Beschreibung:

Ducati kicked off the inaugural World Superbike Championship with a victory in the opening round at England's Donington Park circuit in April 1988, when works rider Marco Lucchinelli took the trophy aboard a race-kitted version of the Ducati 851 Superbike. Since then the Italian company has won more World Superbike races and championships than any other manufacturer. In developing the original 851, engineer Massimo Bordi created one of the finest motorcycle power plants ever. By the mid-1980s, Ducati's existing air-cooled four-valve V-twins were approaching the end of their development so Bordi started with a clean sheet in creating a new liquid-cooled, eight-valve, fuel-injected successor. Ducati's trademark desmodromic valve-actuation system was retained, as was the 90-degree angle between the cylinders. Wrapped around this outstanding engine was a frame consisting of an intricate trellis of straight tubes, a holdover from the original Taglioni design, still used to this day. Ducati lost no time in announcing a limited edition of bike, the Lucchinelli Replica. Like the works racer the Replica gained an extra 37cc capacity by a 2mm overbore which, coupled to an increased compression ratio, revised Weber fuel-injection and race exhaust, helped raise rear wheel horsepower to a claimed 118. One of only 20 such machines produced, the Lucchinelli Replica was a homologation special, intended as the starting point for privateer teams. The Silverman Lucchinelli is a low-miles example in largely as-delivered form.