@Chris Education time for me old son, did that model come as stock with a black engine installed or a halfords weekend special from a spray can.
Black was order of the day back then, first belt SS from just before this was black also, have a feeling Paso was as well.
much better overall, it was a silk/matt texture which adhered better than the silver and if anything it just got worn down until base material showed in places. Hard to say if better at corrosion resistance than silver but for me it looked presentable for longer than silver mainly because it was black.
Yes the silver is a irritation just like a boil on the backside, but their trick ( Ducati ) has worked as we go back for more....
The 851s and early 888s (first 100 or so engines) were predominantly black too for the side cases and barrels and the Silver coating for the crank cases and heads wasn’t very good at that time too either. My 888 engine is one of the early ones.
I don’t recall the engine colour of my 851 and have no photos of it, even of when it came to me painted Purple.
My 851 engine is half-black as standard, and the silver paint on the crankcase has still flaked and mostly disappeared.
Popped by on way home (for loo) after a well needed blat. Bit empty. Only one old ducati, looked like a darmah in red (square case bevel, I don't know what). Sounded nice tho. There's a helmet shelf in loo!!! Hooray! Nice one Rykers.
