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Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo
Manufacturer Ducati
Parent company Ducati Motor Holdings, SpA
Production 2
Engine OHV L-Four, 2 valves per cylinder ; air cooled
Transmission 5-speed
Wheelbase 1554. Ducati Motor Holding SpA ( Borsa Italiana: DMH is an Italian Motorcycle manufacturer located in Bologna Italy. A motorcycle engine propels a Motorcycle. The engine typically sits immediately under the fuel tank in between and just forward of the rider's legs In both road and rail Vehicles the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels 48 mm (61. 2 inch)
Dimensions W Engine, 450 mm. Length is the long Dimension of any object The length of a thing is the distance between its ends its linear extent as measured from end to end Handlebars, 750 mm.
Seat height 749. 3 mm (29. 5 inch)
Weight 270 kg (596 lb)
Related Ducati 750 GT

The 1964 Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo was a prototype model of motorcycle, that did not make it into production, yet influenced other production models that followed. MotorCycle is the title of a 1993 album by Rock band Daniel Amos, released on BAI Records. Both Ducati and Berliner were experiencing declining sales of existing small capacity single cylinder models, and sought to create a bike to compete with Harley Davidson. It was a 90° V4 of 1260 cc that produced 100 bhp, and even though it did not make it in to production, it inspired a run of V-twin models that continue to this day.

Contents

Concept

In 1959, the Berliner brothers (Ducati importers in America), spoke to Ducati about creating a rival to the Harley-Davidson to sell to police departments around the U.S. The Berliner’s were enthusiastic. Ducati Motor Holding SpA ( Borsa Italiana: DMH is an Italian Motorcycle manufacturer located in Bologna Italy. Harley-Davidson Motor Company ( formerly HDI is an American manufacturer of Motorcycles based in Milwaukee Wisconsin. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Ducati’s government management was not. It was only when Berliners agreed to underwrite a proportion of the development costs in 1961, that the project went ahead. They decided to call it the Apollo, in honour of the moon mission series of the time. [1]

Ducati was to produce two prototypes and two extra engines as spares. Today only one survives.

Mechanicals

Fabio Taglioni was to develop a bike that conformed to US police specifications, and was bigger than any current model Harley-Davidson. Fabio Taglioni ( September 10, 1920 &ndash July 18, 2001) was an Italian engineer Harley-Davidson Motor Company ( formerly HDI is an American manufacturer of Motorcycles based in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Taglioni decided on an air cooled 1256 cc 90 degree two valve head V4 using a 180 degree crankshaft with roller bearing big ends. A rolling-element bearing is a bearing which carries a load by placing round elements between the two pieces That crankshaft fitted into a horizontally split wet sump crankcase with a centre main bearing support. The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an Engine which translates reciprocating Linear A wet sump is a lubricating oil management design for four-stroke piston Internal combustion engines which uses a built-in reservoir for oil as opposed For the GI Joe character see List of GI Joe ARAH characters. For the Transformers characters see Crankcase (Transformers. The bore was 84. 5 mm, and the stroke 56 mm. Valve actuation was by pushrods and rocker arms. That was the engine.

Ducati Apollo motorcycle
Ducati Apollo motorcycle

The engine was also a stressed member of the heavy duty open cradle frame with a central box section front downtube between the forward cylinders. Small car sized starter motor and generator were fitted. In Electricity generation, an electrical generator is a device that converts Mechanical energy to Electrical energy, generally using Electromagnetic It had a five speed transmission, when most motorcycles had four. Ceriani developed the suspension package, but riders today would be alarmed by the inadequate front and rear single leading shoe 8. A motorcycle's suspension is similar to the suspension in an automobile in its purpose Suspension systems serve a dual purpose - contributing to the vehicle's handling and braking for good active 675 inch (220 mm) drum brakes. A drum brake is a Brake in which the Friction is caused by a set of shoes or pads that press against the inner surface of a rotating The stopping distance was huge, and had to be allowed for. It had a 61. 2 inch wheelbase, and weighed 596 lb (270 kg) dry. [2] Taglioni dismissed the Berliners’ suggestion of shaft drive, and chose chain final drive. The police specification stipulated 16 inch tyres, so there was little choice in that.

Performance

Initially it was putting out 100 bhp @ 7000 rpm, and could exceed 120 mph. The Harley of the time made 55 bhp. The first test rider Franco Farne came back from his first ride, and said it “handles like a truck. ” Farne normally rode small racers. [3] It soon became evident that even specially made tyres were not up to the power of the engine. A tyre disintegrated at speed on the Autostrada, and the test rider rated his survival “a miracle”. Autostrada (plural Autostrade) is the Italian word for Motorways Freeways but is also used in several countries including Romania The engine was detuned to give 80 bhp. Tyres continued to disintegrate. The engine was brought down to 65 bhp, and the survival rate of the tyres became acceptable. This was late 1963. (In 1958 Moto Guzzi had used a 20 inch rear tyre on the Grand Prix 500 cc V8, and they had worn rapidly with 78 bhp. The Moto Guzzi V8 (aka 'Otto' Motorcycle was designed by Giulio Cesare Carcano specifically for the Moto Guzzi Grand Prix racing )

In March 1964 a gold painted prototype was handed over in a formal ceremony. Possibly one of the first Harley imitators.

The reduction in power though meant that the Apollo could now be outperformed by the British and BMW twins, which restricted the anticipated market to police forces. BMW Motorrad, a division of BMW, is a German Motorcycle manufacturer The Berliners were printing advertising, demonstrating the prototype to Police Chiefs, and genuinely preparing to market the Apollo.

Berliners specification sheet

This is from a promotional flyer distributed by Berliners, which also included a front three quarter black and white view of the gold bike:

Specifications of the D/B V/4 - an exclusive project of DUCATI – BERLINER

The first production series will be manufactured early in 1965 for the European and other foreign markets. Shipments scheduled for the United States are planned for the second half of 1965. The price in the USA will be approximately $1500.

– Berliners Motor Corporation, [4]

Project end

The Italian government decided that the limited market did not justify the tooling costs of production, and withdrew project funding. This was a severe blow to Berliners business plans.

It could have been a superbike before its time but tyre technology was not ready. There were other bikes developed as a result: the 1970 500 cc GP bikes and 750 cc production 90 degree V-twins.

The second prototype, a black and silver sports version with four Dell'Orto SS 1 carburettors, survived, and was on display at Ducati's factory museum in Bologna, courtesy of its owner, Hiroaki Iwashita, from 2002 to 2003. [3] Its sole public appearance in recent decades was at the 2002 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Goodwood Festival of Speed, commonly abbreviated as FoS and referred within the United Kingdom as the Festival of Speed, is an annual hill climb The fate of the first gold painted prototype is unknown. [1]

References

  1. ^ a b [1] Cathcart on the Apollo (retrieved 25 September 2006)
  2. ^ [2] Ducati Com - Heritage (retrieved 25 September 2006)
  3. ^ a b [3] Ducati Com - Apollo (retrieved 25 September 2006)
  4. ^ [4] DucatiMeccanica. com Apollo_back. jpg (retrieved January 2 2007)


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