DUCATI BIKES

Overview of Ducati Motorcycles

Ducati Meccanica (earlier name), is a well-known Italian motorcycle manufacturer. They mainly brings out motorcycles for both road use and racing. The company was founded in 1926 and the founders were three brothers, Andriano Ducati, Marcello Ducati and Bruno Ducati. Ducati started motorcycle manufacturing in 1950. Initially they produced low-powered motor cycles. Among them, "Cucciolo" was a huge hit and more than 200,000 units were sold in 1950. Inspired from Cucciolo, Ducati introduced a 60cc bike with a top speed of 40 mph (64 km/h).

Subsequently, Ducati moved towards larger motorcycles. In 1952, Ducati made an impression by introducing their 65TS cycle and Cruiser. But Cruiser was not a success at that time. In 1960, Ducati gained the foremost position in motorcycling history with the 250cc road bike, the Mach1. In 1985, another racing motorcycle manufacturer Cagiva, bought Ducati and they assigned a new name to Ducati motorcycles. They kept 'Ducati' name to their motorcycles to get a fame over motorcycle market. In 1996, Texas Pacific Group (TPG), one of the largest private equity investment firms, bought 51% share of the company. In 1998, they bought the remaining 49% too. In 1999, TPG renamed the company "Ducati Motor Holding SpA (DMH)".

Ducati is renowned for its large capacity four-stroke 90° V-twin engines called a L-twin by the company. The L-twin engine gives a lighter and natural feeling to the rider. The symphony type of unique sound seperates the loud sustainable noise and all these credits goes to its 90° L-twin engine configuration. The new face of Ducati placed a foremost space in high perfomance motorcycles. One of the most dominant features of this super bike is desmodromic valves which enables valve float at high engine speeds. The other advantage of this particular machine is dry clutches which never contaminate the engine oil than a wet clutch does. Another distinct feature is trellis frame which ensures safe ride to the enthusiasists.

Desmodromic valves, L-twin engines, well-balanced design, fuel injection, trellis frame, unique sound features, adventurous racing capacity make this machine the most stunning amongst the motorcycles. Ducati achieved the "Moto GP" world title and "World Super bike Championships" which makes them Monster in its class. Being, a luxury bike it attracts fanciers all over the world. Ducati sells bikes in more than 80 countries which keep it ahead of the pack. This proves that Ducati is a serious global player.

The most popular among Ducati motorcycles are Ducati 1198, Ducati Monster and Ducati 848. Ducati presently manufactures several race bikes which is competing in world wide race tracks. The other powerful members in the Ducati family are: Superbike, Super sport, Monster, Multistrada, Sport classic and Hyper motard.

Current lineup (world)

Monster	696, 796, 1100 Evo
Multistrada	1200, 1200S
Diavel	Diavel, Cromo, Carbon & AMG
Superbike	848 Evo, 1199 Panigale
Hypermotard	796, 1100 Evo, 1100 Evo SP
Streetfighter	Streetfighter, Streetfighter S

Ducati in India

Ducati launched five motorcycles in India. These bikes ranges from Rs. 15 lacs to 50 lacs in the Indian market. Ducati has opened two showrooms in India- Mumbai and Gurgaon. The available Ducati models in India are Monster, Hypermotard, Sport classic, Streetfighter, Superbike.

Current lineup (India)

Monster	696, 1100, 1100S
HyperMotard	HM 1100, HM 1100S
Sport Classic	GT 1000, GT 1000 bicolor, GT 1000 Touring, Sport 1000S
Streetfighter	Fighter, Fighter S
Superbike	848, 1198, 1198S, 1098 R, 1098 R TB