Ducati 2001

Ducati 2001

THE CW LIBRARY

I'M GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT AN INCREDIBLY BEAUTIful book that you may not be able to find anywhere but within Ducati itself. On the hoped-for chance that you can somehow one day put your hands on a copy, I shall describe it. This is Ducati’s 2001 yearbook, consisting of beautiful photographs-many of 998 engine parts-together with text that actually admits development includes controversy, as well as research and analysis. As I turned the pages of this 12x12-inch volume, it was as though it had been written directly for me.

The revered Ingegnere Fabio Taglioni did not like or understand the second four-valve revolution of 1967, but Massimo Bordi embraced it. As the new generation of engines was planned, Bordi and the grand old man struggled, each to impose his vision of the future. When Bordi was the first to reach 100 horsepower, part of his battle was won. The next engagement involved chassis. Will our new machines have the short chassis and quick steering of current Grand Prix bikes? Or will they retain the well-tested long wheelbase, extreme stability and slower steering of Ducati’s bevel-drive V-Twins? Track tests were necessary to declare a winner. You know the outcome.

The photos present parts as works of art-a valve, a pair of Pankl titanium con-rods, the flow of stress through a crankcase half from main bearing to cylinder studs. The text reveals the steps of development, beautifully illustrated by sectioned cylinder heads. Meet the people behind the development, and learn something substantive about each of them.

I took notes. I stared. I compared. This is the most beautiful book in my library. Kevin Cameron

Ducati 2001, various authors, 144 pages, limited edition; Ducati Motor Holding SpA, Via Cavalieri Ducati 3, 40132, Bologna, Italy; 011-39-51-6413111; www.ducati.com