History of Ducati Motorcycles

The revered Ducati brand was born in 1926 but not as a motorcycle company. Ducati began as a radio equipment company by engineer Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and his three sons Adriano, Bruno and Marcello. Two years earlier, showing an early aptitude for technical mastery, oldest son Adriano succeeded in beating the world record for radio transmission. Using just a small 60W short wave transmitter the young Ducati maintained the first steady radio connection to the USA from Italy.

The company grew in size rapidly over the next decade, acquiring new factories for their electronic products and components. The Ducati company employed up to 7000 workers by the time the Second World War began. In 1945 the Ducati factory was completely bombed into the ground. During the next few years of reconstruction Ducati the company released many creative products as it sought to reinvent itself. They produced modern inventions such as the Raselet electric razor, a futuristic intercom system called Dufono and even bicycles.

It was not long before Ducati was experimenting with motorized bicycles and in 1946 Ducati released the 50cc Cucciolo (pup) motor for users to mount on their own bicycles. As the years progressed the pup motor grew to 60, 65, 98, and finally 125cc.

Ducati released its first proper motorcycle in 1950, the 65cc Sport Edition featuring telescopic forks and swingarm. Two years later the 175cc Ducati Cruiser introduced an automatic transmission and electric starter. Many other popular motorbikes followed throughout the fifties including the Spartan, Gran Sport and four stroke Tourist 274.

It was in 1956 when the company began producing cutting edge racing bikes with the advanced technology they had been developing involving valve systems. The technology proved to be wildly successful, unfortunately the Ducati racing effort suffered a setback when rider Gianni Degli Antoni is tragically killed shortly after lapping the field at the Swedish GP on the new bike.

Ducati continued to be a rising competitive force in the sixties but also saw a botched attempt at a monster 1257cc V-Four engine bike named Apollo to compete with Harley Davidson in the American market but the beast was never released.

More successful were the classic Mark 1 250 and the 250cc, 350cc and 450cc variations of the Mark 3 series unleashed in 1968 as pictured above.

Ducati continued to push for more power into the seventies releasing the Ducati 750 GT (Gran Turismo) in 1971 - a bike that in one year would take rider Paul Smartto first place in the legendary Imola 200 mile race. In 1974 the 750 SS road going version of the motorcycle was released and in 1978 the 900 SS followed.

In 1980 Ducati released a bike that would prove to be one of its most successful ever, the Pantah 500, the first Ducati motorcycle with a simplified belt-driven camshaft. They followed up with another popular bike model the stripped down 750 F1 in 1984.

The next year in 1985 the company would be sold to the Cagiva Group who would continue to shepherd the superbike maker to its prominent position as a technological innovator at the top of winners podiums today.