Ducati Pantah
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| Manufacturer | Ducati |
|---|---|
| Also called | Ducati Pantah 600 TL |
| Production | 1980-1986 |
| Successor | SuperSport |
| Class | Sportbike |
| Engine | 90° V-twin |
The Ducati Pantah was an Italian motorcycle with a 90° V-twin engine, produced between 1980 and 1986.
Unlike its predecessors which were bevel-gear OHC designs, the Pantah was the first Ducati to have belt-driven camshaft motors, thus forming the vanguard of the new generation of current Ducati V-twins. First shown December 1979, the Pantah came on the market as the 1980 500SL and the last of the line, the 650SL, was sold in 1986. Successful in racing as the 600 cc TT2 and later TT1 750 cc racer, the Pantah was a lighter, shorter wheelbase motorcycle, in a new trellis frame that was to become a trademark Ducati feature.
When Ducati's 1976 350 cc and 500 cc parallel twins proved to be a marketing failure, Fabio Taglioni went to work developing the a replacement. The Pantah 500 was developed from the last of the GP500 racers of 1973, the Pantah and its successors have shown that, contrary to the "received wisdom", a twin-cylinder biker can compete successfully against the fours.
The Pantah was first shown at the Milan Bike Show in December 1979. The prototype was different again to Ducati’s earlier bikes: it had a trellis frame, with the suspended motor acting as a stressed member, and the swingarm pivoted on the rear of the crankcase. The single overhead camshaft was driven by toothed rubber belt and primary transmission was via Morse chain . The front disc brake was a Campagnolo Hydroconico. The Pantah's performance was impressive: 500 cc, 50 hp (36.5 kW) @ 8500 rpm, 180 kg, 1450 mm of wheelbase, significantly better from the earlier bevel-head V twins which were too long, bulky and stable for racing. The Pantah's performance easily surpassed that of the ill-conceived 1976 parallel twins.
The 1980 Pantah 500SL had a plain bearing crankshaft and the same bore and stroke as the old 500 racer, 74 mm x 58 mm, but the head had a 60 degree included valve angle. The engines were noticeably lacking in bottom-end and mid-range torque, but theyrevved freely enough. The suspension seemed less precise than earlier Ducati models, and the 35 mm front forks lacked rigidity. Some riders found the final gearing too tall, and the intake and exhaust restrictive; but when these were changed for higher flow items with lowered gearing, it gave a performance increase.
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