The 5 Signature Ducati Elements and How they Began
What does your mind conjure up when you think of Ducati? The L-twin engine? Perhaps the trellis frame, or maybe the proud racing heritage? Desmodromics or cam belts? It might be any or all of these things because they are the five signature elements that make up the Ducati DNA. Today we look at where they got their start.
To tell the story, let’s go back in time to 1955 where the story begins. As you will see, the modern DNA of a Ducati still owes its existence to essentially one man.
1955 The Ducati Racing Story Begins
Ducati is now synonymous with racing but in 1955 Ducati was a small government owned company that produced very modest machines. Luckily for us, one of the government appointed directors was Giuseppe Montano who was a racing supporter. Montano hired a new designer away from Mondial to curate a racing program. The man he hired was none other than brilliant engineer Fabio Taglioni. Dr T is such an important part of Ducati history that we will mention him in every section of this article! Taglioni lost no time in designing a new 100cc bevel gear driven, single overhead camshaft valve spring single cylinder engine for a motorcycle named the Gran Sport. In its debut race, the 9 day Giro d’Italia, it easily won the 100cc class. The Ducati racing story had begun.
1956 The Desmo Ducati is Born
The 100cc Gran Sport quickly became a bored out 125 and the very next year a double overhead camshaft version called the Bialbero was produced. Ducati now wanted to race 125 Grand Prix! In the 1956 season the 125 Bialbero took to the GP circuit but was no match for the MV Augusta’s, Mondial’s and Gilera’s. Enter Dr Taglioni again. He produced a Desmodromic valve gear system that eliminated float and allowed the Desmo single to rev to 14,000rpm. Although Mercedes was successfully using the system in cars, no-one else then or since has mastered it in bikes. In its racing debut, the little Desmo dominated the race, lapping the entire field.
1971 The Birth of the 90º L-twin
Once again we come back to Ing. Fabio Taglioni. As far as he is concerned, the bevel drive desmo V-twin was his best design. A believer in ‘Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday’ long before the phrase was coined he intended to build an engine suitable for 500cc and 750cc World Championship racing and street applications. The company was only known for small singles to date so this was a big step. The 90º V angle ensured perfect primary balance. The first ever production Ducati twin was the 750GT complete with fiberglass tank and side covers, metal flake paint finish, Marzocchi forks and Smiths instruments. This valve spring case engine was still linked back to Taglioni’s first 1955 Gran Sport design in that the included valve angle was still 80º. Just one year later, Paul Smart would take a specially prepared Desmodromic head racing version to victory at the Imola 200 and catapult Ducati into the big bike big time!
1980 The Trellis Frame and Belt Cam Drive
One model introduced two elements that now feature on every Ducati you can buy today. The bike was the Ducati Pantah. After a disastrous foray into parallel twins, Taglioni once again came to the rescue. The Pantah was a 500cc V-twin that was a lot less expensive to manufacture since it dropped the complex bevel gears for toothed belts. It was also the first model to feature a trellis frame (Taglioni designed this too). Introduced in 1980 to less than universal acclaim, it nevertheless gained a reputation for great handling and the engine was revvier and less torquey than the bevel engine which soldiered on until the last Mike Hailwood replica Mille’s were sold in 1986. The Pantah engine though soldiers on in updated form. If you have a Hypermotard, an air-cooled Monster or Sport Classic or an older 750 / 900SS or Supersport, you have some Dr Taglioni genius inside your engine.
Every new Ducati you can buy today features a 90º L-twin with belt cam drive, desmodromic valve operation and a trellis frame. And even if you don’t ride a Superbike, there is racing DNA embedded into every Ducati which exemplifies performance, light weight and handling in every motorcycle segment they compete.
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“He produced a Desmodromic valve gear system that eliminated float…”
I recall reading somewhere that Desmo valve actuation was originally adopted because valve springs kept breaking. As materials became more reliable, the Desmo was retained for better valve control (less float) at high RPM… and for marketing reasons, natch
You are likely right. Ironically these days with desmodromics not strictly needed from a high rev point of view there is still an advantage when it comes to allowing very aggressive cam profiles to maximize valve jerk
No dry clutch? I know it’s being phased out (bad idea IMO) but to me that says “Ducati” much more than cam belts.
@Scott You make a fair point but as you point out not all Ducati’s have a dry clutch where as they all have cam belts