Restored 1980 Ducati 900SS is projected to sell for $38,000-$42,000. Photos courtesy Bonhams Auctions.
Italian classics continue to rise in value, with once affordable exotica increasingly fetching eye-watering money. Case in point is this beautiful 1980 Ducati 900SS scheduled to go on the block at Bonhams’ Las Vegas auction Thursday. Bonhams’ pre-sale estimate on this bike, fully restored with 28,031 miles showing on the clock, is $38,000-$42,000. Likewise, an earlier 1975 750SS is expected to fetch $40,000-$45,000, while a coveted 1974 750SS “green frame” — rattled canned red by an owner in the 1970s and needing recommissioning — is expected to bid to $65,000-$85,000.
This 1975 Ducati 750SS is expected to bring $40,000-$45,000 at Bonhams’ 2017 Las Vegas auction.
A repainted 1974 Ducati 750SS “green frame” needing work is expected to bring $65,000-$85,000.
Bonhams is also auctioning the Motorcycle Classics Project Honda CB350, the 1970 Honda we brought back to life in 2016. That bike is projected to sell for $5,000-$7,000, which, if it does, would be something of a record for the model. We’re hoping it does in fact draw that kind of money, because 100 percent of the sale proceeds are going to the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association Rider Benevolent Fund, which supports AHRMA racers unfortunate enough to crash during a race, supplying needed cash for medical bills.
Bonhams’ presale estimate on our 1970 Honda CB350 is $5,000-$7,000. Photo by Richard Backus.