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 never made an 848R

There never was an 848R, or S or SP. Ducati just made the 848 and then tweaked it by adding Brembo monobloc brakes and a slightly more powerful motor to produce the 848 EVO. The owner of this 848 has really gone to town, billing his bike as an 848R.

Motorcycle.com Presents 1199Forums.com, the Ducati 1199 Panigale Forum

Motorcycle.com is proud to announce the addition of a new Ducati 1199 Panigale forum to our network of motorcycle enthusiast communities. 1199Forums.com will offer owners and fans of the Ducati 1199 Panigale a place to connect with other enthusiasts, share photos and stories, discuss upgrades and modifications and find great deals on aftermarket accessories. The new Ducati 1199 forum joins the Motorcycle.com forum network which also includes Ducati.ms, DucatiMonster.org, Sportbike.net and TwoWheelForum.com and dozens of other communities for motorcyclists and enthusiasts.

2012 Ducati Riding Experience Featuring 1199 Panigale S and Troy Bayliss Academy

Ducati has announced the 2012 edition of its Ducati Riding Experience riding school program, including the return of the Troy Bayliss Academy and the addition of the new 1199 Panigale S. The five-event 2012 Ducati Riding Experience Calendar will be held at some of Italy’s top circuits including the MotoGP-hosting Mugello and Misano circuits and the Imola and Monza circuits which host World Superbike. The Ducati Riding Experience offers six courses, covering a range of skill levels and using different Ducati motorcycles.

2012 848 Challenge calendar announced

The 2012 Ducati 848 Challenge calendar has been announced. The eight-round championship will support the British Superbike championship for six of the eight rounds and will also head to Assen for the third year in a row and also to Misano as part of the World Ducati Week. The one-make series is open to riders of the Ducati 848 and 848 EVO models.

Leo Vince Ducati Multistrada 1200 exhaust

Leo Vince have released this exhaust and decat kit for the Ducati Multistrada 1200. Rather than just a plain old link pipe to replace the cat, Leo Vince's decat replacement includes a silencer to cut noise. The exhaust can be fitted to the standard cat, or you could fit the stock exhaust to the Leo Vince decat, or run both.

Five minutes with Neil Hodgson

Commentating on Eurosport, demo riding at bike shows, instructing on track days and being the Ducati 848 Challenge ambassador are just a few of the jobs that keep Neil Hodgson amused these days. Last week I tripped over the 2003 World Superbike Champion in Almeria so a few personal questions had to be asked. N.M. You seem to have a permanent grin on your face these days, any particular reason?

Best of British

Enigma 1050 is a new, all-British motorbike based around a Triumph 1050 Speed Triple engine. It's being put together by a small team of people headed by former MCN editor and lifelong fan of British engineering, Jim Lindsay. "The driving force behind the project," says Lindsay, "Is to showcase some of the amazing expertise that exists in the British motorcycle industry." Enigma is being designed as a sharp-handling road bike with all-day comfort as one of the key goals.

Keanu Reeves on the Ducati Diavel

Keanu Reeves recently took time out from filming his latest movie for GQ magazine by doing what he loves, riding motorcycles. Back home in L.A Keanu has three Norton Commandos amongst his collection - a Fastback, a Roadster and an Interstate. For the shoot Keanu was tasked with ridng around the Chobham Test Track near Chertsey on the Ducati Diavel, commenting on the bike he said: "I love this bike.

Effenbert Liberty Signs McCormick to Ride Ducati 1199 Panigale in 2012 World Superstock Championship

Czech racing team Effenbert-Liberty has signed reigning Canadian Superbike Champion Brett McCormick to ride the new Ducati 1199 Panigale in the 2012 World Superstock 1000 FIM Cup. McCormick won the Canadian championship this season riding the BMW S1000RR, and he’ll be one of the first racers to compete on the Ducati 1199 Panigale which will make its world championship racing debut in the upcoming World Superstock season. The Panigale will be available to Superstock racers this season but won’t make its debut in the World Superbike class until 2013.

Ducati Streetfighter 848 Inspired Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG

The partnership between Ducati and Mercedes-AMG has produced some new fruit, this time a Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG inspired by the Ducati Streetfighter 848′s “Fighter Yellow” color. It’s been over a year since Ducati and Mercedes-Benz’ performance brand AMG signed a cooperation agreement at the 2010 LA Auto Show. Back in September, the two brands came together to produce the special edition Ducati Diavel AMG at the Frankfurt Auto Show.