First Versions: Ducati: 1st model ever

Ducati logo 1927
Società Scientifica
Radio Brevetti Ducati

Name: "Ducati Cucciolo"

Category: Motorcycles

Subcategory: Motor-bicycles

Inventor: Aldo Farinelli

Developers: Aldo Farinelli and Aldo Leoni

Producers:
--- Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati, founded in Bologna on July 4, 1926 by Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and his three sons, Adriano, Bruno, and Marcello.
--- SIATA - Società Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie, founded in Turin in 1926 by Giorgio Ambrosini.

Production start: March 1946 - Turin, Piedmont, Italy (debut in September at the Milan Fair)

Discontinued: 1958

Features: Single cylinder 4 stroke engine. Bore and Stroke 39 mm x 40 mm. Total displacement 48 cc. Power 1.5 HP at 5,500 RPM. Lubrication oil sump splash. Tyming system valves driven by linkage and rocker arm. Air cooling system. Weber carburetor with 9 mm choke. Magneto flywheel ignition. Transmission two-speed gearbox. Primary drive by gear.

Interesting facts: The Ducati "Cucciolo" (Italian for "puppy", in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) was a 4-stroke clip-on engine for motorized bicycles conceived during and shortly after World War II by a Turin lawyer, Aldo Farinelli, and developed with a self-taught engineer, Aldo Leoni. Ducati Cucciolo was presented at the Turin Fair in 1945 and the title of the Motociclismo magazine on July 26, 1945 read "A puppy was born in Turin". Just a few months after the Cucciolo went in production, it became clear that SIATA couldn't handle the great demand for the Cucciolo. This is where Ducati came into play. Despite the fact that Ducati was previously only well known for its advanced radio electronic and mechanical products, in 1946 it decided to widen the scope of production by constructing the Cucciolo. In March of 1946, Ducati released the first 10 "Type 1" Cucciolo engines. The Cucciolo was released to the public at the Milan Fair in September 1946. In the same year Ducati came up with its first original design, the T2. It was heavily influenced by the T1 design, but made improvements in the engine's efficiency, robustness, and, above all, logic of construction. In 1948, Ducati Cucciolo was triumphant at the first Grand Prix of the City of Milan, which was fought out on the streets of the Milan Fairgrounds rebuilt from the devastation of the war. Out of the 60 competitors, Glauco Zitelli took first place on a series-produced Cucciolo 48 cc. In the same year, the Cucciolo garnered the World. Under the guidance of Giovanni Florio, the first engine designed entirely at Ducati, the T3, went into production. A natural derivation of the first Cucciolo, the T3 had a three-speed gear system, and a grease lubricated valve gear enclosed in a case. In 1949, a special tubular frame with rear suspension was developed for the T3 by Caproni of Rovereto, a famous wartime producer of airplanes. The complete Cucciolo T3 came out in the summer of 1949. In July of the same year Ducati started to manufacture the first real complete motorcycle: the Ducati 60.

Slogan: Cucciolo Ducati «Vi porterà ovunque» - "Will take you anywhere"

Property: Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A

Producer website: http://www.ducati.com

Ducati Cucciolo, the first motor for bicycles produced under the Ducati brand (1946)

Ducati Cucciolo applied on the frame of a normal bicycle

Ducati Cucciolo applied on a Nettunia frame

Ducati Cucciolo engine at the Ducati Museum

Ducati Cucciolo bicycle at the Ducati Museum

Ducati Cucciolo on display at the Ducati Museum in Borgo Panigale, Bologna

Ducati Cucciolo advertising: "Vi porterà ovunque" (Will take you anywhere)

Ducati Cucciolo in a 1948 song: "Ti porterò sul Cucciolo" (I'll Take You On My Cucciolo), a pleasant tune that soon became famous throughout Italy, by Dino Olivieri and Nino Rastelli.

Ducati 60, the first complete motorcycle produced by Ducati (1949). It used the 60 cc pullrod engine of the Cucciolo T3 moped, and a frame supplied by Caproni.