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 Island Returning to Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Ducati Island is back with a new layout for the 2011 Indianapolis Grand Prix, Aug. 26-28. Located between turns two and three of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway circuit, the Ducati Island offers a number of attractions including Ducati fashion shows and technical demonstrations from the Ducati Service team and Öhlins representatives.

2011 Ducati Diavel Recalled for Weak Kickstands

Ducati issued a recall for the Diavel because of weak kickstands. According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the side stands on the 2011 Ducati Diavel was not manufactured with sufficient material at the pivot point. Under certain circumstances, the stand may bend and possibly break at the pivot area, causing a resting Diavel to tip over.

Tough battles at Brands in the 848 Challenge

The unique prospect of racing on both the Indy and GP circuits at Brands Hatch meant that Round 5 of the Rapid Solicitors Ducati 848 Challenge was very much a tale of two halves. Having already raced the Indy circuit earlier in the season, the first part of the weekend was going to be reminiscent of previous rounds, while the switch to the GP circuit would favour those few who had previous race experience on the longer track. A full schedule on the opening day of the round saw Mike Edwards (MSKWorks.com) top the qualifying table to claim his first pole position of the season with a storming 48.86 sec lap, despite a low-side reminder of how slippery Druids can be in early morning free practice.

2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 Spied

A photograph has emerged of what is reported to be a new, smaller version of the  Ducati Streetfighter featuring the company’s 848 engine. The photograph, posted by a user on the Ducati.ms forum, was reportedly snapped outside Ducati’s factory in Bologna. The banana yellow motorcycle sports a five-bolt hub on the rear wheel, similar to the Ducati 848EVO, whereas the current 1098cc Streetfighter has a six-bolt rear hub (pictured below from our 2009 Ducati Streetfighter review).

The Ducati Island at Laguna Seca [Video]

Motorcycle.com stopped by the Ducati Island during our visit to the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca (and if you haven’t yet read the event report from Kevin Duke, here’s your chance!). Here’s a quick look at what Bologna company offered to any Ducatisti who dropped by.

Track days, I love em!

I never tire of track days. Well I wouldn’t as I’m out most weeks earning a crust instructing on them, however, there is usually an amusing story at the end of each event. I get great pleasure helping riders (especially if it makes them safer) although I do come across some weird and wonderful riding in the process.

Ducati Art Releases Valentino Rossi Collection

Ducati has revealed a new art collection featuring nine-time Grand Prix World Champion and current Ducati MotoGP factory rider Valentino Rossi. Available at DucatiArt.com, the collection features five vividly coloured pieces created by Polish artist Patryk Kuleta. The five pieces are titled The Fight (pictured above), 46 Reasons, First Ride, Front Runner and Perpetually Stronger.

US Motorcycle Sales First Half 2011 Results

The U.S. motorcycle industry saw a 4.6% decrease in year-on-year sales over the first six months of 2011, thanks mostly to a 17.3% drop in ATV sales. Motorcycle and scooter sales however saw a 1.7% bump in the first half .

Ducati North America Reports Q2 2011 Results

Ducati North America announced  a 61% increase in sales over the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Following the 68% increase reported from the first quarter, Ducati can claim four consecutive quarters of year-on-year increases in North America. Over the first six months of 2011, Ducati‘s North American sales are up 63% from the first half of 2010, with over 5,200 new motorcycles registered.

The Diavel rocks!

The Diavel is my new bike of the year. Not being a huge Ducati fan, when I was thrown the keys of this monster at Silverstone on Tuesday I was expecting an ill handling, weighty beast that would run out of revs and scare me to death. Well I couldn’t have been more wrong as I had an absolute blast.