Ducati 650SL Pantah
With Phil Aynsley
Fabio Taglioni’s Pantah series of bikes were of great consequence – from their beginnings in 1977 through to when the basic engine design was replaced by the Superquadro motor that appeared in the 2011 Panigale.
I’ll cover the initial models in a later column but for now I’ll take a look at the final “Pantah”, the 650SL of 1984.
The 650SL was something of a special, required to allow the homologation of the 750cc TT1 engine. As a result only 288 were built with most, if not all, exported to Australia.
The main change from the 600SL was the increase in stroke from 58 to 61.5mm (which could then be used for the 750 motor), although the bore was also increased by 2 mm to 82 mm.
Power was raised from 58 hp at 8700 rpm to 63 hp at 8500rpm.
Other changes from the 600SL included the use of CEV indicators, Nippon Denso instrument cluster, Oscam wheels and a red/yellow rather than silver/red or red/green colour scheme. Weight was 180 kg.
The 650SL’s rarity makes it a highly sort after model these days!
Ducati 650SL Pantah Specifications
| Ducati 650SL Pantah Specifications | |
| Engine | Air-cooled, L-twin SOHC, Desmodromic, two-valve per cylinder |
| Capacity | 10.1:1 |
| Bore x stroke | 82 x 61.5 mm |
| Compression | 10.0:1 |
| Induction | Dell’Orto PHF36A |
| Power | 46.3 kW @ 8500 rpm |
| Torque | 45 Nm @ 6000 rpm |
| Transmission | Five-speed |
| Suspension | 35 mm Marzocchi forks, Marzocchi dual shock absorbers |
| Brakes | Dual 260 mm front rotor, two-piston calipers, single 260 mm rear rotor, single-piston caliper |
| Tyres | 100/90-18, 110/90-18 |
| L x W x H | 2150 x 700 x 1280 mm |
| Seat height | 770 mm |
| Dry weight | 180 kg |
| Fuel capacity | 18L |
