Friday, January 25, 2013

MotoCorsa presents: Museo Ducati

By Scott Araujo

For the northern part of the United States, January and February are the slowest months for motorcycle shops. The holiday shoppers are gone and you're lucky if you sell a few parts to people doing winter maintenance. What can a shop do to get people to come in during these cold months?

Arun Sharma is the manager of MotoCorsa in Portland, OR, one of the country's highest volume Ducati dealers, and asked himself this very question. His answer: turn the shop into a museum. The shop has some bikes, Arun has some bikes. He made a call to a fellow collector and a couple of other owners for particular models and it was a done deal. From the MotoCorsa site:

January 8th through 31st. Tuesday through Saturday. 10am – 6pm

A first-ever exhibition spanning seven decades, this is not to be missed! Some of the world's rarest Ducati motorcycles will be shared, including the 1974 750 Supersport and the 1993 Supermono. Be sure to visit MotoCorsa in the month of January as we transform into an amazing Ducati museum showcasing over 30 amazing examples of Bologna's finest machines.

 http://motocorsa.com/post/motocorsa-presents-museo-ducati

They've also got some videos playing that detail the history of the company. If you're anywhere near Portland you should get over and take a look. Enough said, here are some pics of the littler Ducatis on display. Oh, and be sure to sneak across the street to see the inventory of Royal Enfields.

1962 Falcon Fifty
1962 Falcon Fifty
This little beast had a top speed of 50mph, a scary thought when you see how tiny it is in the flesh.




1965 Ducati Diana Mark 3 250
1965 Ducati Diana Mark 3 250

1957 ducati 175 Sport
1957 ducati 175 Sport
Just look at the curves on that tank!

1963 Ducati Scrambler 250
1963 Ducati Scrambler 250
This bike is almost always on display at the shop.

1970 Mark 3D 450
1970 Mark 3D 450
1969 Ducati Scrambler 450
1969 Ducati Scrambler 450

1993 Ducati Supermono
1993 Ducati Supermono
Rarest of the rare. As Arun told me, aside from MotoCorsa you're not likely to see this bike anywhere except the Ducati museum in Bologna. Only 65 were built from 1993 to 1995. The design and innovations of this bike strongly influenced the design of the Ducati 916, the bike that arguably set the standard for all sportbikes for the next several decades and is one of the most iconic Ducatis ever made.

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