The Ducati Supermono is a lightweight,

single-cylinder A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, portable tools and garden machinery ( ...

racing

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

made 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 ...

and named after the Supermono racing class. 65 Supermonos were built by Ducati between 1993 and 1995.

Technology

This lightweight, compact racer was built with many technical innovations that strongly influenced the design of the

916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Kh ...

. The single cylinder Ducati racer was built with

power to weight Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measuremen ...

in mind.

Carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

pieces included bodywork, sub frame,

fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propel ...

, rear sets, airbox and instrument housing.

Magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

was used for case covers, chain adjustment covers and triple clamps. The front suspension used an

Öhlins Öhlins or Öhlins Racing AB, is a Swedish company that develops suspension systems for the automotive, motorcycle, mountain bike and motorsport industries. Approximately 97% of all production is exported and Öhlins has distribution in over 5 ...

42 mm inverted telescopic forks, similar to those used on the Ducati 888 Corsa, and the rear used a cantilevered Ohlins DU2041

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

. It had a Termignoni exhaust and 3 spoke Marchesini

magnesium wheels Magnesium wheels are wheels manufactured from alloys which contain mostly magnesium. Magnesium wheels are produced either by casting (metalworking) (where molten metal is introduced into a mold, solidifying within the mold), or by forging (where ...

. The front brakes were

Brembo Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy. History Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...

280 mm fully floating iron front discs and Brembo P4 30-34 racing calipers. The Supermono inherited many of its features from 888 Racing. Liquid cooled

double overhead cam An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

shaft with four valve desmodromic

cylinder head In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...

. A horizontally placed 550 cc cylinder used a dummy connecting rod that acted like a second piston in terms of making the dynamic balance equivalent to a ninety degree Vee twin. This engineering was the key to overcoming vibration problems typically handled with either balance shafts or the incomplete solution of a crank counterweight.

Design

Pierre Terblanche Pierre Terblanche is a South African motorcycle designer born on 6 November 1956 in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape. He started his career in advertising but felt the need to move into the design world. After moving to Germany and working with ...

designed the look of the Supermono and Claudio Domenicali and Massimo Bordi designed the frame, power plant and other unique parts of the motorcycle.

Fuel and spark plugs

In the mid-1990s, 100 octane

aviation gas Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, whi ...

was the fuel of choice for many Supermono race teams.

Spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...

s with a 54 to 55 heat index were required. Several teams used Champion spark plug QA55V.

Racing

New Zealander Robert Holden placed second in the 1994

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

, winning the 1995 singles title. Holden won Ireland's NW 200 Supermono class in 1995. The Supermono was a "test bed" for the World Superbike racers, who would go on to race at the

World Superbike Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

References

External links

* * {{Ducati Supermono Racing motorcycles Motorcycles introduced in 1993 Motorcycles designed by Pierre Terblanche Single-cylinder motorcycles