WikiPortallus: Ducati

From their first post-Second World War bicycle-like low-displacement motorcycles, Ducati has achieved prominence in the motorcycle industry and in motorcycle racing.

In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the then fastest 250 cc road bike available, the Mach 1.^[2]^[3]^[4] In the 1970s Ducati began producing large-displacement L-twin (i.e. a 90° V-twin) motorcycles and in 1973 released an L-twin with the trademarked desmodromic valve design. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rebadge Ducati motorcycles with the lesser-known Cagiva name (at least outside of Italy). By the time the purchase was completed, Cagiva kept the "Ducati" name on its motorcycles. In 1996, Texas Pacific Group bought a 51% stake in the company for US$325 million then in 1998, bought most of the remaining 49% to become the sole owner of Ducati. In 1999, TPG issued an IPO of Ducati stock and renamed the company Ducati Motor Holding SpA. TPG sold over 65% of its shares in Ducati, leaving TPG the majority shareholder. In December 2005 Ducati returned to Italian ownership with the sale of Texas Pacific's stake (minus one share) to Investindustrial Holdings, the investment fund of Carlo and Andrea Bonomi.

Company history

Ownership

Beginnings

In 1926 three brothers, Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Ducati, founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna to produce tubes, condensers and other radio components, becoming successful enough by 1935 to construct a new factory in Borgo Panigale. During the war, although the Ducati factory was a repeated target for Allied bombing, production was maintained. At the same time Aldo Farinelli began working with the small Turinese firm SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie) to develop a small engine that could be mounted on a bicycle. Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell 'Cucciolo' (Italian for "little puppy", referring to its distinctive exhaust sound) pushrod engines to the public. The first Cucciolos were available only as motors to be attached to normal bicycles. Some businessmen bought the little engines in quantity, installed them in frames and offered these complete units for sale.

In 1950, after more than 200,000 Cucciolos had been sold, the Ducati firm finally offered its own complete motorcycle based on the successful engine. Collaboration with SIATA resulted in this first Ducati motorcycle, a 60 cc bike weighing 98 pounds with a top speed of 40 mph (64 km/h). Its 15 mm carburetor gave a little under 200 mpg (85 km/L). In the 1950s, Ducati officially dropped the "Cucciolo" name, replacing it with "55M" and "65TL".

With the market moving toward larger motorcycles, Ducati's management decided to increase their offerings. Ducati made an impression at an early-1952 Milan show, introducing their Ducati 65 TS cycle and the Cruiser, a four-stroke motor scooter. Despite being described as the most interesting new machine at the 1952 show, the Cruiser was not a great success. Several thousand were made over a two-year period before the model ceased production.

In 1953 management separated the company into two separate entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, to reflect its separate lines of motorcycles and electronics. (Ducati Elettronica became Ducati Energia SpA in the eighties.) Dr. Giuseppe Montano took over as head of Ducati Meccanica SpA and the old Borgo Panigale factory was modernized with government assistance. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA was producing 120 bikes a day.

From the 1960s to the 1990s the Spanish company MotoTrans licensed Ducati engines and produced motorcycles that were recognizably Ducati derived, although incorporating many subtle differences. MotoTrans' most notable machine was the 250 cc 24 Horas (Spanish: 24 hours), a 285 cc version that won the Barcelona twenty-four hour race at the Montjuic circuit for three consecutive years, 1956 to 1958.

Motorcycle designs

Ducati is best known for high performance motorcycles characterized by large capacity four-stroke, 90-degree L-twin^[5] engines featuring a desmodromic valve design.^[6] 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. Desmodromic valves are closed with a separate, dedicated cam lobe and lifter instead of the conventional valve springs used in most internal combustion engines. This allows the cams to have a more radical profile, thus opening and closing the valves more quickly without the risk of valve-float which is likely when using a "passive" closing mechanisms under the same conditions.

While most other manufacturers utilize wet-clutches (with the spinning parts bathed in oil)^[7] Ducati uses multiplate dry clutches in many of their current 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, and the clutch plates can wear more rapidly.

Product history

The chief designer of Ducati motorcycles from the 1950s was the late Fabio Taglioni (1920-2001). He designed most Ducatis during this period, ranging from the small single cylinder machines that were successful in the Italian 'street races' up to the large capacity twins of the 80s. Ducati introduced the Pantah in 1979; its engine was updated in the 1990s in the Ducati SuperSport (SS) series. All modern Ducati engines are derivatives of the Pantah, which uses a toothed belt to actuate the engine's valves. Taglioni used the Cavallino Rampante (identified with the Ferrari brand) on his Ducati motorbikes, Taglioni chose this emblem of courage and daring as a sign of respect and admiration for Francesco Baracca, a heroic World War I fighter pilot that died during an air raid in 1918^[8]

1950s

1960s

1970s

In 1973, Ducati also commemorated its 1972 win at the Imola 200 with the production model green frame Ducati 750 SuperSport.

(In 2006 the retro styled Ducati PaulSmart1000LE, which shares styling cues with the 1973 750 SuperSport (itself a production replica of Paul Smart's 1972 race winning 750 Imola Desmo) was released, as one of a SportClassic series representing the 750 GT, 750 Sport, and 750 SuperSport Ducati motorcycles.)

1980s

Ducati's liquid-cooled multi-valve V twins made from 1985 on are known as Quattrovalvole ("four-valve"). These include the 916 and 996, 999 and a few predecessors and derivatives.

1990s

In 1993, Miguel Angel Galuzzi introduced the Ducati Monster,^[9] a naked bike with exposed trellis and engine. Today the Monster accounts for almost half of the company's worldwide sales. The Monster, which has been out since 1994, has undergone the most changes of any motorcycle that Ducati has ever produced. After more than a decade of manufacturing, Ducati continues to create innovative changes to this classic motorcycle.

In 1993 , Pierre Terblanche , Massimo Bordi and Claudio Domenicali designed the Ducati Supermono . A 550cc single cylinder light weight “Catalog Racer”. Only 67 were built between 1993-1997.

In 1995, the company introduced the Ducati 916^[10] model designed by Massimo Tamburini, a water-cooled version that allowed for higher output levels and a striking new bodywork that featured aggressive lines, a underseat exhaust, and a single-sided swingarm. Ducati has since ceased production of what many called the bike of the 1990s, supplanting it (and its progeny, the 996 and 998) with the 749 and 999.

Current lineup

Motorcycle design history

Ducati (in its various incarnations) has produced several styles of motorcycle engines, including varying the number of cylinders, type of valve actuation and fuel delivery. Ducati is best known for its "L-Twin" motor which is the powerplant in the majority of Ducati-marqued motorcycles. Ducati has also manufactured engines with one, two, three or four cylinders; operated by pull rod valves and push rod valves; single, double and triple overhead camshafts; two stroke and even at one stage manufactured a stationary diesel engine, many of which were used as emergency pumps (eg for fire fighting). They have also produced outboard motors for marine use. Currently, Ducati makes no other engines except for its motorcycles.

On current Ducati motors except for the Desmosedici, the valves are actuated by a standard valve cam shaft which is rotated by a timing belt driven by the motor directly. The teeth on the belt keep the camshaft drive pulleys indexed. On older Ducati motors, prior to 1986, drive was by solid shaft that transferred to the camshaft through bevel-cut gears. This method of valve actuation was used on many of Ducati's older single cylinder motorcycles - the shaft tube is visible on the outside of the cylinder.

Ducati is also famous for using the desmodromic valve system championed by engineer and designer Fabio Taglioni though they have also used engines that use valve springs to close their valves. In the early days, Ducati reserved the desmodromic valve heads for its higher performance bikes and its race bikes. These valves do not suffer from valve float at high engine speeds, thus a desmodromic engine is capable of far higher revolutions than a similarly configured engine with traditional spring-valve heads.

In the 1960s and -70s Ducati produced a wide range of small two-stroke bikes, mainly sub-100 cc capacities. Large quantities of some models were exported to the U.S.

Ducati products other than motorcycles

Ducati Meccanica (as the company was previously known) has its marque on non-motorcycle products as well. In the 1930s and 40s, Ducati manufactured radios, cameras, and electrical products such as a razor. The Ducati Sogno was a half-frame Leica-like camera which is now a very rare collectors' item. Ducati and Bianchi (bicycle manufacturer) have developed and launched a new line of racing bicycles.^[11]

Currently, there are four Ducati companies: Ducati Motor Holding (the subject of this article), Ducati Corse (which runs the Ducati racing program and is wholly owned by Ducati Motor Holding), Ducati Energia, a designer and manufacturer of electrical and electronic components and systems and Ducati Sistemi, a subsidiary of Ducati Energia. All are located in Borgo Panigale in Bologna, Italy.

Ducati Motor Holding often uses electrical components and subsystems from Ducati Energia.

Merchandising

Ducati has a wide range of accessories, lifestyle products and co-branded merchandise bearing their logos and designs.

Racing History

MotoGP World Championship

Ducati rejoined Grand Prix motorcycle racing in 2003, after a 30 year absence.^[12] On September 23, 2007 Casey Stoner clinched his and Ducati's first Grand Prix World Championship.

When Ducati re-joined MotoGP in 2003, MotoGP had changed its rules to allow four-stroke 990 cc engines to race. At the time Ducati was the fastest bike. In 2007, MotoGP reduced the engine size to 800 cc, and Ducati continued to be the fastest bike with a bike that was markedly faster than its rivals as was displayed by Casey Stoner on tracks with long straights.

Superbike World Championship (SBK)

For 2008, Ducati will race a homologated version of the 1098R. The FIM, the sanctioning body for the Superbike World Championship, has raised the displacement limit for two cylinder engines to 1,200 cc.^[15] In 2007, Ducati raced their 999F07 which is a homologated racing version of the 999R because maximum displacement for two cylinder engines was limited to 1,000 cc.

The company has won twelve rider's world championships since the championship's inception in 1988. It has been argued that Ducati has amassed more wins than any other manufacturer because the rules are deliberately set to favour their bikes through manufacturer lobbying; this, of course, is a matter of dispute.^[16] In 2006, Troy Bayliss' championship winning 999R was quoted to have 10 to 15 HP less than the Japanese four cylinder rivals, despite the fact that the Ducati L-Twin had less limitations imposed for tuning its engine.^{citation needed}

AMA Superbike Championship

In the AMA Superbike Championship, Ducati has had its share of success, with Doug Polen winning the title in 1993 and Troy Corser the following year in 1994. Ducati has entered a bike in every AMA Superbike season since 1986, but withdrew from the series after the 2006 season.^[17]^[18]^[19]

British Superbike Championship

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Ducati Motor Holding financial statement FY2007 (PDF) http://www.ducati.com/company/fd_eng_1042_0_relazionetrimestrale_31_12_07_en__2_.pdf
^ "Mach 1". ducati.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
^ "DUCATI MOTOR HOLDING SPA Annual and Transition Report (foreign private issuer) (20-F) Item 4. Information on the Company". edgar-online.com (2004-06-30). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "History of the Motorcycle". mecossemi.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
^ "History of the Two-Valve Twin". Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "Desmo for Dummies". Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "What is in an oil". yamaha-motor.ca. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "Fabio Taglioni: a Legend". ducati.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "Desmo 2 Valve History". monsta.at. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "Ducati Official History (The 916)". Ducati Motor Holdings. Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
^ Bianchi::Ducati Corse
^ "2003 Ducati MotoGP Team". ducati.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ Williams, Evan (2007-07-22). "Melandri To Marlboro Ducati". superbikeplanet.com. Retrieved on 0228-01-25.
^ "Pramac d'Antin MotoGP becomes Alice Team". eurosport.yahoo.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "Changes to the Technical Rules for 2008". worldsbk.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ "KTM's RC8 superbike targets Ducatis 1098S". gizmag.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
^ Minoli, Federico (2006-08-22). "AMA Next Year". ducati.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ Williams, Evan (2007-03-08). "Ducati AMA Superbike Streak Ends". superbikeplanet.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
^ Adams, Dean (2006-08-22). "Bombshell: Ducati Pulls Out Of AMA Superbike". Superbikeplanet.net. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.

Ducati

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