Ducati North America and NCR announce today the unveiling of special new project bike called "New Blue". This motorcycle is a modern replica of the historic Ducati 750SS campaigned by Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling throughout the mid 1970's.
Cook Neilson, the editor of Cycle magazine at the time, possessed a unique combination of skills - those of a successful journalist and those of a successful racer. With the help of Managing Editor and ace mechanic Phil Schilling, they were able to build the 750SS into a remarkably successful race bike. This was achieved by trial and error, superior tuning talent and riding skills.
Phil soon gave their motorcycle the nickname "Old Blue", in reference to the team's attractive livery. On March 11th 1977, at the legendary Daytona Speedway, the team celebrated a monumental victory in the AMA Superbike race. This win stands out as a significant event in the history books as it was the first victory for Ducati at Daytona.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of this historic event, a recreation of this motorcycle was commissioned by Ducati North America and given to NCR.
"New Blue", which began life as a Ducati SportClassic Sport 1000S, was sent to NCR's factory for a cosmetic replication and race preparation. NCR was able to remove an astounding eighty-four pounds of dry weight and add an additional 30 horsepower to the motorcycle. This was achieved by the usage of lightweight materials such as titanium, carbon fiber and magnesium throughout the project. The revised engine output is 116hp at 8450rpm. The motorcycle is completed with a titanium plate bearing the signatures of both Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling.
"This is a very exciting project, and we are looking forward to seeing Cook and Phil together again" said Michael Lock, CEO of Ducati North America. "We inducted both of them into the Ducati North America Hall of Fame at this year's annual Ducati dealer meeting, and now we are honoring the special bike that they built as well. The combination of rider, tuner and motorcycle made a very successful team."
The North American introduction of the motorcycle will take place at Ducati New York on Thursday, January 18th. The motorcycle will be on display at the remainder of the 2007 IMS Motorcycle Shows.
In addition, NCR will be building a limited quantity of these special production motorcycles for the American market.