THE VERY BEST OF BRITISH
HARLEY DAVIDSON: WILD CHILD?
1972 Paul Smart leads Bruno Spaggiari home at Imola 200
end to the helical gear Ducatis was Mike
Hailwood‘s dramatic victory in the 1978
Isle of Man TT on a Super Sport based 900,
which was producing 90bhp. I was fortunate
enough to have been there to watch the
race. It turned out to be almost the end of
the Super Sport Ducati engine on the race
track. The last helical gear Ducati on sale to
the public was the Mike Hailwood Replica
Mille of 1980. Some believe the end of these
engines was because of excessive production
costs and difficulties encountered when
trying to fit electronic injection systems.
From Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari’s
sensational first and second in the Imola 200
of 1972, to the Hailwood victory in the Isle of
Man of 1978, it had been a notable period for
Ducati. The Pantah was waiting in the wings,
and by 1979 another family of road and race
bikes, with valve gear controlled by a drive
belt instead of helical gear, heralded a new
era for Ducati.
Sharing your passion
facebook.com/CaffeineAndClassics
86 KIWI RIDER