Description
National Motorcycle Museum | Solihull, West Midlands
26th Mar, 2025 9:00
1981 Ducati 900 MHR
A legendary Mike Hailwood Replica
Estimate
£9, 000 - £12, 000
Registration No: UNM 510W
Frame No: 901097
MOT: Exempt
Ducati's tribute to Hailwood's famous 1978 TT victory
A 1981 model with a steel tank and two-piece fairing
Beautifully presented and supplied with a current V5C
Ducati was established in 1926 by Antonio Ducati and his sons, initially producing electrical components. After WW2 they moved into motorcycles with the Cucciola, essentially a pushbike with a clip-on engine but by the 1960s had become associated with performance bikes selling a range of sporty 250 and 350 singles. In response to the demand for larger capacity bikes, chief engineer Fabio Taglioni designed the classic V-twin bevel drive engine first used in the 1971 GT750. This proved to be an immediate success, helped considerably by Paul Smart's win in the 1972 Imola 200 race. This started a long tradition of race-winning V-twins that have gone on to dominate World Superbike racing over the years. In spite of Ducati's continued success in World Superbike and Moto GP, their most famous victory was Mike Hailwood's amazing victory in the 1978 IOM TT Formula 1 race. After retiring from bike racing in the late 1960s and carrying injuries from his Formula 1 car racing career, he won his comeback race adding to his already legendary status. After Mike's spectacular victory on the NCR Sports Motorcycles Ducati, the factory commemorated his win with the introduction of a race replica based on the 900SS. Originally titled the ‘900 Replica’, the 1979 model was only produced in a limited run of around 200 bikes and had a fibreglass cover over a regular 900 Super Sport fuel tank. By 1980 onwards the fuel tank was made from steel but the bike was essentially the same as the 1979 version with Brembo brake calipers and Dell’Orto carburettors.
This beautifully presented and mostly original Mike Hailwood Replica was recommissioned by Steel City Classics a while ago after being displayed in a Scottish motorcycle shop window for the previous 10 years. It is a 1981 model with a steel fuel tank and two-piece fairing, but without the side panel/ battery covers fitted to the later versions. The fuel tank has been taken apart by Devon Bike Tank Restorers, blasted clean, lined with an E10-resistant coating and then professionally repainted at a cost of over £1400 in 2023. It is fitted with stainless steel silencers and comes supplied with some receipts, a couple of manuals, some old MOTs and a current V5C. Run last summer (see video) it has been dry stored since in a heated garage.
