In 1926, the Ducati family founded Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna, Italy — a radio components manufacturer with little hint of the thundering legacy to come. It wasn't until after World War II, with Italy rebuilding and desperate for affordable transport, that Ducati pivoted toward motorcycles.
The earliest Ducati bikes were modest — small-displacement, practical machines born from necessity. But ambition ran deeper than practicality in Bologna. By the 1950s, engineer Fabio Taglioni had joined the firm, bringing with him a fierce intellect and the desmodromic valve system that would become Ducati's mechanical signature: a mechanism that controls valve closure mechanically rather than relying on springs, allowing higher revs and greater precision.