Ducati 500 Grand Prix desmo V-twin 1971 – testing at Silverstone circuit – photo

Description

Up for auction is a superb
and rare photo of the great
1971 500cc
desmo Ducati factory Grand Prix V-twin racer
; photographed while being
worked on by a factory mechanic in the paddock of the circuit of
Silverstone
. Note the Ducati
factory racing van in the background. The image was shot on
August 11, 1971
. Ducati was
testing this very new bike the day this image was taken. One of the riders
testing it was the legendary Mike Hailwood. We also have images of Mike
Hailwood riding the Ducati 500 GP twin for the ones interested.
This historic photo shows the very special
500cc Ducati V-twin racer
, designed as a Grand Prix racer to
contest the 500cc World Championship. This machine is the forefather of all
Ducati V-twins. It was designed by Fabio Taglioni , a.k.a. Dr. T. The 500cc
Ducati V-twin desmo racer of 1971 was in fact the first V-twin that Fabio
Taglioni designed for the Ducati factory in
Bologna
,
Northern Italy
. It was the direct
forefather of the 750cc that won the epic race
200 miles
race at Imola in 1972. The
bevel driven production Ducati’s that were entered in production afterwards all
date back to the 500cc V-twin desmodromic GP racer of 1971, as seen on the
photo!
The
Ducati
motorcycle factory has an old and interesting history. In 1926, three brothers,
Adriano, Marcello and Bruno Ducati, founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti
Ducati in
Bologna
to produce
vacuum tubes, condensers and other radio components, becoming successful enough
by 1935 to construct a new factory in the Borgo Panigale area of the city.
Production was maintained during World War II, despite the Ducati factory being
a repeated target for Allied bombing. Meanwhile, at the small Turinese firm
SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie), Aldo
Farinelli began developing a small pushrod engine for mounting on bicycles.
Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced
its intention to sell this engine, called the “Cucciolo” (Italian for
“puppy,” in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) to the
public. The first Cucciolos were available alone, to be mounted on standard
bicycles, by the buyer; however, businessmen soon bought the little engines in
quantity, and offered complete motorized-bicycle units for sale. In 1950, after
more than 200,000 Cucciolos had been sold, in collaboration with SIATA, the
Ducati firm finally offered its own Cucciolo-based motorcycle. This first
Ducati motorcycle was a 60 cc bike weighing
98 lb
(
44 kg
) with a top
speed of
40 mph
(
64 km/h
) had a
15 mm
carburetor
giving just under 200 mpg (85 km/L). Ducati soon dropped the Cucciolo
name in favor of “55M” and “65TL”. When the market moved
toward larger motorcycles, Ducati management decided to respond, making an
impression at an early-1952 Milan show, introducing their 65TS cycle and
Cruiser (a four-stroke motor scooter). Despite being described as the most
interesting new machine at the 1952 show, the Cruiser was not a great success,
and only a few thousand were made over a two-year period before the model
ceased production. In 1953, management split the company into two separate
entities, Ducati Meccanica SpA and Ducati Elettronica, in acknowledgment of its
diverging motorcycle and electronics product lines. Ducati Elettronica became
Ducati Energia SpA in the eighties. Dr. Giuseppe Montano took over as head of
Ducati Meccanica SpA and the Borgo Panigale factory was modernized with
government assistance. By 1954, Ducati Meccanica SpA had increased production
to 120 bikes a day. 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 an L-twin with the trademarked desmodromic
valve design. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rebadge Ducati
motorcycles with the lesser-known Cagiva name (at least outside of
Italy
). From the
1960s to the 1990s, the Spanish company MotoTrans licensed Ducati engines and
produced motorcycles that, although they incorporated subtle differences, were
clearly Ducati-derived. MotoTrans’s most notable machine was the 250 cc 24
Horas (Spanish for 24 hours). Ducati is best known for high performance
motorcycles characterized by large capacity four-stroke, V-twin (90°
twin-cylinder) engines featuring a desmodromic valve design. 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 in consumer vehicles. 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 causes a loss of power, that is likely when using a
“passive” closing mechanism under the same conditions. While most
other manufacturers utilize wet clutches (with the spinning parts bathed in
oil) Ducati uses multiplate dry clutches in many of their current motorcycles.
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 can wear more rapidly. The chief designer of most Ducati
motorcycles in the 1950s was the late Fabio Taglioni (1920-2001). His designs
ranged from the small single-cylinder machines that were successful in the
Italian ‘street races’ to the large-capacity twins of the 1980s. 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. Taglioni used
the same Cavallino Rampante as identified with the Ferrari brand on his Ducati
motorbikes. Ferrari had chosen this emblem of courage and daring as a sign of
respect and admiration for Francesco Baracca, a heroic World War I fighter
pilot that died during an air raid in 1918.
We have more Ducati (racing and production) photo’s. Please check out our
E-bay auctions and save on shipping!
It is a superb and rare
non period
photo, and this is your rare
chance to own it. The size is perfectly suited for framing as it is large:
ca. 8 x
12”
(ca.
20 cm
x
30 cm
).
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you
buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on
photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright
expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our
archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well
protected in PVC clear files
and board backed
envelopes.
We have
photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the
original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and
excellent quality.
After many decades
of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our
archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They
will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a
border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace,
restaurant, bar or club!
First come –
first served. And you can always contact us for your requests. Please ask any
questions before the auction ends.