Here’s how Ducati made its motorbikes reliable under VW Group
Enlarge / In the past you needed to be brave to own an Italian motorcycle. Now you just need to be brave to ride one. (credit: Ducati)
Michael visited the Ducati factory while on a trip to Italy with Lamborghini. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.
BOLOGNA, ITALY-For decades, owning an Italian motorcycle required a tradeoff. On one hand, Italian bikemakers led the pack with gorgeous designs and the most exotic, highest-performing engines in the world. No other country could come close to matching the sounds and smells of a Ducati, Moto Guzzi, or Aprilia revving by. But build quality and reliability always presented a challenge for owners, not to mention parts availability and exorbitant maintenance costs.
Ducati arguably led the charge in every regard, setting a standard as the Ferrari of the motorcycle world with eye-catching Rosso Corsa red paint jobs to go along with real racing success in MotoGP and World Superbike thanks to famous-some might say infamous-desmodromic engines. However, In recent years under Volkswagen Group's ownership, Ducati has made great strides in reliability and build quality, which explains to a large extent why 2022 was the firm's most profitable year ever, with 62,000 bikes sold worldwide.
During a recent trip to Italy, I visited the Ducati factory in Bologna to learn how modernizing the production facility at Borgo Panigale helped improve the bikes built there over the decade since joining the Volkswagen group.