Table of contents
- Big show: the unique Ducati 50 SL / 1 offers beautiful details and classic shapes Ducati 50 SL / 1: the rare collector’s item in the detailed view
- Interview with Livio Lodi
- Technical specifications
Bilski
16 pictures
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1/16
Ducati’s 50s two-stroke with cross-flow purging makes 4.5 hp, which, according to the factory, should be enough for around 80 km / h top.
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2/16
Moto Ducati logo.
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3/16
The original vehicle documents show the year of construction 1970, but have no owner entry.
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4/16
This is what the young and the young at heart love: The sporty 50s Ducati scores with beautiful details such as the fork springs on the outside.
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5/16
The sporty 50s Ducati pays homage to its great role models with beautiful details such as the hump bench.
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6/16
This is what the young and the young at heart love: narrow steering stubs.
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7/16
Happy together: Horst Stirm and his favorite toy that he discovered on vacation in Italy.
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8/16
The distinctive exhaust is a contemporary tuning part.
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9/16
Unique: the Ducati 50 SL / 1
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10/16
Livio Lodi, curator of the Ducati Museum in Bologna.
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11/16
The unique collector’s item: the Ducati 50 SL / 1.
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12/16
With its classic shapes and many beautiful details, the little Duc offers a big show.
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13/16
Finely done: the raised brand name on the footrest rubbers.
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14/16
Finely done: the raised brand name on the polished motor housing.
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15/16
The two filler necks on the small tank are just for show.
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16/16
The open intake funnel is also really good.
motorcycles
Ducati 50 SL / 1: the rare collector’s item offers classic shapes and beautiful details
Big show: the unique Ducati 50 SL / 1 offers beautiful details and classic shapes
Ducati 50 SL / 1: the rare collector’s item in the detailed view
Content of
One is never immune from Cupid’s arrows. Not even on vacation. This was felt by a passionate collector of Italian motorcycles, who was on fire for this rare 1950s Ducati from the very first moment.
Uli Holzwarth
10/12/2012
Vacation flirtation is one of those things. First the butterflies dance, then you never see each other again. The great love? Few of them meet. Of course, a seasoned Swabian like Horst Stirm knows that too. And yet he embarked on such an adventure. It happened on a short trip to Italy last December, in the middle of Ferrara, when the collector of Italian motorcycle cabaret strolled through the local parts market. There she stood, this classy Signorina: so small, so petite – and so beautiful that it fell for her immediately.
Yes, it was love at first sight. And he let it happen. She also comes from a good family, the little one. One Ducati has a name, even if it’s “only” a 50 like the 50 SL / 1. With this very sporty-styled mini-runabout, Ducati wanted to land with young people in the mid-1960s to compensate for the dramatic decline in motorcycle sales.
Bilski
With its classic shapes and many beautiful details, the little Duc offers a big show.
Well, there he was, the newly in love Teutone. With covetous looks in front of the red one – and a big problem. Because the owner, a parts dealer from Modena, spoke just as little English as Stirm spoke Italian. Something like a conversation succeeded with hands and feet. However, this was disappointing for Horst Stirm, because the owner did not want to part with the Duc. At most from a business card.
After all. So there was still a glimmer of hope. Because even at home, Stirm couldn’t get the graceful athlete out of his head: “For me, the Ducati is simply the most beautiful of all the small mopeds.” Fortunately, there is still an Italian ice cream parlor in town with an Italian-speaking owner. He liked to play the interpreter. What he reported, however, was anything but reassuring: Stirm had a rival, an Englishman, who was supposedly about to sign a contract. A shock that made it necessary to act quickly. Because Stirm really wanted to have these 50s.
Bilski
The open intake funnel is also really good.
So the translator had to do it again. All the details were discussed over the phone and the deal worked. A few days later, Horst Stirm was standing in front of “his” red Signorina in Modena, happy and relieved. Also for a number of bills. The price? “Quite high and not negotiable. You could have bought a big motorcycle for that. ”The former fitter in the Daimler development department did not care that the papers were missing:“ The Duc runs wonderfully, but is no longer driven anyway. ”He simply enjoys the sight of the classic lines, the open intake funnel or the many polished aluminum parts. A feast for the eyes that makes every moment of viewing a special one.
Nevertheless, Stirm was happy when a few weeks later the original papers were sent by post from Italy. Only now did he have the certainty that his Ducati was not a fully restored specimen, but actually a virgin 50 SL / 1 with no owner entry in the documents. As it turned out afterwards, the seller, a former Ducati dealer, had kept this beautifully made 50s for himself.
It goes without saying that Horst Stirm will also visit the oldie markets there on future trips to Italy. You are never too old for amorous holiday adventures of this kind. Not even at the age of 77.
Interview with Livio Lodi
Bilski
Livio Lodi, curator of the Ducati Museum in Bologna.
“There were also cucumbers”
When exactly was the 50 SL / 1 built??
It was launched in 1966. Before and after that, there were similar models with 48 to 50 cubic meters that were more touristy or had the exhaust down below like the SL / 1A. Later Ducati also built a small scrambler based on the SL / 1. Technically, the 50s were all similar, with a two-stroke engine and around four to 4.5 hp and a three or four-speed gearbox. The SL / 1 remained in production at least until 1970. We do not know for sure whether it was built later, because our documents from this time are not complete.
Ducati had previously successfully built larger four-stroke motorcycles. Why this return to the 50s?
Motorcycles were on the decline in the late 1950s. In Germany people preferred to drive Beetles, in Italy there was a run on the Fiat 500. Of course, you were protected from wind and weather, you could take the family with you and sometimes transport larger things. Because of this, the sales figures for motorcycles have plummeted, and Ducati could not just stand by. And so they tried to win at least the 14- and 15-year-olds with these 50s. Not just us, but also manufacturers like Malanca and Italjet, to name just two more from Bologna.
Compared to other 50s from Ducati, the SL / 1 had a very sporty look. Was that also an attempt to address the young people?
Yes. It should not be forgotten that Ducati had won the Motogiro d‘Italia several times at the end of the 1950s, a very popular race, and a sporty 50s of the house was therefore credible. In addition, there was still the 50 class in the Grand Prix at that time, which also appealed to the young drivers. And so the SL / 1 was built with a racing look, i.e. with a long tank, long seat, low handlebars and the two fuel caps, which had a purely visual function. The four-speed gearbox was also due to the sportiness, because only three gears, as in the previously built Ducati 50s, would have immediately exposed them to ridicule, and their driver at the same time. If you will, the SL / 1 was what the 125cc Cagiva Mito was in the 1990s compared to the Ducati 916: an offer for those who dreamed of a great sporty motorcycle but could either not afford it or were not allowed to drive it because they were too young.
What did the SL / 1 cost back then?
Its full name was Sport Lusso, meaning luxury athlete, and it wasn’t really cheap. According to the list, it cost exactly 118,000 lire in 1967. For comparison: the Fiat 500 F from the same year was available for 475,000 lire. Ducati also had cheaper 50s in its range, such as the Brisk for 71,000 lire or the Piuma. But there were more mopeds, both visually and technically. To be honest, there were some really nice cucumbers in the 50s offer. But the managers just tried to make the most of the tough times and offer everything they thought might pull. Ducati even built three-wheeled small tractors and a scooter, the Brio, in those years.
Was the SL / 1 a success??
I can’t say for sure, we hardly have any figures from these years. I don’t think people fought over them, though. At least their design was well received, and the look of the well-known 350 Mark 3 Desmo from 1968 was based on this. What is certain is that none of these 50s from the 60s was one of the motorcycles that are important to Ducati and that established the brand’s reputation. They are an interesting and little-known chapter in our company’s history that sheds light on difficult times – but nothing more.
Eva Breutel conducted the interview
Technical specifications
Bilski
The distinctive exhaust is a contemporary tuning part.
Engine:
Single-cylinder two-stroke engine, cylinder slightly inclined forwards, head and cylinder made of aluminum, bore x stroke 38.6 x 42 mm, displacement 49.695 cm³, 4.5 HP at 8200 rpm, compression ratio 11: 1, DellOrto carburetor, magneto ignition, Air cooling, kick starter, multi-disc oil bath clutch, four-speed gearbox with footshift on the right-hand side
Landing gear:
Closed double loop frame made of steel tubes, mechanical telescopic fork at the front, swing arm with two mechanical spring struts at the rear, aluminum drum brakes at the front and rear with a diameter of 118 mm each, steel spoke wheels, tires f / h 2.25-19, tire pressure f / h 1.75 / 2.25 bar
Measurements and weight:
Length 1770 mm, wheelbase 1150 mm, handlebar width 578 mm, height 860 mm, seat height 750 mm, footrest height 260 mm, ground clearance 200 mm, dry weight 69 kg, tank capacity 9.6 liters (1.8 liters reserve), mixture with five percent oil . Consumption 2.02 liters / 100 km
Top speed: 80 km / h
Price (1967): 118,000 lire
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