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The History of Ducati Motorcycles - An Italian Motorcycle Manufacturer

Jubbs | Mar 18, 2011 |

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Ownership of The Company
The ownership of Ducati motorcycles has changed hands several times since the company was first founded. From 1926 to 1950, it was owned by the Ducati brothers who started the company; Adrian, Marcello, and Bruno. From 1950 to 1978, the company was under the management of the Italian government. During this period, in 1953, the it split into two separate entities, recognizing that the electronics sector and motorcycle division were heading in totally different directions. Ducati Meccania SpA, as the motorcycle division was now known, would change hands several more times.

In 1978, the VM group took over management of Ducati, but a short seven years later, Cagiva motorcycles bought the company with the purpose of selling motorbikes under the Cagiva name, but, perhaps fearing a decline in sales, they decided to leave the Ducati name on the bikes they sold.

In 1996, Ducati was acquired by the Texas-Pacific Group, based in the U.S. The Texas-Pacific Group took the company public and in 2005 it was sold back to Italian hands when it was purchase by Investindustrial Holdings SpA, and in 2008, Performance Motorcycles SpA acquired the Ducati, making it once again an independent company.

From Family-Owned to Top of the Game
The company was found by three brothers in 1926, and was first named Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati. During this time, the three brothers manufactured parts for radios, such as vacuum tubes and condensers and did not start making motorcycles until after the Second World War.

As the war was ending, another Italian company, ‘Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie’ (SIATA) began making and selling small engines which were designed to be attached to bicycles. Savvy businessmen realised that if they bought several of these motors and used them to make motorized bikes, they would have a product that was more customer-friendly, as it would not require construction. The three brothers decided to follow this business model and soon developed their first “motorcycle” which weighed in at 98 lbs and could go up to 40 mph.

The Ducati Company branched in 1953 into two separate companies; one manufacturing electronic components and the other one focusing on motorcycle manufacturing, which now produces around 120 motorcycles a day.

In the 1960s Ducati produced the Mach 1, which, at the time, was the fastest 250cc motorcycle ever built. This helped put the Ducati name on the map and greatly increased the popularity of their motorcycles. Ducati was gaining so much popularity that when Cagiva acquired the company in 1985 it scrapped plans to put the Cagiva name on its motorcycles, realizing that the Ducati name had more recognition.

Ducati motorcycles remain popular as performance bikes today, largely due to two unique features of Ducati bikes; Ducati bikes use dry clutches and a desmodromic valve design. Both these features have some drawbacks but they also minimize loss of power, meaning that Ducati’s can go faster with less power produced by the engine.

One of the latest motorcycles from Ducati is the 1198 which currently proving to be one of the sought after bikes in its class. This bike is fitted with the Pirelli Supercorsa tyre which features the latest advancements in the design of Motorcycle Tyres.