2020-01-01_Motorcycle_Trader

WORDS&PHOTOSIANFALLOON

MOTORCYCLETRADER 97

Rare, beautiful and full

of racing DNA, the little

250 Mach 1 was Ducati’s

best production bike

of the 1960s

T

he introduction of the Fiat

500 Bambino in 1957 pretty

much decimated the Italian

motorcycle industry. As nearly

every Italian family wanted the

affordable car by the early 1960s, it

had effectively wiped out the market

for basic two-wheeled transportation.

In the wake of the Fiat 500’s

success, many Italian motorcycle

manufacturers simply disappeared,

with only a handful surviving due

to either strong family backing

(like Laverda and MV Agusta) or

government ownership (like Ducati).

But government ownership came at

MACH 1

DUC

ATI (^250)