One engine, twenty years, twelve world championships and the most beautiful motorcycle ever built.
By Rotarium
A complete study of Ducati's superbike line from the 851 to the 999 — the Desmoquattro engine that Massimo Bordi drew in 1986 and that carried the marque to twelve World Superbike riders' championships. Covers the engineering (how desmodromics actually work, the trellis frame, the single-sided swingarm), each generation in sequence with live European market data, the SP and SPS homologation ladder and the premiums it commands, the primacy premium that makes the 916 worth 56% more than the better 996, the Italian home-market tax, and model-by-model buying guidance. Includes the 999 anomaly: the highest wins-per-season ratio of any Ducati superbike ever built, and the cheapest bike in the dynasty.