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
Wed, 28 Sep 2022
We’re now a couple of episodes into Ducati‘s 2023 World Première launch series, but there are still another five parts to go. Ducati has already started teasing this week’s episode, which we expect will be for a GSA-battling Multistrada V4 variant, with a new Panigale V4 R, a Diavel V4, and a next-generation Scrambler expected in the weeks ahead. None of these models we expect come as much of a surprise.
Mon, 12 Sep 2022
Doppia Bielletta for 100, Alex
Following our recent Falloon File about the lovely and talented little Ducati Supermono, Commenter Bob wanted to know: “Why did Bordi use an extra connecting rod instead of the usual balance shafts? BMW had a parallel twin with a third con rod for the same reason. I would be interested in reading a technical analysis of those motors.”
Dear Bob,
Interesting.
Fri, 02 Sep 2022
Limited edition model priced at $68,000
As we expected earlier this week, Ducati kicked off its 2023 World Première series with a limited edition Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini model. This marks the second tie-in between the two Volkswagen Group brands, following the Diavel Lamborghini model in 2021. Ducati will produce 630 units of the Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini in the Verde Citrea/Arancio Dac color scheme with matching Arancio Dac red brake calipers that matches one of the paint options for the Lamborghini Huracán STO.
Wed, 31 Aug 2022
Special edition Lamborghini Huracán STO tie-in model
Ducati released a teaser image ahead of its first World Première 2023 episode, with all signs pointing to a new Lamborghini tie-in model based on the Streetfighter V4. The image shows a green and red piece of carbon bodywork with the “STO” logo that matches that of the Lamborghini Huracán STO. The initials stand for “Super Trofeo Omologata“, indicating the street-legal version of Lamborghini’s Super Trofeo racecar.
Sun, 28 Aug 2022
Looking back upon it through 20-year thick vino rosso-colored glasses, I remember really liking the 2002 Ducati 999. Probably because so many others did not; following that 916 shape was never going to be easy. But reading the old road test, the faint praise is palpable.
Wed, 24 Aug 2022
Doppio Bielletta is not a coffee
Hey! I got to ride one of those once. My old 608cc Yamaha SRX-6 singles racer was built not quite to the hilt and made 52 horsepower.
Fri, 19 Aug 2022
If looks could thrill
Credit: Photos by Gregor Halenda and Scott Rounds
When the DesertX prototype hit the scene at EICMA in 2019, it was portrayed as a Dakar-inspired Scrambler variant – that was the initial idea anyway. As you’re likely already aware, the production DesertX is anything but. Powered by the proven 937cc Testastretta 11° Desmo engine, the 2023 Ducati Desert X has been designed from the ground up as a purpose-built adventure machine.
Fri, 05 Aug 2022
Could a new Diavel or electric model be on the way? Last week, Ducati announced it would once again present its new product announcements in a series of online presentations. Just like in 2020 and 2021, the Ducati World Première 2023 series will take place over multiple episodes, with each part featuring a different product line.
Fri, 22 Jul 2022
Ducati folklore as told by the man who knows them best. As a general rule, I tend to listen to museum curators once they start talking. Having someone at your disposal who is so deeply vested, and intimately knowledgeable, in the subject matter is a treasure worth hanging on to.
Sun, 03 Jul 2022
Ducati 848
In 2008, after a model year with no mid-displacement superbike, Ducati brought to market the Ducati 848. Like its predecessors, the Ducati 748 (1994-2003) and Ducati 749 (2003-2006), the new Ducati 848 is, more or less, a smaller-displacement-version of the 1098 introduced the previous year. The Ducati 848 shares its fuel tank, bodywork, frame, wheelbase and other components with 1098.