Update: sold for €8,300 EUR
Ducati’s famed “bevel-drive” v-twins offered handsome looks and hand-crafted performance, but were extremely expensive to manufacture, assemble, and maintain. By the late 1970s, Ducati engineer Fabio Taglioni had developed a new v-twin that significantly reduced production costs and simplified manufacturing, replacing the complex system of tower shafts and bevel-drive gears with a simple set of rubber belts to drive a set of overhead cams and, as a result, brought Desmodromic valve technology to the entire range of Ducati motorcycles with this new “Pantah” engine. Todays Featured Listing Ducati Pantah 500 was sold between 1980 and 1986 and was powered by a 499cc version of the new v-twin.
The new bike also featured Ducati’s signature steel trellis frame, an engine that functioned as a stressed member, and a swingarm that bolted directly to the crankcases. Adjustable Marzocchi shocks and cast aluminum wheels were the height of performance fashion at the time, and the bike was wrapped in strikingly modern bodywork. While the new Pantah 500 was rated at just 50hp, the engine was very flexible, and the new Ducati was light, compared to other bikes in its class, at under 400lbs dry, and handling was considered superb. For riders who wanted more power, a 583cc version was introduced in 1981 and sold alongside the 500.
1984 Ducati Pantah 500 Series 1, this is the 2565-th bike build of the 1st series Pantah 500 out of 3835 build in total. I was told by the previous owner that it was parked for most of its life in a house in Rome at a friend of Fabio Taglioni for display purposes. It has just been serviced and a cold start video is available on request. The motorcycle has run only 315 km from new. Before the recent service it was 313 km.
The pictures say more than any text I could post here. The few things worth mentioning are that the original registration is actually signed by Fabio Taglioni as a favor to his friend, the first owner and that the bike still sits on its original, as delivered when new Metzeler ME11/ME77 bias-ply tires.
- Supplied with original Italian documents
- Located in Germany, not road registered or TÜV inspected
- 1984 Ducati Pantah 500 Series 1, chassis number 2,565 of 3,835 total production
- Odometer shows just 315 km, with only 2 km added since the recent service
- Reportedly spent most of its life on display in a house in Rome at a friend of Fabio Taglioni
- Original registration document reportedly signed by Fabio Taglioni himself
- Recently serviced, including timing belts
- Currently located near the Nürburgring in Germany
- Cold start video available
This particular example of Ducati’s Pantah 500 is, as described by the seller, in nearly perfect, time-capsule condition, with basically zero miles on it. The paint is pristine and the bike appears almost completely original, apart from the odd primer black front fender. Note that it is currently located in Germany and is not road-registered, but has had a mechanical service, including the absolutely obligatory timing belt change, and is in fully-running condition. Pantahs are historically significant, but generally undervalued, overshadowed in the collector market by the earlier bevel-drive bikes. But the Pantah engine was hugely significant for Ducati, and allowed the company to move from a niche manufacturer to a volume producer of high-performance motorcycles. You’re unlikely to find a nicer example of this classic Ducati.
-tad
Update: Sold for 8,300 EUD ($9,730 USD)
