures during racing weren’t uncommon.

With 54 units produced, the SPA (unofficially known as the 955 SP) is by far the rarest homologation special of the 916 lineup, but it’s mechanically inferior to the later SPS. The list of upgrades differentiating them is rather vast, some of the highlights being reinforced crankcases, redesigned cylinder heads with bigger valves, and improved mid-range power.

Compression was rated at 11.5:1, while a close-ratio six-speed gearbox handed the engine’s grunt to the rear wheel. The 996cc desmodromic titan could spawn up to 134 hp with the race-spec Termignoni exhaust and accompanying ECU chip installed. On the other hand, its torque output plateaus at a healthy 73 pound-feet (99 Nm), and top speed is rated at 168 mph (270 kph).

The bike’s suspension comprises 43 mm (1.7-inch) upside-down Showa forks at the front and a fully-adjustable Ohlins monoshock at six o’clock. Brembo is the name of the game down in the unsprung sector, with items such as three-spoke wheels and floating cast iron front brake rotors. On an empty stomach, the 916 SPS weighs in at 419 pounds (190 kg). Now, let’s talk about the commercial side of things.

Ducati ended up selling a total of 404 copies for the model-year 1997, and pricing came just shy of $24,000 a pop. Even though that’s a pretty hefty sum, for sure, we'll have to adjust it for inflation in order to grasp its true magnitude. It amounts to a cool $46k in today’s money, but a well-kept and mostly original SPS has the potential to fetch a lot more at auction.

For instance, a mint-condition exemplar with 24 kilometers (15 miles) on the odo was auctioned off by Collecting Cars earlier this year. It changed hands for no less than £55,000 ($68,500), which is believed to be the highest price ever paid for a 916 SPS. By comparison, the price set by Moto Borgotaro for the specimen shown above is an absolute bargain at just $45,000.

The Italian rarity has approximately 7,500 miles (12,000 km) under its belt, all ridden by its first and sole owner. As you might’ve noticed, it crawls on a pair of five-spoke Marchesini hoops as opposed to the original Brembos, but the latter parts will also be included in the sale. On a past dyno run, this SPS was able to muster 115 stallions at the rear wheel.

If you’ve got cash to burn and wish to see this gemstone parked in your garage, feel free to get in touch with Peter Boggia through Moto Borgotaro’s official website. You ought to act swiftly, though, because it’s unlikely that it’ll be available for much longer! Given the fair price and museum-worthy condition, this whole ordeal would be rather tantalizing to any collector or diehard Ducatista.