The Ducati 851 is a 90°

V-twin A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Although widely associated with motorcycles (installed either transversely or longit ...

sport bike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

with liquid cooling and four valve

heads A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

. It was produced by

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...

between 1987 and 1992, when it was succeeded by the

Ducati 888 The Ducati 888 was a motorcycle manufactured by Ducati as an upgrade to the Ducati 851. The earlier 851 had introduced liquid cooling, computerized fuel injection and four-valve heads to the company's two cylinder motors. In 1991 Ducati increase ...

Development

The Ducati 851 was the successor to the air-cooled two-valve Ducati 750 F1. Development had lagged with the continued use of two-valve engines, but new investment funded the technological advance that Ducati desperately needed. After buying Ducati,

Cagiva Cagiva is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese, originally producing small metal components. Giovanni's sons, Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni, went into the motorcycle industry in 1978. ...

invested in the development of another

, but with liquid cooling, and four-valve

desmodromic :''In general mechanical terms, the word ''desmodromic'' is used to refer to mechanisms that have different controls for their actuation in different directions.'' A desmodromic valve is a reciprocating engine poppet valve that is positively clos ...

heads. Massimo Bordi had designed a 4V Desmo in 1973 for his thesis at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, and with Cagiva in 1985, saw his updated ideas come into production as the Desmoquattro. Based on the

Pantah The Ducati Pantah was an Italian motorcycle with a 90° V-twin engine, produced between 1980 and 1986. Unlike its predecessors which were bevel-gear OHC designs, the Pantah was the first Ducati to have belt-driven camshaft motors, thus formin ...

motor, but with liquid cooling,

fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

, and desmodromic four valve heads (with an included valve angle of 40°), the 851 made Ducati once again competitive in motorcycle racing. The original Desmo Quattro was an experimental 748 cc four-valve racer (seen at the

Bol d'Or The Bol d’Or is a 24-hour endurance race for motorcycles, held annually in France. The riding of each bike is now shared by a team of three riders. History The Bol d’Or, first organized by Eugene Mauve, in 1922, was a race for motorcycles ...

in 1986) and used 750 F1

crankcases. Bordi collaborated with Cosworth to develop the heads, but in the time they had, they were only able to reduce the included valve angle of the desmodromic engine to 40°, while less than 30° was possible with valve springs. Ducati stuck with the desmodromics. The subsequent 851 road bike had stronger

crankcase In a piston engine, the crankcase is the housing that surrounds the crankshaft. In most modern engines, the crankcase is integrated into the engine block. Two-stroke engines typically use a crankcase-compression design, resulting in the fuel/a ...

s, while the heads and valves remained the same; designed to fit above the 88 mm bore of a 748 cc version. The 1987 – 1988 Ducati 851 Tricolor used the signature steel tube

trellis frame A motorcycle frame is a motorcycle's core structure. It supports the engine, provides a location for the steering and rear suspension, and supports the rider and any passenger or luggage. Also attached to the frame are the fuel tank and battery. A ...

, adorned with Marvic wheels, Brembo brakes and Marzocchi suspension. That first release was criticised for its handling, with the 16inch wheels so the wheels were enlarged from a 16-inch to 17-inch wheels. In addition, upgraded Ohlins USD suspension components were fitted front, along with fully floating front Brembo brake rotors. In 1991 the bore was enlarged when Ducati released the SP Series of limited edition race replicas needed to sell the required number of bikes for the street in order to be homologated for racing, thus creating the

. In 1992 three Ducati superbike models were available: the 851 Strada (851 cc), the 888 SP4 (888 cc) and the 888 SP4S (888 cc). A notable owner of this motorcycle was triple Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna.

Racing

* 1986

Marco Lucchinelli Marco Lucchinelli (born 26 June 1954) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was 1981 FIM Road Racing World Champion with Suzuki. He is a MotoGP Legend. Career Lucchinelli was born in Bolano. He began his road ...

- (Pole Position, Misano GP) * 1987

- (Pole Position, SBK) * 1990

Raymond Roche Raymond Roche (born 21 February 1957 in Ollioules) is a French former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Motorcycle racing career In 1981, he teamed up with Jean Lafond to win the FIM Endurance World Championship. His best year in ...

- SBK (World Champion, SBK)

References

External links

Ducati 851
at Ducati.com Heritage.
Ducati 851 sbk
at Ducati.com Heritage. {{Ducati

851 __NOTOC__ Year 851 ( DCCCLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * Bagrat II Bagratuni, Armenian prince and leader of a rebellion against the Abbasi ...

Sport bikes Motorcycles introduced in 1987