Never ridden an SSie. The styling is a matter of taste
! Early carb'd SS's do suffer from carb iciing but this can be apparently be alleviated by a fuel additive (FST Pro?). Later bikes had extra plumbing to route engine oil up to the float bowls to prevent carb icing. My '96 bike had this carb heater mod and no problems at all with carb ice. Aftermarket Keihin FCR carbs don't suffer from carb icing...you might be lucky enough to get a carb'd SS fitted with them?
Early bikes could have problems with cylinder head studs snapping (different type of stud used on the later bikes) and also frame cracking around the headstock.
What are they like to ride/own? Firstly they are not perfect...as evidenced by the thousands of words on this website devoted to modifications! You could probably run a CBR600 for years without ever servicing it...not so with a Ducati. They are not cheap to have serviced and it pays (if you're not going to do the work yourself) to take the trouble to do some research before giving the bike to ANYONE for servicing.....some 'experts' think that if you own a Ducati it means it is 'open-season' on your bank account!
That having been said you'll find bike magazines STILL running articles about Ducati reliability. The only significant mechanical or electrical problem I've ever had to deal with was replacing the starter motor (Nippon Denso!) and the bike has never let me down on the road.
This forum is a gold mine of information on everything from which places to use for servicing, how to do much of it yourself, common problems and the numerous possible modifications.
The 900SS rides like 'a real motorbike' and becomes involving in a way that no Honda ever could. I also have a 954 Fireblade; great bike but it only gets routine servicing whereas I've had my 900SS for about 11 years, it has had lots of modifications and the Ducati is the bike I take on trackdays....
...and when the snow is on the ground and I go into the garage, which bike do I still enjoy looking at?.....
Enjoy
A.