It’s time again for another of my favorite installments: Track Day Tuesday! And today’s gem is more than just a UJM with lights removed/taped over. Today’s track day bike actually belongs on a track. Built by Ducati to chase after supersport titles, the TT2 was a fantastic race bike utilizing the new Pantah engine. This…
If the RSBFS faithful required additional proof that Ducati is a racing company that also builds street motorcycles, I give you the curious case of the TT2. Wildly popular with racers due to its small and lightweight stature, decent torque and power and impeccable handling, the TT2 was a mere 600cc of Pantah-powered goodness that…
The original listing for this 1995 Ducati TT2 Replica includes some good general information, but I’d love more specific details about the components. The seller mentions the frame was supplied by Roy Thersby, but did he build the frame, modify the frame, or just paint it? At a glance, it appears to be from a…
Ducati’s first motorcycle was the Cucciolo [or “puppy” in Italian], which was basically a simple engine strapped to a bicycle, an affordable tool to get the Italian population mobile and back to work after the end of World War II. Certainly a far cry from the frameless, race-inspired exotica they’re famous for today. This NCR…
What looks good doesn’t always work well: some of the most beautiful cars ever built were created by eye, without the aid of modern aerodynamics. Sleek machines like the Jaguar E-Type and the Corvette Stingray may look impossibly fast, but often try to leave the road at elevated speeds… Racing machines on the other hand…
Although the mid-1980s 750 F1 may not have represented the very best from Ducati, the TT2 and later TT1 race bikes that inspired them certainly did. Lightweight, perfectly formed, and highly effective, they epitomize Ducati’s racing ethos of the period. The original TT2 displaced 587cc and used the belt-drive Pantah motor, with the later TT1…
Around the corner from the Ducati factory in Borgo Panigale, NCR founders Nepoti, Caracchi, and Rizzi began to modify and race Ducatis in 1967. Their lightweight chassis and race team became a presence in endurance racing, winning the Isle of Man TT in 1978 with Mike Hailwood aboard. Early in the trellis-frame’s development, Pantah-based 600cc…
When considering buying an older sportbike, maintenance history is always a bit of a black box. Sure pictures, videos and ebay seller feedback rating all help mitigate the risk yet you never actually know what could be lurking behind the bodywork. However there is one way to help reduce the risk; looking for a bike that…
