Taglioni’s First Twin: 1973 Ducati 750GT

By Robert Smith
Published on April 9, 2015
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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When owner George Dockray restored his 750GT, he was more concerned about practicality than originality. “The purists go ballistic.”
When owner George Dockray restored his 750GT, he was more concerned about practicality than originality. “The purists go ballistic.”
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT
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1973 Ducati 750GT
1973 Ducati 750GT

1973 Ducati 750GT
Claimed power:
49.91hp @ 7,200rpm (period test)
Top speed:
125mph (est.)
Engine: 748cc air-cooled SOHC 90-degree V-twin, 80mm x 74.4mm bore and stroke, 8.5:1 compression ratio
Weight (dry): 407lb (185kg)
Fuel capacity/MPG: 4.5gal (17ltr)/35-45mpg
Price then/now:
$1,995/$5,000-$15,000

By 1970, the global motorcycle market was very different from what it had been a decade earlier. In the early ‘60s, most European riders wanted small commuter bikes or scooters, while the more affluent leaned toward sports machines of a half liter or so. Ten years later, 750cc bikes were the most important class: most commuters had switched to cars, and motorcycles were now classed as “recreational vehicles.”

In the U.S., Japanese imports grew larger in capacity and brisker in performance, challenging the traditional American big-inch V-twin with more features and performance at a fraction of the price. The much heralded Honda CB750 Four was less the instigator of this trend and more the inevitable result of it. Perhaps the most important achievement of the CB750 was to reinforce 750cc as the benchmark capacity for new sporting motorcycles: If motorcycle makers were to survive into the Seventies, they needed a 750. In 1970, Ducati made singles up to just 450cc — even if they were some of the sportiest and best regarded on the road.

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