Who wants this astonishingly low mileage Ducati 998S Ben Bostrom special?

We don’t know about you, but if we were waiting eagerly for a brand-new Ducati sportsbike coming then the first thing we’d do when it arrives is throw a leg over and take her for a good old, throttle pinned spin… and then do it again, just to check.

Frankly, we’d question anyone that doesn’t, let alone resist doing so for 19 years. In fact, not only has this Ducati 998S not been broken in, it hasn’t covered more than two miles! Yes, you read that correctly.

Far be it from us to ponder why such a beautiful example of a stunning sportsbike hasn’t made it to the shops and back in almost two decades, but the flip side of that means you will probably not find a motorcycle more pristine than this one. 

Because this is the motorcycle equivalent of a figurine in its original packaging, you can be certain that this is a collectors’ item… and this is even before you consider it is a limited edition version celebrating one of America’s best-loved racers, Ben Bostrom.

The Californian became a factory Ducati rider in the WorldSBK Championship for 2001 after scoring a wild-card win on home soil at Laguna Seca in 2000. He went on to win six races - including five in a row - in 2002 to put himself in title contention against the dominant figures of the time, Troy Bayliss and Colin Edwards, eventually ending up third.

He spent only three seasons in the top flight before reverting to the domestic AMA series but Bostrom’s impact was such that he inspired a limited edition Ducati 998S Ben Bostrom replica.

Only 155 of the machines were built and were suitably a blend of Italian exotica and brash Americana with the svelte ruby bodywork lavished with red, white and blue Stars ‘n’ Stripes, plus some gaudy yet somehow fitting flame decals. It’s not subtle - or terribly tasteful - but hey, why not!?

This particular model with two miles on its clock has appeared on Bring A Trailer - view the full classified here - and as of writing sits at an auction bid of $22,000.

The reason for the low mileage is it has been a showroom piece over the last 19 years so the Marchesini wheels, adjustable Ohlins suspension and the meaty 136hp engine remains very much as new.

Now, tell us, if you bought this knowing it hasn’t covered no more than two miles, would you keep it stationary or would you blast it like Ben himself?

View the full auction classified HERE