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

Monza: Brown and Morris share the spoils

After a month off, the Rapid Solicitors Ducati 848 Challenge took to the air for the second of its fly-away rounds this season; this time to the historic Monza circuit. Scene of so many memorable races, a quick glance at the circuit map surely raised the expectation just a little higher than normal as the riders faced the prospect of tackling one of Europe's fastest circuits. Free practice on Saturday afternoon was fought out in over 31 degree sunshine as the riders took advantage of the three sessions available to them to learn the circuit.

Recall for 2011 Ducati Diavel

Ducati is recalling certain 2011 Diavel units due to a risk of the license plate holder coming loose. The license plate holder on the Ducati Diavel floats over the rear tire thanks to a bracket attached to the swingarm. According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, brass inserts in the chain guard may become deformed over time, potentially loosening the screws attaching the bracket to the swingarm.

Ducati Opens First Airport Retail Store

Ducati has opened its first in a planned chain of airport retail locations at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome. The 322 sq-ft. Fiumicino location will sell Ducati-branded products such as official Ducati apparel, Oakley sunglasses, Puma shoes.

Marco Simoncelli: Every Good Story Needs a Villain

The MotoGP World Championship had a lot of compelling storylines going into the 2011 season. Valentino Rossi joining Ducati for an Italian match made in heaven. Jorge Lorenzo defending his title and escaping from Rossi’s shadow.

Ducati Multistrada Sets Pikes Peak Record

Carlin Dunne set a new course record for motorcycles in Ducati’s second consecutive Pikes Peak International Hill Climb victory. Riding the Ducati Multistrada 1200, Dunne completed the 12.42 mile course in 11:11.32 for the win in the 1205 class for 900cc and larger Twin cylinder machines. Dunne’s time was also 34 seconds faster than the winning time set by Greg Tracy on the Ducati Multistrada in the 2010 race.

Played: SBK 2011

The nerves are rising as I sit upon a factory Ducati on the grid at the final round of the WSB championship lined-up against the best riders in the World, the lights are about go out to decide winner… The reality however, is I've been working on my arse groove in the couch, in a darkened room with the remnants of last nights takeaway playing on SBK 2011. SBK 2011 is the next extension in the bike racing game series. The two major modes in the game are the standard career and the SBK Tour.

Rossi to Race on Updated Ducati Desmosedici GP11.1

With the 2011 MotoGP season not going as successfully as hoped, Ducati is introducing a number of significant updates to its Desmosedici racebike including features originally intended for the 2012 version. Valentino Rossi, whose much heralded union with Ducati has produced just a single podium finish in six races, will be the first to race on the updated Desmosedici, dubbed the GP11.1. Rossi will ride the GP11.1 at the upcoming Assen.

40-Day Motorcycle Ride for Breast Cancer Groups

Charlotte, N.C., writer and motorcycle adventurer Tamela Rich is heading out on a cross-country ride to raise money for breast cancer causes. Along her tour, Rich will meet with breast cancer survivors and interview them for her upcoming book, “Live Full Throttle: What You Can Learn About Life From Women Who’ve Faced Cancer”. This will be Rich’s second tour across the country.

Winter weather but summer carries on.

Aye, it’s been a another good week in the world of Niall Mackenzie. My friends at Moto Direct sent me a new RST Pro Series suit to try out, I acquired some new rubber for my S10000RR and young Taylor Mac splashed home to 12th place on his Aprilia in the 125cc British Grand Prix. Being no fashion guru and pretty ancient now I’m satisfied the brightest suit I’ve ever climbed into looks the biz.

Ducati Desmosound Exhaust Note Ringtones

Love the sound of a Ducati L-Twin’s Desmodromic roar? Now you can get that as your ringtone. Available now on Ducati.com, you can download audio clips of your favourite Ducati motorcycle for use as your cell phone’s ringtone (you can also hear sound clips of the engine reving or roaring down a race track, but you’ll have to register to download a ringtone).