A 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport “Green Frame,” one of just 401 built and among the most collectible production Ducatis ever made, will cross the auction block at Mecum’s Monterey sale on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026.
Mecum Auctions holds its annual Monterey event Aug. 13-15 at the Pebble Beach Resorts’ Del Monte Golf Course, and is timed to coincide with Monterey Car Week. The 750 SS is one of two rare Ducatis Mecum is offering at the Monterey event. The other is a 1972 Ducati 750 Imola racer. The Imola bike is one of eight built, and one of seven the factory took to the 1972 Imola 200 race.
The 750 SS on offer is a two-owner bike that has never been restored. Ducati historian Ian Falloon reviewed it and considered it one of roughly 10 examples worldwide preserved to this standard. It shows low mileage and still wears its original parts, a rarity for a model that was built to be raced and often was.
That racing pedigree is exactly why the Green Frame matters. Ducati built the 750 SS to celebrate Paul Smart’s win at the 1972 Imola 200, where his desmodromic V-twin beat a field of bigger, better-funded rivals. To make the road bike legal for racing, Ducati assembled a single batch of 401 units in late 1973 and into 1974. Each engine was put together in the factory race shop. The result was, in effect, a race bike with a license plate.
The air-cooled, carbureted desmo V-twin produced over 70 horsepower at 9000 rpm, making the 750 Super Sport good for a top speed near 135 mph with its five-speed gearbox. Those are high-performance numbers for a 1974 street bike.
The nickname is a bit of a mix-up. The bike was officially painted azzurro metallizzato, which translates to metallic blue. The frame got its green tint from leftover paint used on Ducati’s diesel and outboard engines, and the “Green Frame” nickname stuck.
Survival numbers explain the rarity. Experts agree that about 225 of the 401 bikes still exist. Only around 80 percent of those have kept their original frame and engine together, and fewer still are complete and unmolested.
The 750 SS was, as Falloon puts it, an out-of-the-box racer. As a result, many were crashed, modified, or simply worn out. Values have climbed high enough that fake bikes built from re-stamped cases and reproduction frames now circulate, making a verified, original example like this one especially hard to find. The Borrani alloy rims are now nearly impossible to replace.
The 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport “Green Frame” hits the auction block on Saturday, Aug. 15. You can bid in person, over the phone, or via the internet. Don’t be surprised if the winning bid is over $200,000 for this rare and collectible motorcycle.
Have you ever wanted to ride a real MotoGP track? Well, here’s your chance! Leod Escapes does all sorts of incredible touring experiences with the very best that Europe has to offer. Fabulous accommodation, incredible food, and motorcycles what more can you ask for! So for the trip of a lifetime, visit LeodEscapes.com and check out your dream vacation.
* * * * *
Not many of us have heard of Moto Morini, the old Italian brand. Now Chinese-owned, the new Moto Morinis are still designed in Italy and are making a comeback. Don Williams recently rode the Vettore 450 adventure bike and gives us his thoughts on whether this bike has earned a place in the highly competitive US ADV market.
Associate Editor Freeman Wood and his good friend Alex Cobb decided to try the Lost Coast BDR-X route on the 2026 BMW R 12 G/S and Honda Africa Twin . Teejay Adams chats with Freeman and Alex about how both bikes fared on the 500-mile, figure-eight loop that ventures deep into the untamed heart of Northern California’s last stretch of undeveloped coastline. You can also check out their travels on Instagram @woodysmototravels
* * * * *
Here’s quick reminder to check out our monthly digital magazine. It’s filled with everything you want to read on motorcycling, including some things you’ve probably not seen elsewhere. It’s absolutely free and you will find it on the Apple App Store and of course on Google Play as well.
Don’t forget to leave us your comments on our social media—we’re on all the usual platforms at Ultimate Motorcycling. We love hearing your feedback… so good or bad, please let us know what you think. If there’s something you’d like us to cover, we’d love to hear those ideas too!
We use cookies and browser activity on this website
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
