Ducati Motorcycles

About ducati

Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. is an Italian company that designs and manufactures motorcycles. Headquartered in Bologna, Italy, Ducati is owned by Audi through its Italian subsidiary Lamborghini.

In 1926 Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and his three sons, Adriano, Marcello, and Bruno Cavalieri Ducati; founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna to produce vacuum tubes, condensers and other radio components.

At the small Turinese firm SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie), Aldo Farinelli began developing a small pushrod engine for mounting on bicycles. Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called the "Cucciolo" (Italian for "puppy"). The first Cucciolos were available alone, to be mounted on standard bicycles, by the buyer; however, businessmen soon bought the little engines in quantity, and offered complete motorized-bicycle units for sale.

So in 1950, in collaboration with SIATA, the Ducati firm finally offered its own Cucciolo-based motorcycle. This first Ducati motorcycle was a 48 cc bike weighing 98 lb (44 kg) with a top speed of 40 mph (64 km/h) had a 15 mm carburetor giving just under 200 mpg-US (1.2 L/100 km; 240 mpg-imp). Ducati soon dropped the Cucciolo name in favor of "55M" and "65TL". The chief designer of most Ducati motorcycles in the 1950s was Fabio Taglioni

In 1952 Ducati introduced 65TS cycle and Cruiser (a four-stroke motor scooter).

In 1953, management split the company into two separate entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, in acknowledgment of its diverging motorcycle and electronics product lines.

In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the fastest 250 cc road bike then available, the Mach 1.

In the 1970s Ducati began producing large-displacement V-twin motorcycles and in 1973, released a V-twin with the trademarked desmodromic valve design.

In 1973, Ducati commemorated its 1972 win at the Imola 200 with the production model green frame Ducati 750 SuperSport.

In 1993 Monster model appeared, a bike with exposed trellis and engine. It makes about half of all sales.

Ducati is best known for high performance motorcycles characterized by large capacity four-stroke, 90° V-twin engines, featuring a desmodromic valve design. Ducati refers to this configuration as L-twin because one cylinder is vertical while the other is horizontal, making it look like a letter "L". Modern Ducatis remain among the dominant performance motorcycles available today partly because of the desmodromic valve design, which is nearing its 50th year of use.

While most other manufacturers utilize wet clutches (with the spinning parts bathed in oil) Ducati previously used multiplate dry clutches in many of their motorcycles. The dry clutch eliminates the power loss from oil viscosity drag on the engine even though the engagement may not be as smooth as the oil bath versions but the clutch plates can wear more rapidly. Ducati has converted to wet clutches across their current product lines.

Ducati also extensively uses the Trellis Steel Frame configuration, although Ducati's MotoGP project broke with this tradition by introducing a revolutionary carbon fibre frame for the Ducati Desmosedici GP9.

Moto blog

Ducati Desmosedici GP13 an Evolution, Not a Revolution

Bernhard Gobmeier sounded cautiously optimistic about Ducati‘s MotoGP program, speaking at the Wrooom 2013 event following the unveiling of the Desmsedici GP13 racebike. Taking over as general manager of Ducati Corse, Gobmeier acknowledged his team had a lot of ground to make up if it hopes to pose a serious threat to Honda and Yamaha. Ducati got an early start on developing its 2013 program halfway through the 2012 season when it became apparent the Desmosedici GP12 was not competitive enough against the RC213V and the M1.

Ducati Desmosedici GP13 MotoGP Racebikes Revealed at Wrooom 2013

(Updated with high-resolution studio photos of the factory Desmosedici GP13 racebikes.) Ducati factory riders Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso along with the junior Ducati Pramac team of Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone pulled the covers of the Desmosedici GP13, revealing the race bikes they will ride for the 2013 MotoGP Championship. The four riders revealed their Desmosedicis on a snow-covered mountain in the Dolomites in Italy as part of Wrooom 2013, an annual ski event held jointly by Ducati Corse and Ferrari‘s Formula One racing program. The 2013 season marks a number of changes for the Ducati MotoGP program.

Portland’s MotoCorsa Opens Museo Ducati Exhibition

You may remember MotoCorsa as the dealership behind the awfully funny “Manigale” photoshoot, featuring male employees in bathing suits and heels posing like female models on a Ducati 1199 Panigale. The Portland, Ore., dealership clearly knows how to have fun. MotoCorsa also knows Ducati‘s heritage, opening an exhibition of more than 30 significant Ducati motorcycles spanning seven decades.

Back when GPs were really good: Part 2

Rossi versus Gibernau at Brno in 2003. Most of the time Rossi and Gibernau came together, it was a classic in the making but while Rossi on the factory Honda hunting down Gibernau on the satellite Honda is well worth watching, the threat of a looming Bayliss on the Ducati makes this one even better. Gibernau, fresh from a win in Germany at the previous round - having beaten Rossi to the line by 0.060 seconds - was full of fight.

Bruce Willis’ 2005 Ducati Multistrada 1000DS Raises $6,250 for Charity

A 2005 Ducati Multistrada 1000DS belonging to actor Bruce Willis has been auctioned off for $6,250. The Multistrada was the first of five motorcycles from the “Die Hard” actor’s personal collection that will be sold to benefit the Boot Campaign, a non-profit organization supporting active and retired members of the U.S. military.

Riding Instruction From Troy Bayliss

The Ducati Riding Experience (DRE) returns for 2013 featuring the Troy Bayliss Academy. The DRE celebrates its 10th year in 2013 with 12 dates at some of the Italy’s most famous tracks. The DRE not only provides instruction for everyone from the beginner rider to the track day specialist but also the opportunity to ride Ducati motorcycles.

Monster Energy Track Day of Legends with Schumacher, McGuinness, Espargaro and Flint – Video

Last week, we wrote about retired Formula One racer Michael Schumacher taking part in a track day at France’s Paul Ricard circuit on a Ducati 1199 Panigale. The event’s sponsor, Monster Energy, has released a video offering a behind-the-scenes look at the event. The seven-time F1 champion was joined by TT racer John McGuinness, retired MotoGP racer Randy Momola, Moto2 racer Pol Espargaro and Keith Flint, a musician from the group Prodigy and a racer in the U.K.’s  Hottrax Endurance Championship.

Michael Schumacher Riding the Ducati 1199 Panigale

Formula One racing star Michael Schumacher is a noted motorcyclist, having competed in various motorcycle races after his initial retirement from car racing. Schumacher was no slouch either, and once received an open invitation to ride a Honda in the World Superbike Championship. Schumacher recently got a chance to ride motorcycles on a track, taking part in a track day at the Paul Ricard circuit in France organized by Monster Energy and Mercedes-Benz.

Bruce Willis Auctioning Motorcycles to Benefit Active and Retired Military

Actor Bruce Willis is auctioning five motorcycles from his personal collection to benefit the Boot Campaign, a Texas-based non-profit organization supporting active and retired members of the U.S. military. The motorcycles will be auctioned off every two months, starting from December 2012 to August 2013, with each auction running for up to 30 days at CharityBuzz.com.

Former Ducati Owners Investindustrial and Mahindra Make Competing Bids for Aston Martin

Ducati‘s former owner Investindustrial is ready for its next big acquisition, reportedly submitting a bid to acquire a stake in Aston Martin. Investindustrial is reportedly competing against Indian car and motorcycle maker Mahindra & Mahindra for the stake in the British car company probably best known for its association with the fictional spy James Bond. According to Bloomberg, Investindustrial has submitted an offer of nearly 250 million British pounds (US$400.7 million) for a 40% equity stake and 50% control of voting rights for Aston Martin.