The Ducati Pantah 500 in an individual test

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The Ducati Pantah 500 in an individual test
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The Ducati Pantah 500 in an individual test

On the move: Ducati Pantah 500
Ducati legend Pantah 500 in the test

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The last great creation of Ingegnere Fabio Taglioni appeared in 1979: Italy’s motorcycle legend designed both the engine and the chassis of the Ducati Pantah. As we know today, both turned out to be trend-setting.

Fred Siemer

05/24/2012

Some motorcycles stick to their time – and are impressive. Others, on the other hand, have an effect far beyond their year of publication and even leave technical data behind. This is precisely why the Pantah deserves so much respect. A nominally 46 hp 500cc engine, created in the late 1970s, when half a liter was still important, when it was enjoyed en masse and served in every conceivable cylinder configuration. This one here in his not even petite sportswear comes as V2, but there were even a few of them.

Those with a 500 cc engine were called Honda, Morini or Moto Guzzi and had ohv engines and neither overhead camshafts nor desmodromics. They had no engineering legend as their father and should never have as many famous children as the Pantah 500.

Two decades after their debut, various Ducati models can be traced back directly to them, and their genes continue to have an effect on everything that is not Panigale to this day. It was only the uber-Ducati, published in 2012, that broke with principles that the Pantah introduced 33 years earlier: It was the first Ducati in which the crankshaft drove the camshafts via toothed belts. She also introduced the tubular space frame into the family.

The beginning was somehow unintentional, because, contrary to the advice of its technical director, the Ducati management decided at the beginning of the 1970s to give the middle class, which was so important at the time, with row wins. What failed. Hardly anyone wanted to buy the vibrating 500s; the home market, which is essential for survival, even took up the 350s rather hesitantly. So the bosses crawled to the cross and let Taglioni build what he had suggested from the start. Namely a V-twin.
Its greatest technical innovation is hidden on the right-hand side of the engine behind two slim, well-designed covers: toothed belts instead of vertical shafts each drive an overhead camshaft. An important side effect: the belts also reduce the noise level. Taglioni is said to have quietly regretted this step, says the legend. On the other hand, as an engineer, the man was committed to progress and not to technical nostalgia. Less production effort, shorter inspection times – the timing belt was able to collect even more plus points. Less friction actually meant a little more performance.


The Ducati Pantah 500 in an individual test


Markus Jahn

1979: The Pantah goes into series production in red, a year later the light blue paintwork.

As is to be expected with Italian motorcycles, large Dellorto carburettors take care of the mixture formation. A lever in the fairing dome activates the cold start device. the Ducati comes at the push of a button. Kicking is Stone Age, Taglioni had determined, and thus demonstrated a trust in e-starters that not even all of Nippon’s sons could muster at the time. His V2 thuds dully, dies again when accelerating. Restart, throttle, speed, longer throttle, higher speed – even the little Ducati twin likes to be in the paddock. Then he accelerates, fold left leg, go into first gear, go. Fold right leg, accelerate, upshift. The five gears of the transmission, essentially taken over from the parallel twins, click into place over relatively short distances, pleasantly easily and always precisely.

Only the 600 Pantah got a hydraulically operated clutch. Anyone who has been on the road for two hours with the previous model will understand that. Allegedly another lever works wonders. That is sorely missed in the course of an otherwise edifying day, orchestrated by the Conti exhaust bags from contemporary accessories with a pleasantly bassy sound.
Taglionis Twin obviously has more than the 46 hp with which the then importer Fritz Roth reported it to Germany’s authorities. Otherwise he would never have hissed through the MOTORCYCLE light barrier at 185 km / h with the Pantah in the first test. And the specimen that MOTORRAD Classic was allowed to drive three decades later will certainly mobilize a few more Cavalli thanks to the Conti bags, open carburettors and the appropriate set-up. It should be between 50 and 53 hp, and thanks to good gear ratios and a shorter secondary ratio, this herd rushes forward cheerfully.


The Ducati Pantah 500 in an individual test


Markus Jahn

An intermediate shaft drove the camshafts via toothed belts.

Above 3000 revs, usable power sets in, but in this range the V2 still reacts rather cautiously to gas commands. He does not have constant pressure carburetors, which always prepare the mixture for him to be bite-sized. Doesn’t choke, but prefers small sips. A good 1500 revs later, things look completely different, then the tap can be opened wide, then the extra splashes from the accelerator pumps are most welcome to storm the speed ladder with angry sound. The desmodromic valve control allows quite courageous elevation curves even with large and therefore heavy valves, and this is why the little twin can really suck in fresh gas and develop considerable pressure. It doesn’t just want to play, from 6500 rpm and well above its rated speed of 8500 rpm
he also bites out – and barks like a big one.

Fascinating how easily the engine can turn and how smoothly it runs. Nobody expects hard vibrations with a 90-degree V2. But this one doesn’t even shake when you apply the throttle deep in the speed cellar, nor does it vibrate when it has to run at constantly higher speeds. He did not develop all of these talents by chance: Fabio Taglioni wanted to build a versatile and stable engine, the state management under which Ducati was at the time would not have allowed anything else. The master even planned a Pantah offshoot with only one, namely the vertical cylinder – presented together with the two-cylinder V-engine at the Milan trade fair in 1977, but then quickly forgotten.
At that time you didn’t have to be called Audi to pay for the whole shop from the postage. Ducati was so clammy, and that’s why the appearance of the Pantah engine in newly developed all-round motorcycles had to wait a little longer. His sporting talents, on the other hand, could be developed more cheaply, and they were urgently needed after the swan song of the bevel twins to keep the brand from Bologna talking. The commitment of Ducati racing technician Franco Farne was very welcome, who had already put some drivers in the Italian junior championship (TT 2 with two-stroke engines up to 400 and four-stroke engines up to 600 cc) on the new two-cylinder engine in 1980.

The Pantah started its sporting career with a drilled engine. But initially with a standard frame, which speaks for the qualities of Taglionis cane in view of the loose TT 2 regulations. In fact, it is still impressive today how unmoved this tubular structure can handle undulating or torn asphalt. Once on track with a bit of emphasis, the Pantah steadfastly follows its course and clearly stands out from the vast majority of motorcycles of its time. It doesn’t really matter that quickly turning from one to the other is not one of her favorite disciplines. As is well known, it would be years before a sporty Ducati renounced this stability program, which was once introduced with the vertical shaft, and the wheelbase and caster shrank to normal.

In its day, the pantah was not considered particularly hard. Which proves that the guys were tougher back then, because at least the two Marzocchi struts don’t do particularly well in terms of comfort. The fork from the same supplier works better, responds passably and is cleanly muffled. The three-disc brake system from Brembo conveys an authentic 1970s feeling: you reach in with the hand lever, compared to modern systems, not much happens, you reach in harder, then the two two-piston calipers bite a little bluntly, despite the wooden feel of the lever you go even more courageously, you still don’t want to set a really defined pressure point, but now it brakes and quite properly, and in a flash the long-term memory reports that exactly such brakes were the measure of all things 30 years ago. Which is why it was precisely these Brembo two-piston calipers that topped what the European motorcycle industry was producing for many years.


The Ducati Pantah 500 in an individual test


Markus Jahn

Narrow tires promote maneuverability, the long trail rather not.

The little Duc has even more to offer. Really thick, travel-ready passenger pegs, for example. For whom? Or a handle to jack up like on the tourer. The handle, by the way, makes sense because the athlete only has one main stand. He carries almost massive instruments from Nippon Denso, which indicate calmly and, above all, precisely. The same manufacturer also supplied the ignition coils, Bosch contributed the electronic ignition system – although Taglioni’s colleague Lino Tonti was annoyed about this part and ruefully had his newly introduced Guzzi V35 / 50 converted back to contact-controlled ignition systems.

The Pantah even hides an admission in the motor housing. Namely, that the connecting rod feet of large, high-revving engines run better on plain bearings. As is well known, defective connecting rod bearings had cost the vertical shaft motor a certain amount of trust. With the Pantah, however, a seldom experienced peace returned to Ducati workshops. Reason enough to make her the mother of entire motorcycle families from the Cagiva Elefant to the Ducati Monster, and proof that a true master never stops learning. Fabio Taglioni may have loved the vertical shaft twins, but he also knew that it could be even better.

Technical specifications


The Ducati Pantah 500 in an individual test


Markus Jahn

A chic classic: the Ducati Pantah 500.

Engine: Air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke 90-degree V-engine, one overhead, toothed belt-driven camshaft, two desmodromic valves operated by rocker arms, bore x stroke 74 x 58 mm, displacement 499 cm³, round slide carburetor, Ø 36 mm.
Output: 46 hp at 8500 rpm.
Torque: 40 Nm at 6300 rpm.
Power transmission: multi-disc oil bath clutch, five-speed gearbox, chain drive.
Chassis: tubular steel frame, telescopic fork, Ø 36 mm, two-arm swing arm, two spring struts, light alloy cast wheels, tires 3.25 x 18 front, 3.50 x 18 rear, double disc brake front, Ø 260 mm, disc brake rear, Ø 280 mm.
Dimensions and weights: wheelbase 1450 mm, weight 202 kg.
Driving performance: vmax 185 km / h.
Price: 8,775 Marks (1981).

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