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Bike-Design Guru Massimo Tamburini Dies at 70

The motorcycling world has just become a gloomier one with the loss of Massimo Tamburini, bike designer extraordinaire, and iconic figure in the business. 70-year-old Tamburini had battled with his cancer over the past years, and like in most such cases, it was a lost battle.
Ducati 919, a Tamburini design 3 photos
Ducati 916 Senna tributeMassimo Tamburini
Massimo Tamburini is the man who created several of the most acclaimed motorcycles of the modern era, Ducati 916, MV Agusta F4 or the all-time favorite Brutale, to name only a few. The name Tamburini was associated with iconic Italian brands like Ducati, MV Agusta, Bimota or Cagiva over the years, and become a milestone in the design world.

It was Tamburini who founded the Cagiva Research Center and the brand Bimota. Bimota is a name which comprises the first two letters of the names of its founders Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini. After Cagiva bought Ducati, Massimo Tamburini also worked with Pierre Terblanche, with the latter drawing inspiration for his Supermono from the Ducati 919 created by Tamburini.

Tamburini also enforced the use of the single-sided swingarm and the underseat exhaust, as mandatory solutions for sport bikes. His work with MV Agusta is still a reference for the actual models, which also draw their cues from Tamburini’s ideas. In fact, both the Ducati 919 and the MV Agusta F4 have found their place in the Guggenheim Museum exhibits in the past.

Apparently, one of the guidelines in Massimo Tamburini’s approach to designing a motorcycle was centered on practicality and usable performance. He used to um things us and say that “the ideal one would be a 750 with the power of a 1000 and the weight of a 500.”

Other key machines designed by Massimo Tamburini are the Ducari 748,996 and 998, the Cagiva Mito, and the MV Agusta F3 675. Rest in peace, maestro.
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