Ducati: From the Cucciolo Clip-On Motor to Desmo Valves and the Monster

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The Cavalieri Ducati brothers founded Ducati in Bologna in July 1926 to make radio components. By 1944 the factory was badly damaged, and with SIATA the company introduced the Cucciolo, or puppy, a 48cc clip-on engine for ordinary bicycles named for its yapping exhaust, which managed close to 200 miles per gallon and sold over 200,000 units. By 1950 Ducati was building complete motorcycles such as the 55M and 65TL. At the 1952 Milan Show its four-stroke Cruiser scooter was called the most interesting machine on display, yet it lasted only two years and a few thousand sales.

Chief designer Fabio Taglioni, who used a prancing horse emblem honoring World War I pilot Francesco Baracca, shaped the brand's 90-degree L-twin engine and its desmodromic valves, which close mechanically rather than with springs so the engine can rev higher without valve float. Design swung between misses and hits: Giorgetto Giugiaro's angular 1975 860 GT handled poorly at speed and was reworked a year later, Massimo Tamburini's fully enclosed Paso split opinion, and his 1994 916 introduced a single-sided swingarm and under-seat exhausts. Miguel Galluzzi's naked 1993 Monster exposed the trellis frame and engine and now accounts for almost half of worldwide sales.

The rattling dry clutch, used for decades for racing reasons, has largely been replaced by wet clutches.
Ducati has historically spent up to 10 percent of revenue on racing.
It returned to Grand Prix racing in 2003 after a 30-year absence, and Casey Stoner won the 2007 title.
Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP championship in 2022.
There are more than 400 official owners clubs, and Ducati has co-branded luggage with Tumi.

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