In 1975 Ducati offered hand-built manufacturing racers, the ‘square case’ 750SS and later 900SS models, built in limited numbers. Sales of the 900SS proved so strong, and gross sales of the 860GT/GTE/GTS so weak, that manufacturing of the 900SS was ramped up, and it turned Ducati’s #1 promoting mannequin. Meanwhile, at the small Turinese agency SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie), Aldo Farinelli started 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, known as the “Cucciolo” (Italian for “pet,” in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) to the public.
In 1994, the company launched the Ducati 916 model designed by Massimo Tamburini, a water-cooled version that allowed for larger output ranges and a hanging new bodywork that had aggressive lines, an underseat exhaust, and a single-sided swingarm. Ducati has …