Ducati
In 1926, three brothers, Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Ducati, founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna producing various radio components.
It wasn’t until 1950 that the Ducati firm offered its own motorcycle, using the Cucciolo engine from SIATA. The bike was 60cc and had a top speed of 40mph. Ducati soon dropped the Cucciolo name eventually renaming the bike 55M and 65TL.
In 1952, at the Milan Show, Ducati introduced the 65TS, a four-stroke motor scooter. The bike received a good response from the press but only a few thousand were made over two years before production was halted.
In 1953 Ducati was split into companies to reflect each identity. Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica , later Ducati Energia SpA, were born.
Ducati first really came to light when they produced the fastest 250cc road bike available, the Mach 1, in the late 1960s.
In the ’70s Ducati began producing large L-twin (90° V-twin) motorcycles with 1973 seeing the trademarked desmodromic valve design come to light.
In 1985 the company was purchased by Cagiva who kept the Ducati name, in 1996 the Texas Pacific Group purchased Ducati and in 1999 renamed the company Ducati Motor Holding SpA.
In December 2005 Ducati returned to Italian ownership after Investindustrial Holdings purchased most (Texas Pacific kept one share) of the shares. Investindustrial is the investment fund of Carlo and Andrea Bonomi.
Ducati has a long and successful history in racing, not least with British rider Carl Fogarty winning four Superbike World Championships, between 1994 and 1999, on a Ducati 916.
In 2011, Ducati will be rode by Italian racing superstar Valentino Rossi in the MotoGP season.
Ducati
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