DUCATI from the inside - a tour of the Bologna plant. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati, Maserati, Pagani (with the opportunity to visit factories) Engine pre-assembly

01.08.2020

DUCATI

From 1926 to this day, motorcycles DUCATI never cease to delight customers from all over the world. These Italian motorcycles can be seen not only in Europe, but also on other continents. “Why are DUCATI so popular all over the world?” - you ask. The answer is simple: unrivaled style, technology and quality. There are no in-line engine bikes among DUCATI motorcycles. On the contrary, the company's management focused on the development of an L-shaped engine and was right. The power and torque are perfectly matched, and what can we say about the sound - it’s just a song!

In addition to the unusual engine type, DUCATI motorcycles boast their own unique drive system for Desmodromic valves. The cam drive was developed by engineer Fabio Taglioni and became a huge competitive advantage for DUCATI over other European, as well as Japanese manufacturers motorcycles.

Until the beginning of the 21st century, the line of DUCATI motorcycles could only boast of sportbikes and classic road motorcycles. Who doesn’t remember the world-famous DUCATI Monster and all kinds of red sportbikes? With the advent of the new millennium, engineers give us the DUCATI Multistrada - a touring motorcycle with all kinds of adjustments, the Hyperstrada - a lightweight touring motorcycle equipped with panniers, the Hypermotard - a motorcycle for extreme sports, and a completely new pearl of the urban line DUCATI Diavel - it seems like a cruiser, but it doesn’t seem like it.

In the new century, DUCATI not only does not slow down the pace of production and development, but strives to cover ever larger categories of customers. Who knows, maybe in just a few years the Italians will delight novice motorcyclists with a small 300 cc copy of the DUCATI Panigale...

DUCATI.COM - official website of the DUCATI company.

MOTORRIKA is an official dealer and professional certified service center DUCATI motorcycles in Russia (Moscow).

In our official MOTORRIKA dealership (Moscow, Krylatskaya St., 14) you can buy new motorcycle DUCATI from what is in stock, or place an order for any model from the DUCATI model range. We present motorcycles from 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 without mileage.

Available unique tuning each model using professional accessories and motorcycle parts from the best manufacturing companies (Öhlins, Rizoma, Brembo, etc.), which are used to modernize motorcycles for professional racing and competitions.

We offer Better conditions purchasing new DUCATI motorcycles in Russia. The motorcycle showroom always offers promotions and discounts on the purchase, maintenance, repair and modernization of both new and used DUCATI motorcycles. New motorcycles arrive directly from the official DUCATI importer in Russia in the shortest possible time.

website - the official website of the DUCATI dealer in Russia.

Motorcycle showroom MOTORRIKA is located at: Russia, Moscow, st. Krylatskaya, 14.

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It produces its motorcycles at the only plant in the world in Bologna, although since the middle of the last century the company has significantly increased both production volumes and the number of models. 55,000 motorcycles are produced annually; at peak production, 500 workers work on the devices. The company's headquarters is located in the same place, in Bologna, in the Borgo Panigale area, on Via Antonio Cavalieri Ducati (the three Cavalieri brothers founded the company in 1926, and their father was called Antonio).

DUCATI has offices around the world and employs a further 480 people, including 120 in the DUCATI Corse racing department. They are working to ensure that the rivals of factory team drivers Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso and the DUCATI satellite teams remain far behind the blood red bikes. Unfortunately, entry into the DUCATI Corse building is prohibited to everyone except employees, but excursions are organized to the DUCATI factory, and you can watch how specialists create an Italian miracle of technology from original parts.

Future stars

The first place you come to at the DUCATI factory is DESI, the company's educational center. Every year the company selects 26 lucky students aged 16–18 from Bologna and pays for their two years of education. Students learn how to operate CNC machines and gain other useful skills that will be useful to them in their careers. machine-building plants. While studying, young people receive a scholarship of 600 euros. Italians consider working for DUCATI very prestigious, and the company invests heavily in finding and training talented specialists.

Raw materials

Just behind DESI is the machining shop, where raw parts such as connecting rods and camshafts are finished on machines. This workshop is the only one in the plant that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All spare parts are supplied in the form of raw materials: about 60% come from Italian companies, another 10% are brought from EU countries, the remaining parts come from other countries. For example, the weight of the Panigale camshaft, which just arrived from the factory at the DUCATI plant, is a little more than a kilogram. At the factory it is ground, holes are drilled in it, milled, and then primed. Weight of the part after all technological processes equal to 410 grams. After processing, all motorcycle parts are sent to the “Supermarket”.

The section with such an unusual name really resembles a large store: there workers sort all the spare parts, which will then end up at work stations along the production line. The parts are placed in special containers where they are stored until they are installed on the motorcycle. Every assembler knows: if even one nut falls out of the container, the work of the entire team can go down the drain. In the 90s, production was chaotic, with technicians taking parts directly from the assembly line. The result of this approach was a large number of errors, so the build quality suffered and the production time of the motorcycle increased.

Engine pre-assembly

Before the engine hits the conveyor belt, workers separate its parts into two containers. The first contains crankshafts and pistons, and in the second - the engine itself with all the accompanying supports. This saves time and at this stage the engine is given unique identification numbers.

At the DUCATI plant there are three conveyors with engines. On one they collect power units Superquadro, which are installed, for example, on the .

On another line, engines for models , and .

On the third conveyor belt, workers assemble engines for and.

Each zone is divided into 2 production lines, each with two specialists working on two engines simultaneously. During work, employees do not exchange engines; each one makes his own. Thus, the workflow eliminates the need to perform the same manipulations with a separate engine. The first part of engine assembly for the Superquadro takes an hour, as it is more complex than the units in the Scrambler or Multistrada models - the engines of these models require 30 minutes to assemble. After the first stage, the engines are transferred further along the belt. The Superquadro and Multistrada engines need another hour to be fully assembled, while the Scrambler engine will be ready in 45 minutes.

Each engine contains about five hundred parts. DUCATI debunks the myth of only male engine assemblers - many women work at this stage of production. Immediately after assembly, each unit is tested, it is accelerated to 2,500 rpm, and if something goes wrong, the engine is immediately sent to the “Hospital”. This is the place where specialists rebuild the engine and fix any identified problems. In the 90s, 5-6% of all engines ended up being overhauled, but now their number is less than one percent - modernization of production has been beneficial.

Motorcycle assembly lines

DUCATI produces 34 models of motorcycles: , and are assembled on one assembly line, assembled on another, and appears on a third. On these lines, the engine is already installed on a frame prepared for painting - for further work you need a ready-made motorcycle frame. Along the conveyor line, the future bike moves towards the completion stage, two workers work on it at the same time, and it takes them 22 minutes. During peak production season, 350 motorcycles roll off the assembly line daily. After assembly, they are sent to the testing site.

Ending station

Immediately after assembly, the bike is sent for its first test, where the level of harmful emissions is measured before main check. DUCATI has about 200 variations of motorcycle system settings, each used for a particular country - each state has its own laws on environmental protection. At this stage, the required engine control unit is installed. Immediately after these manipulations, the motorcycle goes to the dyno, where all its systems are tested: ABS, traction control, quickshifter, gearbox and engine - everything must work flawlessly. The test on the stand takes five minutes and does not in any way harm the future running of the motorcycle - the engine is accelerated to 5 thousand revolutions per minute, and the wheel speed does not exceed 100 km/h. If everything goes well, the motorcycle is ready for release. To completely assemble it, you need 10–14 hours - this is the time without the initial processing of raw parts.

Delivery

On production areas There is not enough space to store all the motorcycles produced for a long time. Therefore, every day 350 devices are sent to the warehouse, from where the next day they will go to one of the 783 official dealers in 90 countries. Including to the Moscow dealership DUCATI - MOTORRIKA at the address: , where the bike will be carefully handed over to a happy client - Ducatisti, as the manufacturer affectionately calls it.

DUCATI in numbers

1200 - number of employees at the Bologna plant

500 - number of employees involved in work on the conveyor

30% - percentage of women in production

120 - number of employees in the racing department of DUCATI Corse

350 - the number of motorcycles rolling off the assembly line during the peak production season

55 thousand - the number of DUCATI motorcycles produced in 2016

120 minutes - Superquadro engine assembly time

500 - number of parts in a DUCATI engine

783 - number of dealers worldwide

The history of the Ducati brand began in 1926, when the Ducati brothers decided to start building a factory. From a small family business producing radio components, Ducati has grown into an international motorcycle brand. Now the Ducati plant, located in Bologna, is the pride of Italian industry. The Ducati company produces motorcycles with unique engine characteristics, using the latest innovations and design solutions. Ducati offers customers a wide range of the lineup racing motorcycles: Superbike, Supersport, Monster, Multistrada, SportClassic and Hypermotard. The company's products are sold in more than 60 countries around the world, mainly in markets Western Europe and North America.

In 1998, Ducati opened a museum dedicated to the history of the company. Located on 1000 square meters at the Ducati factory headquarters, the exhibition highlights 50 years of technological innovation in the production of racing motorcycles and the history of victories of the Ducati brand. Built to resemble a brightly lit race track, the museum displays 33 legendary motorcycles in a special viewing area shaped like a giant red helmet.

Working hours

Guided tour of the museum usually booked in advance and can be held on the following days:

Monday to Friday: 9.15, 11.00, 13.45, 15.30

Duration of the excursion around the factory and museum: 1.5 hours.

On Saturday there is a tour of the museum only.

Excursion times: 10.00, 11.00, 12.00

A tour of the museum lasts about 30 minutes.

Meeting point- before entering the enterprise. Late arrivals are not allowed onto the premises.

Closed: Sundays, Easter holidays, summer holiday season (to be confirmed), Christmas and Italian public holidays (April 25, May 1, June 2, November 1, December 8).

Order an excursion

To order an excursion you must fill out the following form:

Only a response from Ducati is a confirmation of the booking.

You can also book a tour by phone: +39 051-6413343 - Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 11.00 and from 14.00 to 16.00.

Address plant And museum Ducati: Ducati Motor Holding, via Antonio Cavalieri Ducati 3, 40132 Bologna - Italy.

Languages

The tour is conducted in Italian and English languages. It is also possible to conduct a tour in French, German and Spanish- please indicate the desired language in the registration form.