Everyone loved the 900SS, but no one looked forward to a stack of angry letters demanding they renounce their admiration for a motorcycle that only pumps out a claimed 80 horsepower. But the representatives of the broader-based publications sat back and smiled. We know that MO's readers are more well-rounded, refined, intelligent, discriminating and better able to appreciate a bike that is more about carving a corner than how fast it gets there. Looking back, it was a good idea because we would have opened up the throttle and might have wadded on the cold, moist track. The next four laps were supposed to be lead by a representative from Ducati North America, but after he ran off the track in Turn Six, it was open-throttle season at Laguna Seca.
Ground clearance is more than adequate.
Down through the corkscrew, the reworked suspension worked flawlessly, the front providing good feedback. Turns Nine and 10 are fast sweepers, and despite its quick-steering geometry, the 900SS remained rock stable. Hammering the throttle up the front straightaway, the rev-limiter kicks in all too soon. This is not the old 900 that would poop out before it ever got near the redline, this motorcycle pulls right to the top. A complete redesign is not always necessary to improve a motorcycle.