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Even with a 1425mm wheelbase, it is a whole four inches less than the trucklike 1530mm stance of the 1971-model 750GT that it's descended from (which my mate, Gianluca Solazzo, brought out for me to compare and contrast with the new bike), the sharper steering delivered by the Pirellis would have suited the GT1000 just fine. It's just an oversight that many owners will probably rectify at the first tire change. While on the subject of complaints, the GT1000 is way overgeared, bearing 15/39T final drive compared to the same 1000DS engine's 15/42T ratio in Multistrada form. Maybe that's fine for the cafe-racer SportClassics, which share the higher gearing, and a less-relaxed form of riding entailing more active use of the six- speed gearbox may be envisaged - but on an all-arounder such as the GT1000, it's quite wrong. Combined with the engine mapping and exhaust layout needed to get the bike Euro 3 friendly, the result is that you can't make top-gear roll-ons with less than 85 mph showing on that chrome- rimmed speedometer. Because if the tach reads 5000 rpm at that speed, pickup is lumpy and there's vibration. You even need to have it revving above 4500 rpm to pull cleanly on part throttle without transmission snatch, especially keeping up in a line of traffic in the fast lane of the autostrada. Back off the gas in response to the Christmas-tree array of brake lights flashing in front of you, and you'll have to knock it back to fifth gear to get the GT1000 pulling cleanly and smoothly back up to speed again. That's silly on a bike such as this, especially as you also have to use a gear lower than you'd really prefer when running around town or in country lanes, as well. The bottom line is that it needs at least another two teeth on the back wheel to get around this, though more likely Mengoli and his men got it right the first time around with the Multistrada, and need to put three more on the back - the way it was! Build quality, however, is exceptional, giving an impression of good value for the bike's $12,800 price tag. And the ride qual- ity is better than I expected it would be on a late-spring ride over the rougher frost- ravaged roads of the Abruzzi Mountains. This comes thanks to a pair of shocks vari- able only for preload, and completely non- adjustable 43mm Marzocchi upside-down fork - Ducati has dialed the damping rates in ideally for a bike such as this. The only time the twin-shock rear end got a little loose was over really bumpy surfaces, where the lack of adequate rebound damping made it hop about a little. But in everyday real-world riding, this wouldn't be an issue, anymore than the fact that it has no steering damper. But there's a host of neat retro touches, which perform modern functions while reminding you of the past - such as the very period-looking dash with black-faced instru- ments, including a pair of chrome buttons that allow you to flip between the digital readouts embedded in those retro dials (mileage and trip on the left, time and oil temp on the right). Or the 36-spoke wire wheels with Excel alloy rims. Or the molded- plastic battery case embossed with the tra- ditional Ducati logo. Or the shiny chromed lockable filler cap. Or the chrome horns mounted under the headlamp, matching the chrome-backed indicators. And it's nice to have modern versions of the triangular side panels that Ducati 750 models carried below the seat 30 years ago, which give a cleaner appearance by covering up the hardware and cables behind. Ducati's latest SportClassics time-trav- eler isn't just an authentic modern reinter- pretation of all the Italian marque's misty- eyed yesterdays, it's also a fine standard motorcycle in a modern context, which just happens to have traditional styling - just like the Mini, in fact. Even more than the Smart and Sport cafe racers, it's a dynamically satisfying capable all-arounder, rather than a scram- bler-type pastiche of a Taglioni-era bevel- drive Ducati. It's a modern tribute to all our desmodromic yesterdays, and gives the same riding satisfaction as the bike that it pays tribute to, but in a very now context. The GT1000 is a bike that's equally adept at letting you throw a leg over it for a quick ride to the store, or the ride to work every morning rain or shine, or go on a long weekend ride somewhere, prefer- ably hilly and twisty, with or without a pas- senger, or simply take on a hard Sunday morning ride. As Minoli says, this is a true go-anywhere bike, and is exactly the breath of fresh air that the Ducati range has needed. Through it and its SportClassics sisters, Ducati's past is riding flat-out to rescue its future. CN AUGUST 16, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 58 Ducati SportClassics GT1000