916 review
Tamburini's finest creation stands head and shoulders above its rivals
EVERY once in a while a true classic comes along: James Joyce's Ulysses, The Beatles' Revolver, Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. Greats one-and-all, to be seen, owned or understood by the discerning and devoted. To the list of timeless classics, we can add Massimo Tamburini's Ducati 916. Never had a motorcycle provoked such feelings of pure lust or been so coveted. Here was sex made metal, a Sophia Loren in cro-mo steel and alloy. Slim and curvy, the 916 took the breath away from any angle and redefined how a motorcycle could, and should, look. And it wasn't just skin deep. The four valves per cylinder desmodromic V-twin measured 916cc and produced 114 crankshaft horsepower, with torque from tickover.
