Imola on Madison Avenue: Art of the Italian Two Wheel

 This was the bike that saved Ducati, and launched the company's presence and ultimate domination of the Superbike class, as well as the tradition that exists today of building racing motorcycles first, to then retrofit for the street.

  The 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport is considered the most collectible and rare of any Ducati. This beautiful eggshell "green frame" Duc is modeled after Paul Smart's famous 1972 victory in the Inaugural Imola 200, known as the "European Daytona".
 Less than 400 of these race replicas were ever manufactured, only in 1974, and this remains the most sought after grey-market classic Ducati there is...
This bike also spawned the eventual higher displacement 900SS ( and the race-tuned "Imola'), which Mike "the Bike" Hailwood came of retirement to mythically ride to yet another Isle of Man TT victory.
Then, in 2007, Ducati introduced the Ducati Paul Smart 1000, based on the superbly designed Sport Classic, pictured above at the 2013 DESMO Annual BBQ.

© 2015 Tigh Loughhead

Antique Ducatis, MV Agustas and LaVerdas abound in Midtown

UPDATE: Exhibition is called "Art of the Italian Two Wheel" from the Stuart Parr Collection. The catalogue will be written by none other than Ian Falloon.

 I was walking to work this morning from Bryant Park east along 40th Street, when I caught sight of the unmistakable profile of an orange Ducati 750GT out of the corner of my eye inside a seemingly otherwise empty retail space along Madison Avenue.

Even as a pretty diehard classic Ducati fan and a member of a couple Ducati clubs, antique Italian motorcycles are one of the last things I've come to expect seeing in NYC, outside of the token display bike at high-end dealers, or a few at niche meetups.
 But crossing the street, I noticed twenty odd museum-quality Italian beauties being wheeled around inside the empty storefront, like this race-faired Laverda and a couple of incredible MV-Agustas in back, while a crew washed the windows (giving me hope that this wasn't just some sort of photo shoot).
This incredible 1985(ish) Ducati 750F1A is incredibly rare, modeled after the incredibly successful Ducati TT1 and TT2 race bikes, with the Mike Hailwood-esque paint job. Pictured behind is an 860GT and a Darmah (a bike which my brother-in-law proudly owns).
 There were actually two pristine 900ss Ducatis from the late 70's or early 80's one in black and another in silver. I think the two elevated Ducs in the picture above are slightly earlier manufactures of Ducati 750 Sports.
 This was a cherry red Ducati, a 750GT.  I investigated what was going on on the way home, and found out a bit more about the event.  All of these amazing bikes belong to a single collection, owned by an Italian motorcycle enthusiast named Stuart Parr.
 Another gorgeous 70's Ducati 750 Sport.  In an effort to showcase this retail space on Madison Avenue and 40th Street (and understandably share his amazing collection), Mr. Parr decided to lend his collection to create this installation.
 A veritable performance-piece, even walking through twenty degree blustery cold weather in the midst of corporate midtown at 8'oclock on a weekday, stopped pedestrians (including myself) in their tracks to admire the presentation of classic Italian engineering.
If what I was told was true, they'll be arranging select tours and possibly open houses in a week or two, and I sincerely hope I get a chance to admire this collection further up close, including this bike, which I think is an MV Agusta America (?).

© 2015 Tigh Loughhead

As long as I've driven Ducatis, I've had my heart set on a 916, a 996 or a 998.  Simply put, Massimo Tamburini's 916 is the apotheosis of motorcycle design.  Behind this flawless aesthetic was a beast of a machine, and throughout the 90's Ducati dominated the race circuit. This has been my dream bike, and I knew I would own one eventually.

After 13,000+ miles on the road last year though, I had decided the emotional and monetary expenditure of a ten year old bike was too much for me, and I almost bought a 2013 BMW S1000RR.
   The only reason I didn't buy a BMW was the bike sold a couple days before I could go pick it up, and I nearly made a couple stupid decisions trying to find a similar deal.
 However, I chanced upon a beautiful looking 996, with a reasonable amount of miles (very few miles is almost as worrisome as too many on an old Duc), and I figured I would go take a look at the bike, which cost less than half of an S1000RR.
My friend Chris offered to drive me down to Philly in his van, and once I saw this bike I was in love... The bike is nearly spotless, with gleaming chromed Marchesini wheels, carbon fiber bits here and there, a full Termi system and chipped ECU, Speedymoto open clutch and more.
 It's fairly heavy for a superbike, but has way more power than my other litre-bike, my Ducati ST3.
 Even though we're in the frigid January winter-months, forty degrees is enough for me; and I took her out after work this past week around downtown Manhattan.  This Ducati is a blast to ride, and though not as fast as a newer superbike, it's far more beautiful, and I can't wait to open her up on the open road.



© 2015 Tigh Loughhead

From the International Motorcycle Show at Javits

© 2014 Tigh Loughhead

Photo Credit (not me): Nejat

2014 was an incredible year for riding Ducatis.  Over the course of the year, I rode from NYC to North Carolina, then up around the periphery of Nova Scotia and much, much more, racking up over 13,000 miles (about 10K on the ST3 and 3000 on my Monster).

  In February, I bought a 2004 Ducati ST3, and rode it down from Ringwood, NJ to Southern PA though, unfortunately, I needed to put a bunch of money into it almost immediately.  The ST3 is an awesome bike, but I spent the first several months of ownership undoing the mistakes made by the previous owner, who fashioned himself a "mechanic."
 In April, I joined a couple friends riding cross country on superbikes, and I tried to keep up on my Monster with my buddy Cam on his brand new Ducati 899 and my friend Jay on his Aprilia Tuono.
 I rode around quite a bit locally (think Delaware, central PA), and finally got my ST3 back on the road for a rather impromptu trip with a buddy to Nova Scotia. I planned out a 2600 mile loop, from NYC up to Canada, across the Digby ferry (below),
 and around the fabled Cabot Trail.
 At the apex of our trip, we took our sportbikes down miles of washed out road, up and down severely graded gravel switchbacks, on balding tires and with no cell service, till we reached the northerly-most part of our trip, where we camped out on the beach at place called Meat Cove.
 A few weeks later, I rode up to wedding in Boston,
 And there were always organized rides, like our DOCNYC Distinguished Gentleman's ride,
© 2015 Tigh Loughhead