Ducati Apollo

The Ducati Apollo is a motorcycle model from the Italian manufacturer Ducati.

In the early 1960s called for the U.S. importer Berliner Brothers Motor Corporation a motorcycle for the U.S. authorities to prepare the supremacy of Harley -Davidson an end to be charged to a piece of this lucrative business for themselves. Ducati designers to Fabio Taglioni went to work to develop a motorcycle that should be far ahead of the time. Out came 1963, the four-cylinder Apollo, which a remarkably compact engine had a displacement of 1260 despite cc. Combined with a dry weight of 270 kg, however, this engine was too much for the tires then in use. This broke up during the test phases in pleasure; none of that tire manufacturers could solve this problem. Also a throttling of the engine on 48 kW/65 hp did not bring the desired success. So the Apollo project was eventually discontinued. Today only a prototype, which at the Museo Ducati is on display in Bologna.

However, the efforts to this motorcycle and especially around the engine should not be in vain: after Taglioni was the Ducati superiors who were more cylinders against more than suspicious after this mess convince that a sporty two-cylinder just right for the current model range is, the four-cylinder design features were transferred to a new generation of engines. The engine of the Apollo can be seen in terms of layout as a cornerstone of built to date Ducati two-cylinder V- angle of 90 ° with a standing in the wind and a horizontal cylinder.

Specifications

• Year built: 1963
• Cylinders: L4, 4-stroke
• Displacement: 1260 cm ³
• Power: 74 kW/100 hp
• Empty weight: 270 kg