Ducati 1975 500 GTL by Phil Aynsley

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The parallel twin range was introduced in 1975 and initially consisted of the 500 & 350 GTL. Ing. Taglioni wanted nothing to do with the project (which was Ducati's first new engine design in many years) so Ing. Tumidei was given the task - with reduced manufacturing costs being a primary goal. The design had nothing in common (apart from the basic layout) with the two aborted previous parallel twin designs developed in the '60s. The bikes were not successful due to several reliability problems - chief of which was the oil feed to the camshafts, modest performance & less than brilliant styling. Only 1105 500s & 930 350s were built before they were replaced by the GTV models during 1977. 35hp at 6,500rpm. Dry weight 170kg. Top speed 170kph. This early '75 model has the painted guards which were replaced by stainless steel in '76. Newly restored, it successfully completed over 1300km during the Giro held in Qld. in August. Photographed by Phil Aynsley in the Hunter Valley, NSW. 2014.