VOL. 54 ISSUE 28 JULY 18, 2017 P83
how much better it was
than anything else on the
road at the time. It's still
one of the best-looking
motorcycles ever built.
Remembering these
older superbikes made
me reflect on the fact
that I could feel the same
unmistakable Ducati
DNA in the Multistrada
Enduro I'd just spent four
weeks on touring south-
eastern Europe. Ducati
has remained true to its
roots without neglecting
the technological change
needed to stay at the
sharp end of our sport.
The museum certainly
highlights this achieve-
ment.
Further around there
are trophies, racers'
leathers and other bits
of memorabilia to finish
off the experience. If you
were to waltz through
the museum, you'd be
in and out of the rela-
tively humble space in a
couple of minutes. But if
you take your time to sa-
vor it all, you could spend
two hours.
It helps that there are
no ropes or barriers. I
had too much respect to
lay even a finger on any
The 851 Tricolore
is the great-
granddad of all
current Ducati
superbikes,
though its own
roots were in
the humble
Pantah models
introduced in the
late 1970s. FIM
World Superbike
regulations
allowed the
twin-cylinder
Ducati a capacity
advantage over
the 750cc four-
cylinder bikes
that'd dominated
racing for so
long, but Ducati
only needed a
fraction of the
potential 250cc
difference to beat
the Japanese.
Perhaps the only
flaw in the design
was the use of
16-inch wheels,
which were
dropped in favor
of 17s for the next
model.
