DUCATI 500 GP (1971-1972) Specs, Performance & Photos

In 1971, the Italian motorcycle manufacturer launched the Ducati 500GP, a competition motorcycle similar to the Kawasaki 500H1R, LinTo 500 GP, MV Agusta, Paton 500GP, and Suzuki TR 500.

In the early seventies, Ducati's general management came with the request for a 500 Grand Prix motorcycle to re-enter the racing world abandoned at the end of the 1958 season. Fabio Taglioni took up two ideas already tested in the past, such as the bevel gear system and the 1962 prototype of the Apollo used on the 90-degree V engine.

The result was the 1971 Ducati 500 GP, a racing motorcycle packing a roundish full fairing with a large windscreen, a large fuel tank, a single seat, side-mounted shocks on the rear, and wire-spoke wheels.

Underneath its fuel tank, the racing machine packed a 498cc four-stroke air-cooled V-twin engine managed by two Dell'Orto carburetors, delivering an output power of 72 hp with maximum strength at 11,000 rpm.

The engine was married to a six-speed manual transmission with a dry multi-plate clutch, sending power to the rear end through a final chain drive, pushing the motorcycle to a top speed of 250 kph (155 mph).

The bike was built around a double-cradle steel tube frame with a telehydraulic Ceriani fork on the front and dual side-mounted Ceriani shocks on the rear, acting as suspension.

The braking power was achieved by a 280 mm disc on the front wheel coupled to a dual-piston caliper and a 280 mm disc on the rear tied to a dual-piston caliper.