motorcycles
Ducati
Italy · Founded 1926
Bologna's finest. Desmodromic valves, L-twins, and the kind of passion that makes accountants nervous.
Heritage
Ducati started making radios, then pivoted to small-displacement motorcycles after WWII. Engineer Fabio Taglioni's desmodromic valve system — mechanically closing the valves instead of relying on springs — became the company's signature technology. The 750 GT and 750 SS put Ducati on the map, and Paul Smart's 1972 Imola 200 victory made them legends. Ducati has always been the Italian sports car of motorcycles: temperamental, expensive to maintain, gorgeous to look at, and absolutely transcendent when everything's working right.
