1967 Ducati SCD 350

The launch of the new Ducati Streetfighter 848 reminded me of the extraordinary longevity of the L-twin motor layout. It’s been an intrinisc part of the Bologna mystique for over forty years now. The vintage Ducati here sits at the start of that lineage: it’s a factory Sport Corsa Desmo 350, and one of just six works machines in existence. It’s the machine that introduced the ‘wide case’ single, a new crankcase design that later found its way into the road bikes—and the design that made Taglioni realize that Ducati could develop the single no further. So he effectively stitched...