Ducati is making bikes again. Yes, again. In fact, they were the Bosh e-bike motors of the 1940’s in that they made gas powered motors to fit conventional bicycles, and soon came out with their own “moped” of sorts, before making full blown motorcycles. (I wonder if those got shunned back in those days?). To engineer and distribute the bikes, Ducati is leaving it up to the professionals and fellow Italians of Bianchi who have one of the longest histories in the bike biz.
Zoom past the break to see what we could be seeing in the form of the motorcycle brand’s version of a bicycle…..
We’ve seen many partnerships over the years with car and motorcycle brands sticking their toe into the bike industry hot tub to see how things would swing, and while some, like the special edition Ferrari Colnagos and Mercedes who partnered with Rotwild, were more of a temporary effort, others like KTM have come out on top with a complete line of mountain as well as road & cross bikes to compete with the big kids on the block. Ducati, a name synonymous with Italian motor sports like that of Ferrari and Lamborghini, is tossing their hat helmet in the ring with just a couple of categories of bikes.
Though not the high level of bike any Desmo head would expect to see as there is no pricey carbon or Italian flare leaking from the slave cylinder, it has a logo and a name that will likely attract early enthusiasts or beginners. The “flag ship” 330SX’s build is about as basic as a trail-able bike could be with some Deore components and the entry level Suntour fork. From there it goes down to what would be your most entry level bike you might expect to be somewhere between $350 and $400.
On the youth side of things they have (top left to right), the Sx124 24″ bike & SX120 20″bike. Below that are the Hypermotard 16 and 12″ rides for your groms. No word on when or where they will be selling them, but the announcement said they will be sold to retailers through Italian distributor Alpen, who Bianchi acquired a few years ago.
