‘It was the catalyst for modern Ducati, yet was nearly never built at all’ Four decades ago a small, struggling, Italian manufacturer, barely producing 3000 machines a year, unveiled the production version of the bike that would change both it and the world forever.
That manufacturer was Ducati, a company then barely recognisable from the 100,000 machines-a-year, Audi-owned brand it is today. The bike was the 500 SL Pantah, the first production, belt-driven Desmo ‘L-twin’ which, by also being the firm’s first road bike featuring a tubular steel trellis frame, set the design template for every Ducati which followed, from the 900SS and Monster, to the 1098 and Scrambler.
The Pantah was primarily the work of legendary Ducati designer Ing. Fabio Taglioni who was also the driving force behind Ducati’s…