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Ducati 100 Gran Sport "Marianna"

Make Model	Ducati 100 Gran Sport "Marianna"
Year	1955 - 58
Engine	Four stroke, single-cylinder, OHC, shaft and bevel gears, 31 mm inlet valve, 27 mm exhaust valve
Capacity	99.66 cc / 6.08 cu in
Bore x Stroke	49.4 x 52 mm
Compression Ratio	8.5:1
Cooling System	Air cooled
Lubrication System	Forced oil sump
Induction	Dell'Orto SS1, 20 mm
Ignition	Battery coil
Starting	Kick
Max Power	6.7 kW / 9 hp @ 9000 rpm
Clutch	Wet, multi-plate
Transmission	4 Speed
Final Drive	Chain
Frame	Single tube, open cradle frame in tubular steel
Front Suspension	Hydraulically damped telescopic forks
Rear Suspension	Swingarm, dual shocks
Front Brakes	Drum, Amadori
Rear Brakes	Drum, Amadori
Front Tyre	2.75 -17
Rear Tyre	2.75 -17
Wheelbase	1250 mm / 49.2 in
Dry Weight	80 kg / 176 lbs
Top Speed	130 km/h / 81 mph

When you consider the source, the 1955 Ducati Gran Sport "Marianna" was a most improbable machine. Two decades earlier, Ducati had been making radios, not motorcycles. Nine years earlier, in 1946, when Ducati came out with its first motorbike, it wasn't fierce or outlandish but a cute, two-horsepower gas-sipper called the "Cucciolo" ("puppy" in Italian).

But, by 1954, an engineer named Fabio Taglioni had joined Ducati, and his brilliant aesthetic sense combined with his genius for motor-making transformed the firm into a design and motoring tour de force. In 1955, the Gran Sport was only a 100cc bike with a four-stroke, single-camshaft engine, but by late 1956, Taglioni had developed a triple-camshaft "Desmo" 125cc Gran Premio racing bike capable of a screaming 12,500 rpms--unheard-of revs in those days.

But even before the Gran Premio, competition had proved the brilliance of the Marianna--so nicknamed because Taglioni's 1955 design was approved for production during the Catholic celebration of St. Mary. The Marianna blew away the competition at its first race and went on to dominate world competitions until the start of the 1960s. The bike was particularly successful at Milano-Tarantos and also won at three straight Giro Motociclistico d'Italia (Moto-Giros) endurance races that ran for five straight days. By the way, although the Gran Sports never had large displacements, they weighed less than 180 pounds and could easily run to 120mph. -- Michael Frank