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[integer at www.god-emil.dk]

Motorcycle buffs get revved up over Ducatis. Writer Owen Edwards has referred to them as "A perfect melding of speed, art, and awe, the Futurist dream come true." Ed Friedrichs, CEO of Gensler, sums them up this way: "Riding a Ducati is authentic, the real thing?raw, linear and strong." Architect Larisa Sands calls hers "a balance of grace and guts." They can be seen as often in museum design collections as they can on racetracks. But the tour of the Ducati museum and factory educated us to some lesser known facts about the machines, their heritage and some of the company's tenets-which could just as easily be applied to the design world: Keep women in the business, keep bureaucracies out of the business, employ great designers, and don't let robots take over where the human touch is needed.

The company was a large manufacturer of mini cameras, radios, and a wide range of other items in the '40s, employing 6000 people. Bombed and destroyed during WW2, they came back as an engine manufacturer for motorized bicycles. By pioneering a new frame and a 100cc engine, Ducati had set 46 speed records in ten years with the Siluro Rocket, which could reach 100 mph. The business was nationalized in 1960 and management forced the company to develop diesel engines for farm equipment and other common products. Employment dropped from 5000 to 1400 over the next 24 years while under the bureaucracy, and Ducati suffered a near fatal decline. The turnaround occurred in 1983 when the Castiglioni family bought the company and began the development of the modern sportbike, based on numerous new technological advancements. Thus, Ducatis were reborn and designers like the revered Massimo Tamburini were employed. 

Twenty years later and they continue to dazzle us on and off the track-not only are they gorgeous, but they have apparently not had one mechanical breakdown in racing in the last five years. Even if you don't care for their throaty charisma, you have to be impressed with machines that hum at 13,000 rpm (that means a crankshaft that turns over 200 times a second). Walking the factory you see workers conversing and smiling and actually enjoying their work. You learn that women are the ones who assemble all of the engines (interestingly enough, they are thought to be more precise and patient) and they complete all of the necessary tasks for each engine, that is, this is not assembly-line mentality. There is a personal pride and responsibility taken with each piece, with every bike signed off by its assembler. 



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