Ducati's Abandoned Prototype Engines

Dave G

Dave G

New member
I thought this interesting, Ducati was known for it's singles before being thought of as a twin cylinder format manufacturer.

Seems they been more open about possibilities than final production models would suggest

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/b...ngines-ducatis-roads-not-taken?src=SOC&dom=fb

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A nice we read there Dave thanks for putting it up. I'd seen the V8 and the V4 engines before but the article provides a bit of background to them. I'd never seen nor heard of the supercharged Pantah before can see that the reversed head that was developed for it found it's way onto the Paso models and every Ducati thereafter.
 
Yes, with a massive 1257cc ohv pushrod engine. The Apollo was built for the American market to try to get them taken up by the US police forces but was a failure.

image.do
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Another rarity was the Ducati Utah 350 scrambler, using the rear cylinder of a Pantah.
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The road version was the Rollah
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These were announced for 1977 but very few saw the light of day.
 
What year was the Apollo made ? Wondered if Ducati were encouraged by Guzzi's sale of Eldorado's to LAPD or visa versa. I can see the similarity.
 
That Ricardo triple! It's a shame there is no recording of it running; It's a stunner! It shows what a great British engineering firm can do in cahoots with a great Italian engineering firm.Here is a walkaround...
 
Drumnagorrach said:
What year was the Apollo made ? Wondered if Ducati were encouraged by Guzzi's sale of Eldorado's to LAPD or visa versa. I can see the similarity.
Click to expand...

A few prototypes were made for 1964 (long before the ElDorado) but it never reached production. The original models made over 100bhp but the tyres of the time weren't up to it. The power was reduced to 80bhp but it was still too much for the tyres. They eventually reduced the power to 68bhp but it's performance was exceeded by British twins and BMWs and they lost the hoped for market to the US Police. More here.
 
Vacant Possession said:
That Ricardo triple! It's a shame there is no recording of it running; It's a stunner! It shows what a great British engineering firm can do in cahoots with a great Italian engineering firm.Here is a walkaround...
Click to expand...

Really? If you read the accompanying article linked in Dave's post you see that it only made 30bhp and after ditching the fuel injection for carbs they still only managed 50bhp instead of the hoped for 80.
 
No, I missed that paragraph :o I only read the first para. Sounds like it needed more dev; 80BHP would be impressive from a 350 now.

Verdict: Looks fantastic, probably sounded great, needed more dev.
 
Derek said:
A few prototypes were made for 1964 (long before the ElDorado) but it never reached production. The original models made over 100bhp but the tyres of the time weren't up to it. The power was reduced to 80bhp but it was still too much for the tyres. They eventually reduced the power to 68bhp but it's performance was exceeded by British twins and BMWs and they lost the hoped for market to the US Police. More here.
Click to expand...
Interesting Wiki entry, at 240 kg it's quite light. Must be a Ducati tradition , I find my monster very light after the 350+kg of my old Guzzi.
 
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