Ducati 916 – Like Magic
SLICK EXCERPT #2
The 1993 edition of the Motorcycle Show was underwhelming, because the Italian market was in a crisis mood in the sportbike segment, which was being attacked by scooters whose popularity was growing even in spite of the two-stroke 125 road bikes. So the 916 lit up the Italian review, alone justifying the ticket price, which was 14,000 Lire (Full) and 7,000 Lire (Reduced).
They even became agitated in Japan, partly because also in 1993 the Castiglioni brothers’ Ducati dealt another big blow: in addition to the 916, the Monster (by Miguel Galluzzi) was also put on the market. The expressive power of the 916 delighted Gianfranco Castiglioni who only had eyes for his Grand Prix Cagiva 500. Not least because the 916 immediately became a queen.
This adventure began from a condition of worry and precariousness. Ducati was far from financially stable, so it went like this: at one point a funambulistic entrepreneur who loved beauty and the reckless life (Claudio Castiglioni) turned to his two references, Massimo Bordi and Massimo Tamburini, asking for an effort to amaze the world and straighten out the company’s balance sheet. Tamburini formed a team that went beyond all expectations. The same thing happened on the engine side, with the team formed by Bordi.
Oh yes, all those who participated in the project worked in a state of grace, to the point that they did not even realize the project they were participating in. They understood this when they saw the world standing open-mouthed at what was not just a motorcycle but a work of art.But a work of art.
Even Carl Fogarty, for whom “style” is a vague concept, understood this. As soon as he saw her, he said, “She’s too beautiful to compete!”
It was the eve of the first race of the 1994 World Championship. We know how it ended: he and the 916 won the world title, so it also changed the history of Superbike.
The 916 today reveals itself as an idea, but the world saw it appear as magic. For that matter, just look at it: it looks like a current motorcycle, but thirty years have passed.
Then order needs to be put in place.
While there is no doubt that a project like this is the result of genius but also of study and application, it is equally true that such a feat could only be achieved in that particular company, with that kind of president, at that time there.
Today’s Ducati could not repeat it: not in the sense of potential (it could do much more, of course) but of context.
Today Ducati is driven by big-company logic and organization, so it cannot leave one man on the loose. Today you have to fit the project into a system that is controlled at every step, with departmental managers putting their mouths on everything.The time when Ducati made the 916 was a world away from this scenario.
In fact, Claudio Castiglioni had the great merit of giving space to the art and genius of individuals, accepting the long time frames and budgets that had to be adjusted. After all, he used to say, “A project must excite, otherwise it must be thrown away!” And Tamburini absolutely agreed. So Tamburini was the pure talent, Bordi the pragmatic engine engineer who had a very high position of responsibility in the company and therefore fought on every table (SBK regulations included).
While Claudio Castiglioni has been the frontman of a star band.
Of course, managing Tamburini was not easy. He was a tough guy who clashed with everyone, including Bordi, of course: having responsibility for budgets and the model production scheduling, Bordi had to deal with Tamburini’s absolute lack of consideration for the time.
And for business logic. The fact is that Tamburini wanted to create something never seen (and he did) therefore he was only interested in that result. The rest, was a problem of managers and executives. He, certainly, did not consider time as the binding element of a project. At least, not of the 916 project. Only his second thoughts and twists, which were frequent, disrupted production plans.
The 916 had a very long design and construction period-it seems about 7 years-that is unthinkable today.
It was not easy to find collaborators who could follow Massimo Tamburini. One had to have not only great skills but also stamina and dedication. For him, there was no such thing as working hours, or weekends, while even holidays could become a workday.
But he was full of talents. For example, he was an extraordinary welder of frames, or a magnificent pattern maker. He had hands of gold. He was careful to make it known that he was not a college graduate, but at night he studied so that he was always acquiring information. He reproached engineers for not having the practical sense, therefore for designing motorcycles that were then difficult to handle by the user (here again, the real sense of design) or by a mechanic.
It is as if in the same person coexisted an engineer, a designer, a pilot, a mechanic. And on closer inspection, he was a bit of all of these. He is compared to Michelangelo, but he is also reminiscent of Leonardo Da Vinci, who said, “simplicity is the highest form of refinement.” In fact, Tamburini created beauty with clean forms and knew how to find the right place for each component.
He made works of art, but on the day of the opening he would disappear as soon as possible because he had no time or desire to explain to those present things that they might not even understand. They called him a bear who liked to be alone; in reality he possessed extreme sensitivity as well as extraordinary human qualities. Otherwise he could not have dispensed beauty in the way he did.
The conclusion can only be this: the motorcycle world, in an era that no longer exists, had the great and rare good fortune to find a man who could make magic. As well as works of art.
Apparently, in imagining and then modeling the 916, he was inspired not only by technical concepts but also by a woman’s body.
Here, perhaps this is why she is so curvaceous, sensual, seductive.