A Brief History of Ducati Singles in Photos
For decades, Ducati was known for its high-performance 90-degree V-Twin (or "L-Twin", as Ducatisti prefer to say) engines, but in recent years, the company has been replacing several signature models with V-4s. More recently, however, Ducati announced it will also be bringing back Single-cylinder engines, confirming its intentions to race in motocross and produce off-road models, and separately revealing a new 659cc Superquadro Mono engine. That gives us an excuse to look through the history books at some of Ducati's most notable Singles.
1946 SIATA Cucciolo
As Italy rebuild after the Second World War, SIATA, a small firm from Turin, began producing a small engine known as the Cucciolo, that could be mounted to bicycles.
1949 Ducati 60
Following the success of the Cucciolo, Ducati introduced its first full motorcycle (i.e. not a bicycle with a motor added on). The Ducati 60 was powered by an updated version of the Cucciolo engine and weighed just 97 pounds.
1955 Ducati Gran Sport 125 Marianna
Designer Fabio Taglioni joined Ducati in the 1954, and his first motorcycle was the Gran Sport 125 Marianna race bike. Taglioni introduced what would become a Ducati signature: the desmodromic valve system. The Marianna saw success in the 1955 Motogiro d'Italia, starting a tradition of racing success for Ducati.
1956 Ducati 125 Sport
One of the earliest street bikes designed by Taglioni was the Ducati 125 Sport. It incorporate innovations introduced on the Marianna, such as its bevel gear timing system.
1957 Ducati 175 T
The Ducati 175 T (for Turismo) and the 125 TV (Turismo Veloce) were early sales successes.
1970 Ducati Scrambler
Introduced for the American market in 1962, the Ducati Scrambler lives on today with a modern 90-degree V-Twin engine, but with styling inspired by the original Singles.
1971 Ducati 750 GT
Yes, this gallery is about Ducati's Singles, but we need to acknowledge that it took until 1971 before the company introduced it's first Twin. The racing version of the 750 GT added desmo valves, forming a combination that would define the brand for decades to follow.
1993 Ducati Supermono
Ducati made a brief return to Singles from 1993 to 1995, introducing the Supermono racebike. Powered by a 550cc engine, the Supermono was designed by Pierre Terblanche, while its technical manager was none other than Claudio Domenicali, Ducati's current chief executive officer.
2024 Ducati Motocross Bike
We don't actually know what Ducati's new motocross racer looks like yet, but we do know it will kick off a new generation of off-road Ducatis.
2024 Ducati Superquadro Mono Engine
The off-road models will be joined by street legal models powered by the larger 659cc Superquadro Mono engine. Derived from Ducati's 1,285cc Superquadro Twin, the Single will debut on a new model on Nov. 2.
