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Ducati 750 GT (by Ian Falloon, July 2022) ![]() Trend-setting
twin
In the 1970s
motorcycles were simple and individual. This was the era
before electronic fuel
injection or even electronic ignition. Points ignition,
carburettors, and
air-cooling ruled. Because most bikes were unfaired the
engine was visually
dominant, generally fours or parallel twins, but if you
liked V-twins there was
really only one contender, Ducati’s 750 GT. In 1971 Ducati was a
minor Italian manufacturer known primarily for producing
smaller capacity
overhead camshaft singles. But everyone wanted a
Superbike and Ducati was no
exception. Without the resources
to create a three or four cylinder Superbike Ducati’s
chief engineer Fabio
Taglioni was asked to design a pragmatic 750. He took
two existing 350cc
singles and placed them on a common crankcase with the
cylinders 90-degrees
apart. As an engineering
purist, Taglioni chose the 90-degree layout for several
reasons. He preferred
90-degrees because it offered perfect primary engine
balance and with this
layout the engine could be very smooth, with only some
high frequency secondary
imbalance. Also, theoretically the twin could be little
wider than a single so
the engine could be kept low in the frame while
maintaining good ground
clearance. Taglioni called it an
L-twin, and established the trademark engine layout that
has been associated
with Ducati ever since.
![]() With 30mm carbs and
low compression 8.5:1 pistons the 750 GT provided only
moderate performance but
it was the way the engine performed that was appealing.
The power delivery was
smooth and effortless, the engine relaxed and loping,
even when running close
to the 8000rpm redline. And there was a lot more to the
750 Ducati than the
engine. The handling was class
leading. Taglioni eschewed the almost universal double
cradle Norton
“Featherbed” style frame in favour of an open cradle
design using the engine as
a stressed member. While other Superbikes featured forks
with skinny and
flexible 35mm tubes the Ducati had a beefy 38mm fork. Those bikes in the
early 1970s with disc brakes mostly had stainless steel
rotors and floating
piston brake calipers. The stainless discs didn’t rust
but they didn’t work in
the rain either. Rusty discs didn’t worry Ducati. They
wanted the brakes to
work every time so they fitted a cast-iron disc rotor
with a racing style twin
piston caliper that gripped the disc from both sides. Taglioni also knew the
benefit of minimising unsprung weight, fitting the 750
GT with beautiful
Borrani alloy rims, a 19-inch on the front and 18-inch
on the rear. The weight
was only 185kg and the 750 GT was one of the lightest
Superbikes available. The engine layout
dictated a very long 1530mm wheelbase, and with an
extreme steering rake of 29
degrees the Ducati 750 provided unparalleled stability.
This played dividends
in 1972 when Taglioni took a batch off the production
line to prepare racing
machines for the Imola 200. On 23 April ,1972, the
750 Ducati humbled the world’s best, including Agostini
and the MV Agusta and
the finest Norton, Triumph, Kawasaki, Honda, BMW, Suzuki
and Moto Guzzi could
offer. It was the beginning of a new era for Ducati and
the rest is history. This third series
Ducati 750 GT is now fifty years old. 1971-72 750 GT Third
Series Engine Number
750405-751500 Frame Number
750405-751800 approx October 1971-June 1972 Ed’s
note: Ian
has custom-published a new edition of his 750 GT
bible. Contact him direct via
email for more info.
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