Ducati Motor Holding
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| Ducati Motor Holding, SpA | |
 |
|
| Type of Company | Public NYSE: DMH |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 |
| Founder | Bruno Cavalieri Ducati Adriano Ducati Marcello Ducati |
| Headquarters | Bologna, Italy |
| Key people | Federico Minoli (CEO) Giorgio Seragnoli (Vice-Chairman) Dante Razzano (Director) Abel G. Halpern (Director) |
| Industry | motorcycle manufacturer |
| Products | motorcycles |
| Revenue | $427,289,000 (2005) |
| Operating income | -$44,796,000 (2005) |
| Employees | 1,134 (2006) |
| Subsidiaries | Ducati Corse SpA (SuperBike and MotoGP racing) |
| Website | Ducati.com |
Ducati Motor Holding (NYSE: DMH) is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer located in Bologna.
Ducati motorcycles have long been known for their excellence in design and performance. From the first post-Second World War bicycle-like low-displacement motorbikes Ducati has grown over the years into a racing giant that is consistently competitive in both the racing arena and the world motorcycle marketplace.
In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the then fastest 250 cc road bike available, the Mach 1. In the 1970s Ducati began producing large-displacement L-twin (i.e. a 90° V-twin) motorcycles and in 1973 released a L-twin with the trademarked desmodromic valve design. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and rebadged many of the Ducati motorcycles with the lesser-known Cagiva name (at least outside of Italy). The original intent was to use Ducati engines in Cagiva motorcycles. By the time the tortuous purchase was completed, Cagiva had decided to keep Ducati intact. In 1996, Texas Pacific Group bought for US$325 million a 51% stake in the company and in 1998, bought the remaining 49% and became the sole owner of Ducati. In 1999, TPG issued an IPO of Ducati stock and renamed the company Ducati Motor Holdings SpA. TPG sold over 65% of its shares in Ducati. In December 2005 Ducati returned to Italian ownership with the sale of Texas Pacific's stake (minus one share) to Investindustrial Holdings, the investment fund of Carlo and Andrea Bonomi.
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[edit] Company history
[edit] Ownership
- (1950 - 1967) Government IRI management years (In 1953 split into Ducati Meccanica, and Ducati Elettronica, now called Ducati Energia SpA)
- (1967 - 78) Government EFIM management (control over day-to-day factory operations)
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- (1967 - 73) Headed By Montano
- (1973 - 78) Headed by De Eccher
- (1978 - 85) Subsidiary of state-subsidised VM Group
- (1985 - 1996) Cagiva Group ownership
- (1996 - 2005) Texas-Pacific Group ownership and going public
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- Headed by Federico Minoli, 1996-2001 and returning in 2003
- (2006 - present) Investindustrial: Back in Italian Hands
[edit] Beginnings
In 1926, three brothers Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Ducati founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna. The company producing tubes, condensers and other radio components. The cornerstone of a new factory in Borgo Panigale was laid in 1935. During the war, the factory was a target for Allied bombing. Although badly hit more than once production was maintained. About this time Aldo Farinelli began working with the small Turinese firm SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie) with the idea of developing a small engine that could be mounted on a bicycle. The noise of the engine's short stubby exhaust inspired the name "Cucciolo" (Italian: "little puppy"). Barely one month after the official liberation of Italy, SIATA announced their intention to sell Cucciolo engines to the public; it was the first new automotive design to appear in postwar Europe. The first Cucciolos were available only as a motor to be attached by the owner to a normal bicycle. Some businessmen bought the little engines in quantity, installed them in frames and offered these complete units for sale.
By 1950, with 200,000 Cucciolos already sold, Ducati finally offered its own complete motorcycle based on the successful little pushrod engine. The collaboration with SIATA resulted in a well designed little 60 cc bike. This first Ducati motorcycle weighed 98 pounds and had a top speed of 40 mph. Its 15 mm carburetor gave a little under 200 mpg. In the 1950's, Ducati officially dropped the "Cucciolo" name, replacing it with "55M" or "65TL".
The market was moving though, towards bigger motorcycles and Ducati's IRI management felt diversification was the only answer. Ducati made an impression at the early 1952 Milan Show, introducing the Ducati 65 TS cycle and the Cruiser, the world's first four-stroke scooter. Despite being described as the most interesting new machine at the 1952 show, the Cruiser was not a great success. A couple of thousand were made over a two year period before being withdrawn from production.
In 1953, management decided to split the operation into two separate entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA, and Ducati Elettrotecnica, under separate management. (Ducati Elettrotecnica became Ducati Energia SpA in the eighties.)
Dr. Guiseppe Montano took over as head of Ducati Meccanica SpA and the old Borgo Panigale factory was modernized with government assistance. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA was producing 120 bikes a day, but cheap cars were entering the markets, and sales for many motorcycle manufacturers would decline.
From the 1960s to the 1990s the Spanish company MotoTrans licensed Ducati engines and produced motorcycles which were recognizably Ducati derived, however, incorporating many subtle differences. MotoTrans' most notable machine was the 250 cc 24 Horas (Spanish: 24 hours), a 285 cc version of which won the Barcelona twenty-four hour race one year.
[edit] Motorcycle designs
Ducati is best known for high performance motorcycles characterized by trellis-style frames and large capacity four-stroke, 90-degree L-twin[1] engines featuring a desmodromic valve design.[2] Modern Ducatis remain among the dominant performance motorcycles available today partly because of the Desmodromic valve design, which is nearing its 50th year of use. Desmodromic valves are closed with a separate, dedicated cam lobe and lifter instead of the conventional valve springs used in most internal combustion engines. This allows the cams to have a more radical profile, thus opening and closing the valves more quickly without the risk of valve-float which is likely when using a "passive" closing mechanisms under the same conditions.
While most other manufacturers utilize wet-clutches (with the spinning parts bathed in oil)[3] Ducati uses multiplate dry clutches in almost all of their motorcycles. (BMW and Moto Guzzi use a single plate car type dry clutch. Some competition bikes use multiplate dry clutches.) The dry clutch eliminates the power loss from oil viscosity drag on the engine even though the engagement may not be as smooth as the oil bath versions, and the clutch plates wear more rapidly. Although the higher than average cost of servicing the Ducati's finicky engine can shock some owners, many people believe that the improved ride quality, performance, and styling of Ducatis is worth the extra cost.
[edit] Product history
The chief designer of Ducati motorcycles from the 1950s was the late Fabio Taglioni (1920-2001). He designed most Ducatis during this period, ranging from the small single cylinder machines that were successful in the Italian 'street races' up to the large capacity twins of the 80s. Ducati introduced the Pantah in 1979; its engine was updated in the 1990s in the Ducati SuperSport (SS) series. All modern Ducati engines are derivatives of the Pantah, which uses a toothed belt to actuate the engine's valves.
[edit] 1950s
see Ducati Singles,
[edit] 1960s
1964 Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo
[edit] 1970s
see also Ducati Two Valve V Twins (1970 on)
In 1973, Ducati also commemorated its 1972 win at the Imola 200 with the production model green frame Ducati 750 SuperSport.
(In 2006 the retro styled Ducati PaulSmart1000LE, which shares styling cues with the 1973 750 SuperSport (itself a production replica of Paul Smart's 1972 race winning 750 Imola Desmo ) was released, as one of a SportClassic series representing the 750 GT, 750 Sport, and 750 SuperSport Ducati motorcycles.)
[edit] 1980s
Ducati Liquid-cooled Multi-valve V Twins (1985 on)
[edit] 1990s
In 1993, Miguel Angel Galuzzi introduced the Ducati Monster[4] , a naked bike with exposed trellis and engine. Today the Monster accounts for almost half of the company's worldwide sales. The Monster, which has been out since 1994, has undergone the most changes of any motorcycle that Ducati has ever produced. After more than a decade of manufacturing, Ducati continues to create innovative changes to this classic motorcycle.
In 1995, the company introduced the Ducati 916 model designed by Massimo Tamburini, a water-cooled version that allowed for higher output levels and a striking new bodywork that featured aggressive lines, underseat exhausts, and a single-sided swingarm. Ducati has since ceased production of what many called the bike of the 1990s, supplanting it with the 749 and 999.
[edit] Current lineup
For the 2007 model year, Ducati introduces several new bikes including the 1098, Monster 695, S4R, and HyperMotard.
- 695
- S2R 800
- S2R 1000
- S4R Testastretta
- S4R S Testastretta
- 1100
- 1100 S
- GT 1000
- Sport 1000 monoposto
- Sport 1000 biposto
- Sport 1000 S biposto
- Sporttouring
- ST3
- ST3 S ABS
- Superbike
- 1098
- 1098 S
- 1098 S Tricolore
- Other
- Motors used in 2006
- Desmodue: Desmo two valve air cooled, 40° included valve angle, (800SS, Multistrada 620, Monster 620 695 803 992)
- Desmodue Double Spark: Desmo two valve , air cooled, 40° included valve angle, (1000DS, Multistrada 1000DS)
- Desmotre Double Spark: Desmo three valve, liquid cooled, 40° included valve angle, (ST3)
- Desmoquattro Testastretta: Desmo four valve, liquid cooled, 25° included valve angle, (999, 749, Monster S4RS)
- Motors introduced for 2007
- Testastretta Evoluzione: Desmo four valve, liquid cooled, 25° included valve angle, (1098)
[edit] Future
Ducati is currently testing the Desmosedici GP7, Ducati's 2007 MotoGP race bike. The GP7 will comply with new regulations requiring a maximum of 800 cc (as compared with the 989 cc of the GP6).
[edit] Motorcycle design history
Ducati (in its various incarnations) has produced several styles of motorcycle engines, including varying the number of cylinders, type of valve actuation and fuel delivery. Ducati is best known for its "L-Twin" motor which is the powerplant in the majority of Ducati-marqued motorcycles. Ducati has also manufactured engines with one, two, three or four cylinders; operated by pull rod valves and push rod valves; single, double and triple overhead camshafts; two stroke and even at one stage manufactured a stationary diesel engine, many of which were used as emergency pumps (eg for fire fighting). Currently, Ducati makes no other engines except for its motorcycles.
On current Ducati motors, the valves are actuated by a standard valve cam shaft which is rotated by a timing belt driven by the motor directly. The teeth on the belt keep the camshaft drive pulleys indexed. On older Ducati motors, prior to 1981, drive was by solid shaft that transferred to the camshaft through bevel-cut gears. This method of valve actuation was used on many of Ducati's older single cylinder motorcycles - the shaft tube is visible on the outside of the cylinder.
Ducati is also famous for using the desmodromic valve system championed by engineer and designer Fabio Taglioni though they have also used engines that use valve springs to close their valves. In the early days, Ducati reserved the desmodromic valve heads for its higher performance bikes and its race bikes. These valves do not suffer from valve float at high engine speeds, thus a desmodromic engine is capable of far higher revolutions than a similarly configured engine with traditional spring-valve heads.
In the 1960s and -70s Ducati produced a wide range of small 2-stroke bikes, mainly sub-100 cc capacities. Large quantities of some models were exported to the States.
Ducati has produced the following engine types:
- Single cylinder,
- bevel actuated, spring valved: 160 cc, 250 cc, 350 cc, 450 cc
- bevel actuated, desmodromic valved: 250 cc, 350 cc and 450 cc
- Two cylinder,
- bevel actuated, spring valved (L-Twin): 750 cc, 860 cc
- bevel actuated, desmo valved (L-Twin): 750 cc, 860 cc
- chain actuated, spring valved (parallel twin): 350 cc, 500 cc (GTL)
- chain actuated, desmo valved (parallel twin): 500 cc (500SD)
- belt actuated, desmo valved (L-Twin): Almost all motors since 1986.
- Four cylinder,
- gear actuated, desmo valved (L-quattro): (Desmosedici)
- bevel actuated, spring valved (L-4): Prototype Apollo, only two made.
[edit] Ducati products other than motorcycles
Ducati Meccanica (as the company was previously known) has its marque on non-motorcycle products as well. In the 1930s and 40s, Ducati manufactured radios, cameras, and electrical products such as a razor. The Ducati Sogno was a half-frame Leica-like camera which is now a very rare collectors' item.
Currently, there are four Ducati companies: Ducati Motor Holding (the subject of this article), Ducati Corse (which runs the Ducati racing program), Ducati Energia, a designer and manufacturer of electrical and electronic components and systems and Ducati Sistemi, a subsidiary of Ducati Energia. All are located in Borgo Panigale in Bologna, Italy.
Ducati Motor Holding often uses electrical components and subsystems from Ducati Energia.
[edit] Racing History
The company has enjoyed twelve World Superbike rider championships since the series' inception in 1988. The company also races its motorcycles in MotoGP where it returns from a hiatus of over 30 years.
[edit] World Superbike Rider Championships
| Year | Country | Champion | Bike |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 |  France |
Raymond Roche | Ducati 851 |
| 1991 |  United States |
Doug Polen | Ducati 888 |
| 1992 | United States |
Doug Polen | Ducati 888 |
| 1994 |  United Kingdom |
Carl Fogarty | Ducati 916 |
| 1995 | United Kingdom |
Carl Fogarty | Ducati 916 |
| 1996 |  Australia |
Troy Corser | Ducati 916 |
| 1998 | United Kingdom |
Carl Fogarty | Ducati 996 |
| 1999 | United Kingdom |
Carl Fogarty | Ducati 996 |
| 2001 | Australia |
Troy Bayliss | Ducati 996 |
| 2003 | United Kingdom |
Neil Hodgson | Ducati 999 |
| 2004 | United Kingdom |
James Toseland | Ducati 999 |
| 2006 | Australia |
Troy Bayliss | Ducati 999 |
Ducati has also won thirteen WSBK Manufacturer Championships for years 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ History of the Two-Valve Twin Ducati.com
- ^ Desmo for Dummies Ducati.com
- ^ Paragraphs 3 & 4 of Transmissions
- ^ Ducati Monster
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Ducati main website The manufacturer's main website; current model info, including online information, history, manuals and race team info (Italian/English)
- Ducati North America website Ducati NA information for USA and Canada.
- Ducati Japan website Ducati NA information for Japan (Japanese).
- Ducati official history: The Ducati Brothers
- Ducati Motorcycles at the Open Directory Project
- Ducati Associations and Clubs at the Open Directory Project
- Ducati Businesses at the Open Directory Project
| Major and Notable Italian motorcycle marques |
| Aprilia - Benelli - Bimota - Cagiva - Ducati - Gilera - Laverda - Mondial - Morbidelli - Moto Guzzi - Moto Morini - MV Agusta |
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