Small, but perfectly formed

The Ducati 65 Sport may not totally live up to its ‘Sport’ title, but – unusually for an ultra-lightweight – it’s a four stroke and it’s an important stepping stone on the Bologna factory’s route to events like Mike Hailwood’s astonishing comeback victory in the 1978 TT, and even today their world-class racing exploits continue unabated.

Beauty is always said to be in the eye of the beholder, and I have to admit right at the start that I wouldn’t regard the Ducati Sport as beautiful. Some aspects, yes; for example, the curvaceous toolbox and the graceful rear mudguard. But – to British eyes at least – the frame’s lack of a front down-tube looks bizarre, while the motor itself is totally lacking the smooth lines and elegantly curved castings for which Italian motorcycles are famed.

It’s a true miniature motorcycle then, and when I start it up that impression is subtly reinforced by the regular phut-phut of the four-stroke exhaust. Once on the move though, the little engine seems willing enough, and I guess it would eventually propel the Ducati at speeds supporting its ‘Sport’ status by moped standards, if not in absolute terms. At least the handling lives up to the machine’s title and there’s no need to waste any momentum I’ve managed to build up by slowing for corners.

After a spell with the Ducati, what puzzles me is how the similar post-Second World War social circumstances at home and abroad resulted in such different responses from motorcycle manufacturers and buyers. I’m sure insurance, tax and licencing variations had an effect, but to me they don’t fully explain why Italians wanted complicated and chic ultra-lightweights like this, while UK buyers preferred to pay the same and get the similar performance from a less sophisticated ‘proper’ motorbike, like the BSA Bantam.

Whatever, it all adds to the interest from a motoring history viewpoint, and although I don’t know what the Italian equivalent of ‘vive la difference’ is, I’m all for it!