The brief history of Ducati motorcycles

212 Moto

The brief history of Ducati motorcycles

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, Aug 26, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ – The Brief History of Ducati Motorcycles
Ducati Motor Holding SpA is the motorcycle manufacturing division of the Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is owned by the German automobile manufacturer Audi through its Italian subsidiary Lamborghini, while Audi is itself owned by the Volkswagen Group.

In 1926 Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and his three sons Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Cavalieri Ducati founded the Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna to manufacture vacuum tubes, condensers and other radio components. In 1935 they were successful enough to allow the construction of a new factory in the city’s Borgo Panigale district. Production continued during World War II, despite the fact that the Ducati factory was a repeated target by Allied bombing. It was eventually destroyed by around 40 Consolidated B-24 Liberators on Thursday, October 12, 1944, as part of the United States Air Force’s Operation Pancake, which flew around 700 aircraft from airfields in Foggia Province.

Meanwhile, Aldo Farinelli started at the small Turin company SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie) with the development of a small push rod motor for mounting on bicycles. Less than a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine called “Cucciolo” (Italian for “puppy”, which means the unmistakable exhaust sound) to the public. The first Cucciolos were only available to be mounted on standard bicycles by the buyer; But soon business people were buying the small engines in large quantities and offering complete motorcycle units for sale.

In 1950, after more than 200,000 Cucciolos had been sold, Ducati finally offered its own Cucciolo-based motorcycle in collaboration with SIATA. This first Ducati motorcycle was a 48 cc motorcycle weighing 98 pounds and a top speed of 40 mph.
Ducati Mach 1
As the market moved towards larger motorcycles, Ducati management decided to react and made an impression at a Milan show in early 1952 by introducing its 65TS cycle and the Cruiser (a four-stroke motor scooter). Although the Cruiser was named the most interesting new machine at the 1952 show, it wasn’t a huge hit, and only a few thousand were built over two years before the model ceased production.

In 1953, management split the company into two separate entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, in recognition of its distinct motorcycle and electronics product lines. Dr. Giuseppe Montano took over the management of Ducati Meccanica SpA and the Borgo Panigale plant was modernized with state support. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA had increased production to 120 bicycles a day.

In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycle history with the manufacture of what was then the fastest 250cc racing bike, the Mach 1. In the 1970s, Ducati began producing large-volume V-twin motorcycles and in 1973 brought a V- Twin with the trademarked desmodromic valve design. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rename Ducati motorcycles with the name “Cagiva”. When the purchase was complete, Cagiva kept the “Ducati” name on its motorcycles.

Eleven years later, in 1996, Cagiva accepted the Texas Pacific Group’s offer and sold a 51% stake in the company for $ 325 million; In 1998, the Texas Pacific Group bought most of the remaining 49% to become the sole owner of Ducati. In 1999 TPG went public with Ducati shares and renamed the company “Ducati Motor Holding SpA”. TPG sold over 65% of its shares in Ducati, so that TPG remained the majority shareholder. In December 2005, Ducati returned to Italian ownership with the sale of Texas Pacific’s stake (less one share) in Investindustrial Holdings, the mutual fund of Carlo and Andrea Bonomi.

Ducati 899 Panigale
In April 2012, the Audi subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group announced that it would buy Ducati for 860 million euros (1.2 billion US dollars). Volkswagen boss Ferdinand Piëch, a motorcycle enthusiast, had long coveted Ducati and regretted missing an opportunity to buy the company from the Italian government in 1984. Analysts questioned a tiny motorcycle maker having a significant impact on a company the size of Volkswagen, commenting that the acquisition “has a trophy feel” and “is fueled by VW’s passion for nameplates rather than industrial or financial logic”. The Italian luxury car brand Lamborghini was strengthened under VW ownership. On July 19, 2012, AUDI AG’s subsidiary Automobili Lamborghini SpA acquired 100 percent of the shares in Ducati Motor Holding SpA for 747 million euros (909 million US dollars).

The chief designer of most Ducati motorcycles in the 1950s was Fabio Taglioni (1920-2001). His designs ranged from the small single-cylinder machines that were successful in the Italian road races to the large-volume twins of the 1980s. Ducati introduced the Pantah in 1979; its engine was updated in the Ducati SuperSport (SS) series in the 1990s. All modern Ducati engines are derivatives of the Pantah, which operates the engine’s valves via a toothed belt. Taglioni used the Cavallino Rampante (identified with the Ferrari brand) on his Ducati motorcycles. Taglioni chose this emblem of courage and daring as a sign of respect and admiration for Francesco Baracca, a heroic WWI fighter pilot who died in an air raid in 1918.
Generations of Ducati motorcycles

In 1973 Ducati commemorated its 1972 victory at the Imola 200 with the production model Ducati 750 SuperSport with a green frame. In 1975 the company presented the 860 GT, which was designed by the well-known car stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro. Its angular lines were unique, but the raised handlebars made for an uncomfortable sitting position at high speeds and also caused steering problems. The angular design of the 860GT was a sales disaster, and it was hastily redesigned for the 1976 season with a more rounded fuel tank.

1993 Ducati 907
The Ducati Paso was introduced in 1986 with the Paso 750, followed in 1989 by the Paso 906. The final version came in 1991 with the 907IE (Iniezione Elettronica), now without the name “Paso”. The design comes from Massimo Tamburini, who also designed the Ducati 916 and the MV Agusta F4. The Paso was a typical “you love it, you hate it” bike. At the time, however, it looked like the closed body would be the future for all motorcycles. The Paso design was copied for the Moto Morini Dart 400 and Cagiva Freccia 125. Together with Tambourini’s Bimota DB1, they were enormously formative in terms of style.

The 1990s
In 1993, Miguel Angel Galluzzi introduced the Ducati Monster, a naked bike with an exposed grille and motor. Today, the monster makes up almost half of the company’s global sales. The Monster has been the most modified of all motorcycles Ducati has ever produced.
In 1993, Pierre Terblanche, Massimo Bordi and Claudio Domenicali designed the Ducati Supermono. A 550 cc single cylinder lightweight “Catalog Racer”. Only 67 were built between 1993 and 1997.
In 1994, the company introduced the Ducati 916 model designed by Massimo Tamburini, a water-cooled version that allowed for higher performance and a striking new body with aggressive lines, an exhaust under the seat and a single-sided swing arm. Ducati has since ceased production of the 916, replacing it (and its descendants, the 748, 996 and 998) with the 749 and 999.

The 2000s
In 2006 the retro-styled Ducati PaulSmart 1000 LE was launched which, as part of a SportClassic series representing the 750 GT, styling features with the 1973 750 SuperSport (itself a production replica of Paul Smart’s victorious 750 Imola Desmo from 1972) shared 750 Sport and 750 SuperSport Ducati motorcycles.
In 2011 Ducati launched a power cruiser, the Diavel. That same year, Valentino Rossi left Yamaha and joined the Ducati MotoGP team, replacing Casey Stoner, who had defected to Honda.
Current product range of Ducati motorcycles
● Ducati Hypermotard
● Ducati Desmosedici RR
● Ducati 1098 S Tricolore
● Ducati Multistrada 950 A
● Scrambler desert sled
● Multistrada 950
Multistrada 950S
● Multistrada 1260
● Multistrada 1260S

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August 26, 2021, 6:45 PM GMT

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