Ducati 916
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The 916 is frequently cited as one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever created.[1] From 1994 through 1998, Ducati manufactured the fully faired sport bike known as the Ducati 916.[1] Its engine is a 916 cc, fuel-injected, 4-valve, desmodromic, liquid-cooled, 90° V-twin, mounted in a trellis frame and paired with a single-sided swingarm.[1]
How it changed
The 916 was a smaller motorcycle than the 888, with a chrome-moly trellis frame shared with the Ducati 748.[2] Journalist Kevin Ash noted the design is derivative of the Honda NR750.[3] The 916 was a quantum leap forward for Ducati.[4] It wasn't the most powerful motorcycle, producing about 100bhp at the wheel, nor the lightest at around 200kg.[4]
The 916 spawned a family of bikes spanning a whole decade, as well as many imitators.[4] Massimo Tamburini and Sergio Robbiano, working at the Cagiva Research Centre in San Marino, designed the 916, whose water-cooled engine was a reworked version of the earlier 888's powerplant.[5] The motorcycle also received new, aggressively styled bodywork.[2] Certain design features of the 916, such as the underseat exhaust and single-sided swingarm, were borrowed from the Honda NR750.[2][3]
In 1999, the 996 model succeeded the 916.[2]
What the maker and period sources say
A source called "The most beautiful motorcycle" states the 916 Strada was developed in 1993 and launched in 1994 as an astounding success.[4] The same source describes the 916 as the most beautiful motorcycle then created and still the benchmark for two-wheeled exotica.[4] Mark Hinchliffein's tribute notes that Sergio Robbiano worked on the 916 alongside his mentor Massimo Tamburini.[6] Hinchliffein reports that the 916 has been hailed as the most beautiful bike of the 20th century.[6]
The 1998-1999 "The Art of the Motorcycle" exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York featured the 916 as a highlight.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ducati 916" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The most beautiful motorcycle; Mark Hinchliffein, "Ducati 916 designer tribute", Motorbike Writer, 3 July 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ducati 916" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Falloon 2004, p. 210 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ducati 916" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ash 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- The most beautiful motorcycle. facts only, no text reused. visordown.com
- Wikipedia, "Ducati 916" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Motor Cycle News 2001 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Mark Hinchliffein, "Ducati 916 designer tribute", Motorbike Writer, 3 July 2014. facts only, no text reused. motorbikewriter.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ducati 916 (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ducati 916 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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