Heed 505

With all the doom and gloom engulfing the motorsports industry it’s astounding that a small Italian motorcycle manufacturer like Ducati continues to prosper. Of course, the fact that it makes some of the coolest, most high-performance motorcycles doesn’t hurt. Nor does the intimate riding experience you feel aboard a Ducati, proving to be on a higher level than many other production motorcycles. But perhaps what really push the brand ahead of its competition are intangibles like the sheer passion surrounding all aspects of the brand.
 
Enthusiasm appears to trickle down from the highest suit-and-tie dressed CEO down through the engineering and production ranks, dripping down all the way to sales and service departments at your local dealer. How do I know? 
 
Having just returned from a week long Ducati training class at the Wyotech training facility in Daytona Beach, Florida, I witnessed the devotion that service technicians have for Ducati motorcycles. Since Ducatis utilize unique engineering technology such as desmodromic valvetrain and its associated belt drive cam system, working on them isn’t like any other brand, thus requiring a specially trained mechanic.
 
And the techs share that same fundamental Ducati passion. Not only did my classmates show almost fanatical enthusiasm for the bikes we worked on, they showed genuine interest in learning the nuances of servicing this unique brand of motorcycle. To me it was surprising, but then again, it’s this type of zeal that helps forge the bond between rider and his Ducati machine well after he drops the kickstand down at the end of the day.
 
It’s the passion for this brand and the enthusiasm shown by Ducati at all levels which continues to shun the sour economy and prove that with the right people and the right product a motorcycle manufacturer can still be successful in these trying time. Viva Ducati!