Elementary and uncompromising’ was the title given to the Ducati 750cc Sport when it was first tested in the early 1970s and, 50 years on, I can dutifully report those pronouncements still sum up what this fabulous, famous and important Italian offering is all about.
This month’s featured machine is yet another belonging to West Country enthusiast Roger Chapman and one I first came across at the Bristol Classic Motorcycle show at Shepton Mallet on a cold February day in 2019. From every angle, the Ducati’s minimalistic appearance gives the impression that EKP 269K is a refugee from the racetrack and it takes little in the way of imagination to picture Paul Smart hunched over the clip-on bars on his way to victory at Imola, the same year (1972) as the 750 Sport rolled off the Bologna production lines. It deservedly won Roger the rosette and cup as runner-up in the best continental class in Bristol 2019 and three years on – thankfully with the sun shining – I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to take the big Italian twin for a spin around the lightly trafficked roads near my home on the edge of the Mendip hills in North Somerset.
