WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
Ducati Cucciolo: alarming at a full 40mph.
The Panigale V4 started here in 1946, with a 49cc cyclemotor engine that bolted to a normal bicycle. Forget carbon fibre and Termignonis, the Ducati accessory catalogue used to comprise a wicker basket and a bell. The engine could be bolted to any bicycle, though later complete mopeds were offered using this power unit. There were many manufacturers across Europe (and Japan, Honda started in the same way) who offered clip-on engines to aid mobility in the aftermath of WWII, but Ducati’s version was a cut above the rest in terms of quality and performance.
The Cucciolo – it means Pup, presumably a reference to the yapping exhaust note – was an ohv design when most of the opposition were two-strokes. Valve gear was operated by pull rods; the follower is under the camshaft and because the rods are in tension, rather than compression, they can be flimsier than push rods. In fact they’re not much more than bicycle spokes. Power output was a giddy 1.58bhp at a lofty 5200rpm. There was also a two-speed gearbox, a proper clutch and drive was by bicycle chain, a freewheel meant no engine braking. The engine and the crankwheel and pedal shafts are high quality aluminium castings. The engine is clamped into place around the bicycle’s bottom bracket, centrally and low for best weight distribution. The gears are pre-selected using the pedal position; left pedal forward for first, back for second, down for neutral; then pull and release the clutch to select your chosen ratio. Got that? Start the engine by pedalling away and then dropping the clutch.
Top speed for the Cucciolo was around 40mph. On bicycle brakes, skinny tyres and no suspension that’s enough to be mildly terrifying. But it is very entertaining on back lanes and B-roads.
By 1954 Ducati were making 40,000 Cucciolo engines a year, Production of derivatives ended in 1958. In 2020, good original bikes are hard to find. Complete engines start at around £500, but the pedal gear is an essential component that’s usually missing.