Ductalk

Rich and Bryan are working on a project together and the sparks are flying!

Photos by Vicki Smith

Carlos Checa, current World Superbike champion, leaves the pits during Free Practice 2, World Superbikes, Donington, 2012...

Photo - JaredEarle

Camera - Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Location - Donington Park

Date - May, 12, 2012

Photos of Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi's 2012 MotoGP Racers provided by Ducati Corse...

Went out  for a ride yesterday, winter is almost gone!

Can't wait for the next ride. Spot is right here: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=49.907329%2C6.068047&num=1&t=h&z=17

And yes it's the same place as this one: http://ducati.kontain.com/sebnunes/entries/75746/cant_wait_for_the_spring/

Location: Rue du Château, Bourscheid, Luxembourg

We combine our passion for photography and our love of cars to bring you professional quality images and services. Tell us about your Classic Ride.

This is my 1993 M900, I purchased new from Sonny Angel Motorcycles in San Diego. It is my regular daily all-year-round rain-or-shine transportation, and as of this writing shows 197,046 miles on the odo.

In early 1993, I had just gotten my first job with a real future, and was looking to get some real transportation. I'd spent the previous several years on vintage scooters, but I was ready for something a bit more fast and reliable. I was looking to spend about $10,000, and was trying to decide on whether I was going to get a decent used car and a beater bike, or vice-versa, but was really not seeing any newer bikes that I liked much.
Then I saw an article in Cycle World about the new Ducati Monster. It was
*exactly* what I had in mind. So, no time to waste, I decided that the idea of having a car was overrated, got my money together, looked in the Yellow Pages for the nearest Ducati dealer, and headed on over. This was in July 1993. I handed over my wad o' cash, having never seen the bike I was buying in person, nor having ridden a Ducati of any kind, and hoped that I liked it when it got here.

I did. It fits me perfectly, and does everything well except carry passengers very far. (I have now solved that problem by buying my wife her own Monster.)

About 70% of my riding is just daily rounds, commuting, grocery shopping, taking the cat to the vet, etc., usually 20-30 miles a trip. About 25% is travelling, where I'll typically do 5-600 miles a day. About 5% is just fun rides, club rides, etc., which are usually about 100 miles.

It (and I) have spent pretty much all our lives in San Diego, but the last couple of years I've had to travel for work. In 2010 I had a project in Cleveland, and only 4 days between jobs to get there, so I loaded up the bike and bombed it across country -- one 900-mile day followed by three 600-mile days. I am now working in New Hampshire, and fortunately was able to take a couple of weeks off in between, so I rode from San Diego to New Orleans, and turned left, stopped at Barber Raceway for DucStock and the vintage races, and then headed on up to Portsmouth. This winter in NH has been extremely mild, so I've been riding all winter. If this turns into a permanent position and we move here permanently, I expect I'll have to own a car again, but for now it's just me and Patina.

When I got the bike, I quickly made a list of all the slick mods I wanted to make. Carbs/exhaust/tuning, big bore, upgraded suspension, clip-ons, powdercoat tank blue and frame black, anodize forks black, nifty brackets and cool turn signals, carbon fiber tank protector, lighter wheels, tachometer, oil pressure gauge, etc., etc. I then proceeded to ride it without ever stopping long enough to get any of it done. As you can see, this is still the case.

Modifications so far: Barend mirrors and CF 888 front fender right away.
Went down two teeth on the rear sprocket, from stock 39 to 37. Braided steel brake and clutch lines at 35K. Went to a Corbin seat when the original split its cover, went back to the original with a new cover when the Corbin wore out. Upgraded to petal-style rotors at 120K. Got the tank signed by the designer, Miguel Galluzzi, in 2009. Upgraded to Ohlins shock at 185K, when the original blew out. Upgraded to Cycle Cat rearsets, switched to GP-pattern shifting, and got Staintunes, after a lowside in Jul2011.

Major parts replaced so far: Rear brake disk and cush blocks at 90K. Piston rings and alternator bearing at 122K. Clutch basket at 140K. Replaced worn carburetors at 187K. Whole clutch actuation system, from the slave cylinder to the throwout bearing at 195K. Forks need a rebuild; will get that done soon. That's pretty much it.

It's been a peach of a bike, and I plan to keep it forever. I want to do a lot more traveling. I think I'll do a couple of the easier IBA runs this spring, just for fun. Ideally, I'd like to see 500K on it, which will take a few more years.

Photographer - Francis Wiedmann

Location - NCR Ducstock National Ducati Rally, Barber Motorsport Park, Oct. 2011

Franco Farné is a name that has accompanied Ducati and all of its motorcycles for the past 50 years. The team of Farnè-Taglioni is remembered in motorcycling history as one of the most successful.

When Fabio Taglioni arrived and revolutionised Ducati's technique, Farné had already professionally raced the Cucciolo and was working as a mechanic in the factory.

Although Farné had limited success as a racer, his contributions as a test driver and a mechanic were fundamental to Ducati's achievements, from Mike Hailwood's triumphant return to Ducati on the Isle of Man to Paul Smart's victory in the "Imola 200 Miglia".

In the 1970s, Farné was part of the small nucleus of experts that kept Ducati's racing department up and running. In those years, the racing department was separated from the rest of the factory and therefore also outside the state controlled management that ran the rest of the company. Ducati's top racing bikes were created within a separate structure known as NCR, named for Giorgio Nepoti and Rino Caracchi. In those years, Franco Farné and Fabio Taglioni were the only people that really believed in the importance of racing for Ducati's overall success; the state controlled management did not appreciate the image and prestige that come with winning a race. As a result, Farné and Taglioni were constantly struggling to make ends meet with scarce economic resources.

In the 1980s and 1990s, under the direction of the Castiglioni brothers, Farné continued to work for Ducati, now in the internal racing department. In 1996, when he was 62 years old, he was eligible for retirement but continued to work for Ducati. In 2000, Farné went to work for Bimota to manage their World Superbike team. When the Bimota SBK team failed, because their sponsors didn't come through, Farné went back to work with the NCR team, a move that essentially brought him back to Ducati.
50 years after entering Ducati, this historic technician continues to dedicate his time and his expertise to the Borgo Panigale brand

Thanks to Ducati.com and Livio Lodi for the text of this article. For more wonderful photos and historic info on Franco Farne and his (seemingly endless) accomplishments for the Ducati brand:

http://www.ducati.com/history/personalities/franco_farne/index.do

Photos of a Ducati 175 motor rebuild/restore/preservation, done by DesmoPro. The build was done maintaining the motor's aged patina and we thought it made a nice contrast to all the shiny resto's we see, so we took some photos.....

Photographer - Vicki Smith
Camera - Nikon D7000

For the rest of the photos click HERE

Photographer: pain423

Camera : NIKON E7600
Shutter Speed:1/60 second
Aperture:F/2.8
Focal Length:8 mm
ISO Speed:50
 

Art - community of artists and those devoted to art. Digital art, skin art, themes, wallpaper art, traditional art, photography, poetry / prose.

"retouched photo of my Ducati 888 and Monster 900s"

Photographer - Frestobbe

Camera: Canon PowerShot G3
Shutter Speed:1/60 second
Aperture:F/3.5
Focal Length:7 mm
Date Taken:Dec 11, 2004

Ducati 500 Desmo, a parallel twin using desmodromic valves...

Photographer: scuba_dooba

Location : Portugal

Camera :  Plustek OpticFilm 7600i

Date:  March 4, 2012  

Owner : Guido Duerbaum  

Photographer - Vicki Smith

Location -  Fort Lauderdale, FL

Date - February, 2012

Camera - Nikon D7000

Photo courtesy of Ducati

Location : Sepang, Malaysia

Date: March, 2012

omegagt1000's photo on Instagram...

(translation) 

Photographer - Yasu Mochizuki

Location - Izu beach, Imai (near Tokyu, Japan)

Camera - Canon EOS 7D

This photo gallery is dedicated to the little motor that for Ducati, changed everything, the Siata designed clip on engine known as the Cucciolo or Little Pup in translation.

Just added this Cucciolo to the Ducati.net Museum Ducati Photo Gallery.

"This T1 Cucciolo belongs to Carsten in Munich Germany who has provided these photos to help other Cucciolo owners identify and restore what they have for preservation purposes, as well as to help him identify where his T1 may have originated. (It was bought in North Italy but has some unusual features not normally seen)"...more (and more Cucciolo photos of this and other Cucciolo's in the gallery)

Photographer - Carsten

Location - Munich, Germany