Ducati has never claimed that its bikes are for everyone. Like the Italian exotic car industry, Ducati Meccanica S.p.A. does not build mediocre machinery for mediocre people. Lowest common denominators are kept where they belong – in schoolrooms, well away from designers’ drawing boards.

The Italian motorcycle industry happily leaves the manufacture of Jack Of All Trades bikes to firms in other countries, reasoning that Latins are best at building something hot, stirring and exciting. Few sport bike afficionados will argue.

When, in the January 1982 issue, Two Wheels reviewed Ducati’s 500 Pantah, a good many kindly words were lavished on the model but its weighty price tag was bemoaned. Fortunately, the 600 version is no more expensive, but $3799 is hardly bargain-basement when you consider comparably sized Japanese models cost some $800 less. The bike will appeal most to someone willing to pay for the privilege of owning a true Italian sportster, a bike which demonstrates almost indefinable qualities of soul, style, handling and aristocratic exclusiveness.

Relatively few changes were made to the 500 for the larger model. Replacing the 74 mm diameter pistons with 80 mm units swelled the old model’s 499 cm3 swept volume to 583 cm3. Stroke remained a short 58 mm so piston speed at the 600’s 9000 rpm redline averages an easily managed 17.4 m/second. Power was upped six per cent from 37.3 kW at 9050 rpm to 43.3 kW at 8500 rpm.

Kawasaki claims the same peak power for its GPz550, a demonstrably quicker bike as well as being five kg heavier than the 600’s 188 kg, so perhaps the Japanese aren’t the only ones guilty of counting smallish horses when it suits them.

Overall gearing was altered minutely to a taller figure though internal ratios remain the same. Heavier clutch springs are used to tame the larger mill’s additional power and clutch operation was changed to hydraulic rather than cable.

Regrettably, lever pull remains heavy enough to tire even strong left wrists in city traffic. A look at the hydraulic clutch operation on Honda’s VF750 would pay dividends on the next 600 Pantah.

Fortunately most of the 500 Pantah’s strong points also made the transition to the 600, including stable high-speed handling, good braking and a responsive, free-­revving engine. Most important of all, the 500’s styling (guaranteed to speed up even the staidest heart) continued untouched on the larger model. Any bike this handsome and well-proportioned just has to be Italian!

The Pantah uses the familiar Ducati motor layout of an air-cooled, 90 degree V-twin with the forward cylinder lying slightly up from horizontal (head behind the front wheel) and the other just rearwards of vertical. Conrods with plain bearings run side by side on a common crankpin and the one-piece crank spins in two roller bearings. Each head contains its own overhead camshaft driven by a toothed rubber belt from the crankshaft

Ducati recommends belt replacement every 20,000 km. Two valves fill and empty each cylinder, valve closure being achieved by the desmodromic system Ducati has favoured for a number of years, using a second lobe and follower to close the valve in place of the more common coil spring. A pair of accelerator pump-­equipped, square slide, 36 mm Dell’Orto carburettors feed fuel to the engine which is lubricated by oil from a wet sump reservoir.

Our test bike liked some choke on cold mornings, but started reliably every time except once after it was left standing in rain overnight. On that occasion the 600 remained utterly dead until the ignition dried out. Once spinning, the engine warms quickly and reasonable loads can be applied without fear of stalling.

In the owner’s manual, Ducati recommends a five to ten minute warm-up before riding. We doubt that many owners will religiously observe such instructions, but gentle riding early in the piece may be good practice for owners figuring on keeping their Pantahs for some time.

Those used to the deep bark of a Ducati wearing Conti silencers will find the Pantah rather innocuous noise-wise. The characteristic V-twin pulsing is there, it’s just more muted than usual. Intake noise too is much more muffled than on previous Dukes, making the model altogether more low key (looks aside) than, say, a Darmah.

At middling revs (4000 to 7000 rpm) the test bike smoothed out nicely, but at the top end of its rev range (7500 to 9000 rpm) engine vibration became progressively more buzzy and detracted from riding at these speeds. In fact, our Pantah sent more vibration through to the rider at these revs than some Darmahs we’ve ridden.

On the road the 600 V-twin is a delightful powerplant. It is very free-revving, makes good power from 4000 rpm up (it is happy from 3000 to 4000 rpm, just not particularly strong), feels bullet-proof and doesn’t use too much fuel. The test bike returned 14.3, 15.5 and 19.1 km/litre from hard riding, city work and solo touring respectively for an overall average of 16.6 km/ litre, not at all bad for a 600 sportster.

We did notice that constant around town running seemed to take the edge off the motor’s sharpness although it never got close to actually fouling up. We also found a quick and enjoyable remedy – a short squirt into the country or down a freeway restored its crispness 100 per cent. Because of the Pantah engine’s super free-spinning nature, engine braking was fairly weak from engine speeds below 6000 rpm.

In straight line acceleration, the 600 Pantah felt to be giving very little away to a Darmah, and returned a standing 400 metre time of 13.4 seconds. This compares with the Darmah (13.1), Kawasaki’s GPz550 (12.8), Honda’s CX500 (14.0) and Yamaha’s XZ550 twin (13.3). In fairness, the Pantah’s time should really be compared with other twins and in this company it does very well indeed.

Redlining the bike through the gears saw indicated speeds of 76, 108, 140 and 176 km/h in the lower four ratios and a top indicated speed of 190 km/h in top at around 8750 rpm. First feels fairly tall around town in the manner of a 900SS, but the 600 has enough mid range power and a sufficiently low weight to pull away from traffic lights smartly when necessary without excessive slipping of its clutch. It is considerably better than the 500 Pantah in this regard.

We had a certain amount of trouble with the gearbox on our test bike (stiff lever action, hard-to-find neutral), but feel this was more a reflection of the bike’s 25,000 kilometres than an inherent fault. The gearshifts on other Pantahs we have ridden have performed excellently, if requiring a longer nudge on the lever than owners of Oriental machinery will be used to giving. Driveline freeplay is average and causes no nuisance.

Top-flight handling has long been Ducati’s drawcard but the margin held by Bologna-built machinery over bikes built elsewhere (read Japan) is much less today than it was in the early Seventies.

Bikes like the Kawasaki GPz550 have little to be ashamed of when it comes to blasting along open twisty roads. And if those roads are not so open or are poorly surfaced, chances are the more compliantly sprung Japanese sportsters will make a better fist of the job than their rigidly suspended Italian counterparts.

That said, the Pantah is a superb high­speed handler. It is rock stable at top speed and instils great confidence in expert riders. The trick is to ensure that the bike’s tantalisingly high limits don’t lead you beyond your limits. The bike feels a lot like a grand prix racer which took a wrong turn at the track and somehow ended up on public roads. It positively begs you to play Agostini on its seat. Even its shortcomings are similar to those of a GP bike ridden on normal roads – a cramped racing style crouch and a turning circle measured in kilometres!

Offsetting the Pantah’s lack of steering lock is its low seat which brings manoeuvring back from unbearable to merely painful. Cornering clearance is excellent and the bike is reasonably chuckable without being particularly quick to change direction (slow steering geometry). It is also not upset by braking in the middle of bends although it does stand up a little under such conditions.

Both front and rear suspension is firm and of limited travel (Marzocchi at both ends, air assisted at the rear) and does not permit the degree of ride tailoring now possible on many Japanese bikes. The suspension is not as stiff as the bone jarring set-up on 900SS Ducatis, but it is stiff enough to have difficulty coping with corrugations or very rough roads without skipping.

Adding a passenger gets the rear shocks working fairly well but an increase in preload is essential if periodic bottoming on dips is to be avoided. Lean clearance also drops noticeably if the rear units are not jacked up for two-up work.

The front stoppers’ twin Brembo calipers work well on their cast iron discs wet or dry, hot or cold, and send good feedback to the rider’s fingers. It would be nice if those fingers weren’t quite so stretched out reaching the lever at its rest position, however. Our test bike’s rear brake (again a Brembo) was gutless and did little more than aid stability while adding very little braking effort at all. Several Japanese sportsters in the Pantah’s class have brakes as good as or better than the famed Brembos fitted to Pantahs. The Duke’s lead of yesteryear has been whittled away.

The Pantah is a small motorcycle and large and even medium test riders found its riding position somewhat cramped.

Both rider’s and passenger’s footpegs are quite high so tight knee bends are unavoidable. The compulsory racer’s crouch puts a lot of weight on your wrists and shoulder aches begin in earnest after about two hours in the saddle. On that point, the Pantah’s dual seat (it converts to a single seat with the addition of a screw-on tailpiece) is hardly anything to write home about. It is hard, board-like and has little padding. Only masochistic riders and passengers will be satisfied on this inferior bumrest.

Instruments are Nippondensos and are easy to read, apart from working out the four levels of redline on the tacho face. The horn is loud and the halogen headlight is suitable for fast night riding with safety. Our test bike had the low beam cut-off on the wrong side however, to suit countries driving on the right. The Pantah’s blinkers and tail light were not particularly bright by Japanese standards, and the rearview mirrors (attached to the ends of the clip-on handlebars) provided only a very narrow angle of view. The dashboard idiot light warning of “lights on” was blinding at night and most uncomfortable on unlit roads.

The test machine came with three different keys, two too many in this day and age. Its petrol cap leaked badly whenever the bike was braked half seriously on a full tank. There is no side stand for short stops and the lift handle for the main stand is perfectly positioned to cause back injury. Reaching into the fairing to use the choke or reset the trip­meter is a fiddly business without gloves and damn near impossible gloved up. And while the fairing keeps the cold blast off the rider’s hands, it dumps high velocity flow onto his shins, neck and chest.

Finally, the Pantah’s finish is not quite up to standard. Our (admittedly not-so-­young) test bike had corrosion in all sorts of unlikely but visible places. A $3800 bike demands BMW-type attention to detail.

We said at the beginning of this test that Ducatis are not bikes for everybody. The 600 Pantah is no different. But if you demand a rider’s bike above all and are willing to pay for it, the Pantah may be just the bike for you. While it may be only ordinary in some respects, what it does best it does magnificently, unmatchably. That alone can make a bike something to be prized.

By Col Miller. Two Wheels, April 1983

Racer in a Box: The Formula Two TT 600

Roadracing motorcycles are often little and light – after all, that’s a logical way to approach the problem of getting around as quick as you can with the power available.

Folklore has it that the littlest and lightest and most purposeful racing motorcycles were always Italian. While that may not be true across the board – the four-cylinder MV Agustas were fairly large lumps of machinery – the Formula Two TT Pantah 600 produced by the Ducati factory follows the tradition right down the line.

Spectators at meetings in NSW over the past nine months have been able to fall in love with the sight of two of the little red machines burning up the tracks. Both were imported by Ducati Australia; one has continued under the firm’s banner with Kiwi Richard Scott and more lately New South Welshman Gary Gleason at the controls, while the other has been campaigned by Newcastle C-grader Ron Young, backed by Fraser Motorcycles.

The bikes have taken to the Formula European racing with ease. Scott was able to tangle with – and often beat – the reigning top dogs in the bracket, Dave Robbins and the 860 Ducati NCR. Young has been able to mix it with the much­modified roadster Ducatis from Gowanloch Engineering and Bob Brown Motorcycles. Both have also thrown out a solid challenge to the one-litre plus four­cylinder Japanese superbikes.

With Scott prohibited by a contract with the Yamaha Dealer Team from continuing on the Ducati Australia bike, riding duties were taken over by Gary Gleason, an experienced Yamaha TZ350 pilot from Wollongong. At his debut ride at the Oran Park meeting late in February, Gary finished second in the first heat to Kevin Magee on the Bob Brown Pantah, showing the benefits of a recent upsizing to 670 cm3. In the second heat he was displaced to third when Robbins and the NCR charged through to join battle with Magee.

For the meeting, the Ducati Australia bike was carrying a modification in the form of a Krober ignition, which allowed it to rev more cleanly to peak revs. A spare set of factory 81 mm pistons (which give the racer a capacity of 598 cm3 compared with a stock Pantah’s 583 cm3) had been fitted to a crank lightened and balanced to the same specifications as the factory unit. On the left-hand end, this crank had been shortened and adapted to take the Krober in place of the factory magneto CDI.

The big point about the internals of the Formula Two machine is how stock it is.

When uncrated last July, the bike was fitted with a starter and alternator! Admittedly, the specially balanced crank and competition pistons were a departure from stock, but certainly not as much as the bike’s performance would indicate. In the top end, large-sized valves and very careful porting contribute markedly to the performance, but just as much the improvement is a result of the strength, light weight and sophistication of the frame and suspension package.

Ducati Australia is waiting for the factory to send over a crankshaft from the 750 Pantah being campaigned in European endurance events. However, for the moment this appears to lie some time into the future, as the work is still very much experimental.

In the meantime, the crews from Bob Brown Motorcycles and Gowanlochs continue work on their big­-motored versions of stock Pantahs, while Brisbane-based Billy McDonald has plans well advanced for his own big-motored, TT-framed version to replace the NCR, which after three hard seasons has been finally put out to pasture. And that’s only a few of the people who are involved in racing the Pantah in various stages of tune. All indications are that the model is set to be the 1980s equivalent of the Gold Star BSA!

From Two Wheels, April 1983

Pantah 650

In a class which has often been an unprofitable wasteland for the Japanese manufacturers, the Ducati Pantah in its various forms (apart from the TL tourer) has been very popular. Sydney in particular seems to be full of them. The Pantahs have always been considerably more expensive than their Japanese competition, so why have they enjoyed their considerable sales success?

The answer (which will undoubtedly cause our good names to be ranked alongside Hitler and Genghis Khan whenever Ducati lovers meet) probably lies in the fact that in certain key areas the bike is not a typical Ducati. While the big Dukes have gained a reputation (justified or otherwise) for being temperamental, the smaller Pantah motors have been consistent, reliable runners.

They have also been revvers, pushing out peak power at close to five-figure rpm levels; the large capacity Ducatis produce their best at much lower engine speeds. The Pantahs have in addition, proved to be extremely nimble handlers in tight road conditions, unlike their big-bore brothers which revel in slightly more open country.

These attributes have all been continued with the latest 650 version, and all the qualities which make Ducatis such great bikes to ride and look at have been as well: the riding position, that begs you to act the part and go just that little bit harder; the handling, which on smoother roads is typically sure-footed and precise; and the styling – especially the styling – that never fails to excite the senses.

The 650 has bore and stroke dimensions of 82 x 61.5 mm; up 2 and 3.5 mm respectively on the 600. Capacity is increased from 583 to 649 cm3, and the compression ratio is up from 9.5:1 to 10.0:1.

In other respects, the powerplant is identical to the 600’s. The 90 degree V-twin runs on a one-piece forged crankshaft which drives the single overhead cams via toothed rubber belts. The desmodromic valve-actuating system complements the motor’s appetite for revs, electronic ignition provides the spark and two 36 mm Dell’Orto carburettors with accelerator pumps supply fuel.

The capacity increase has lifted the power and torque outputs slightly. Power is up from the 600’s 43.3 kW at 8500 rpm to 46.3 kW at the same engine speed. The torque increase is a little more substantial: the 650 produces 54.8 Nm at 6250 rpm compared with the 600’s 50.0 Nm at 6000 rpm.

The motor’s outstanding feature is its willingness to run hard. It fairly jumps at the opportunity to stretch out, and on the highway or in the middle of your favourite winding road its power delivery is such that you can tap the generous powerband without having to resort to insane speeds. Below 4000 rpm, the bike runs fairly asthmatically due to the restrictive exhausts, but between 4000 and 6000 rpm it feels very smooth and relaxed.

Once the 6000 mark is passed, the Pantah starts to really sing. The bike’s transition from the middle to the upper rev range is not as sharp and narrow as are the Japanese midrangers, but it does share with them the definite message to the rider that the higher the revs the more fun will be had.

While the bike has this feature in common with four-cylinder middleweights, it has a definite advantage over all of them bar the Yamaha XJ600 because its midrange is strong enough to avoid the “no performance at all until you’re within 2000 rpm of the redline” syndrome, a criticism often levelled at machines like the Suzuki GSX550.

The Pantah will quite happily cruise along in the midrange, but while the top end tells you in no uncertain terms that you have arrived, it doesn’t take an age or a couple of downshifts to get there. The bike will run very comfortably around town in third and fourth gears, whereas the 600 always felt like it wanted to escape the urban mundanities and head for the hills. This is where the capacity hike has improved the breed; the 650 is capable of making a good fist of the city and suburban role, unlike the 600 which tended to hunt and fuss if ridden significantly below its limits.

The only inconvenience when riding in town is the very tall first gear, which dictates 3000-4000 rpm and some slipping of the clutch to move off from a stop. Once underway though, the 650 has a power delivery which is much more flexible for city work than the razor-sharp four-cylinder sportsters. The gearbox is notchy, but all cogs engage easily except for first which emits a loud crash once the bike has reached running temperature. The clutch is heavy compared with Japanese units, but it’s not a wrist-breaker and engages gradually over a wide take-up span.

As we said before, the bigger Dukes really aren’t at home in sub-55 km/h winding territory, preferring long fast sweepers and a bit of room between each bend to take their long strides.

The Pantah gives the Ducati fan the best of both worlds. It is very stable in fast, open country, but when the road starts to snake it is nimble enough to flick from side to side with ease enough to satisfy the scratcher. It requires more effort to lean than bikes with a 16-inch front wheel (it has an 18-incher) and its fork rake (30 degrees) and wheelbase (1450 mm) are greater than any Japanese sportster, but the bike’s light 180 kg weight balances the equation well so that it displays just the right amount of sensitivity to rider input.

This trait, plus the excellent midrange to top end flow-on, means that the Pantah is a very easy and confidence-inspiring bike to ride. In the hands of an expert, it will see off any other middleweight on a winding road, but it’s also a great introduction to sports machinery for the rider who hasn’t had much experience with, or who has always felt daunted by, that style of motorcycle which challenges you to extend your riding experience by going through corners just that little bit faster. Indiscretions with the throttle don’t have the same heart-stopping consequences as they do on machines with all the power stacked into a narrow on/off zone, and the steering is not super-responsive to the extent that you can accidentally go into a corner miles over your head.

The Pantah, like any sportster worth its salt, can take you right to the edge, but unlike most machines designed for this purpose it takes you there gently, rather than lulling you into a false sense of security, then pitching you well and truly in at the deep end.

The riding position is surprisingly comfortable. Sitting on the bike first time promises that it will call for great feats of endurance from the bum and wrists but 300 km (well within the tank’s range) can be covered before the body demands a rest.

In fact the Pantah makes an excellent tourer if your regular journeys take you through a large percentage of hilly country, such as the coastal highways. It’s certainly not your machine if you favour epic treks across long, straight stretches of Australia, but as a one-up tourer with a backpack and a sleeping bag it would make a very satisfying, easy to live with, and different choice. It is reliable, economical (around 20 km/litre at a 120 km/h average speed) and very comfortable when stacked up against other racer-replica bikes.

The Pantah wears Marzocchi suspension equipment front and rear and its performance is typical Ducati. It’s not compliant enough to absorb small bumps and potholes at low speeds, handles high speed roads brilliantly, and runs out of travel when the going gets rough, making a mess out of your spine in the process.

The front forks are conventional hydraulically damped coil spring items, without air assistance or antidive. The rear end has two Marzocchi Stradas, which as we just mentioned are hard on the back but firm enough to keep the rear wheel on the road on all but very rough surfaces. There is no pitching or wallowing at the rear; the damping and spring rates are set up for minimal movement with maximum precision, as are most European rear suspensions.

The problem with this design is that when it has to deal with a large bump or hole it quickly runs out of travel and the rear end lifts off the road. Setting the springs to their stiffest preload increases this resistance to bottoming out – at the expense of comfort — on the less tortuous stretches.

The front suspension is not as uncompromising on rougher surfaces. It shares the rear end’s dislike for small ripples and large obstacles but does manage to cope with a wider range of road irregularities in between.

Previous tests have made the point that, at both ends, the suspension works best at higher speeds when control takes priority over the condition of the rider’s bum. The trade-off is worth it. Very rough surfaces expose the Pantah’s limited suspension travel and it becomes unsettled and twitchy, but on smooth and mildly chopped-up roads at high speeds the bike is stable and predictable in its handling.

The front end does react sharply to substantial bumps, but corrects itself after a quick slap of the bars in typical Euro-sportster style and doesn’t turn on a full-blown tankslapper; this trick is reserved for soft front ends with 16-inch front wheels hanging from them.

The front and rear Brembo brakes are short on feel when trundling around town, but complement the Pantah’s sportster image by requiring a firm squeeze and responding with powerful, very stable, deceleration when called upon to pull the bike up from high speeds. A tendency to grab at low speeds disappears on the open road and in winding country, where, although they don’t have quite the feedback of today’s Japanese (particularly Yamaha) brakes, the Brembos pull the bike up quite respectably. The Pantah’s low weight helps here. Both the front and rear brakes are drilled cast iron discs with twin piston calipers; two at the front, one at the rear.

As a motor/suspension/brake package, the 650 Pantah is arguably the best sportster currently available, and the remarkable thing about it is that it is one of the least demanding bikes of this genre. You can take risks with it, certainly, but it doesn’t demand they be taken and will satisfy those who want a bike which will allow them to learn the art of fast scratching safely. The bike will then give you the performance you need to cream anything else in the class. On Melbourne’s Kew Boulevard or Sydney’s Old Pacific Highway there will be very few bikes to match the Pantah.

By Bill McKinnon. Two Wheels, October 1984

Falloon: The Classic View

The story goes that in 1976, when the management of Ducati finally realised that the parallel twins were a commercial disaster, Ing. Taglioni smiled, reached into his bottom drawer, and presented them with the full technical drawings for a 500cc V twin engine.

The origins of the Pantah went back to the Armaroli 500cc Grand Prix racer of 1973, and many of the features tried on this racing engine were incorporated in the first production models of 1979. The Pantah could have gone into production much earlier, but the EFIM management was in turmoil. During 1977-78, motorcycle production at Borgo Panigale was at an all time low, partly due to the decline in the US market, but also because of the unsatisfactory model range, and in July 1978 control of Ducati passed to another group, the VM Group.

VM were heavily involved in diesel engines, so they used the Ducati plant in Bologna for their production and development of industrial diesels. With the control of the company in Rome, industrial diesel engine production was increased, while that of motorcycles was decreased. Finally, in 1979, after a two-year delay, Fabio Taglioni was allowed to put his new engine and motorcycle into production. This engine was so successful that it continues to form the basis of the engine powering today’s Ducati Scrambler.

While the range of production bevel-gear twins remained strongly influenced by the singles throughout their life-span, the Pantah was a combination of the past and present. The prototype 500cc Pantah had its roots very much in the 1971-73 racers. It used the same bore and stroke of 74mm and 58mm, and like the final 500 racer of 1973, used toothed belts to drive the double overhead camshafts.

When asked by Dennis Noyes of “Motor Cycle” in 1977 why he chose to change to toothed belts over bevel-gears and shafts, Taglioni replied, “It is no more precise but it lowers mechanical noise and will cut assembly costs. Our big V-twins are expensive to build because of the materials, and they have to be built with great care because of shimming and setting up clearances. With the belt drive we get the same accuracy without the complexity”. Taglioni also went on to say that several aspects of the design of the Pantah were compromised by the necessity to use many components from the parallel twin.

While not actually built by Ducati, the 1973 500cc double overhead camshaft, eight valve racing engine pioneered quite a few features that would eventually find their way to the production engines. The engine came from another Bolognese company, Armaroli, and was based on the 500cc bevel-gear crankcases. It still had the gearshift on the right side, and primary drive and dry multi-plate clutch on the left. The exposed toothed belts were driven from the crankshaft inside the primary gears, so the drive moved from the right side of the engine to the left. Ignition was by a set of contact breakers mounted on the external reduction gear.

In a move pre-empting the Paso thirteen years later, the rear cylinder head was reversed so that both Dell’Orto carburettors faced forward between the cylinders, with a rear exiting exhaust pipe. Unlike the bevel-gear 500 racing engine, the front cylinder had radial finning, similar to the Moto Guzzi racing singles of the 1950’s. Power was 74 bhp at 12,000 rpm, not up significantly from the bevel-gear engines. Mounted in one of the Seeley frames with triple Lockheed discs and leading axle Marzocchis, it was raced occasionally by Spaggiari in 1973 without success.

Initial development versions of the new Pantah engine still used needle roller big-end bearings, Ing. Taglioni being reluctant to accept plain bearings. However, experience with the parallel twins had some effect on his thinking. By the time the first prototype was displayed at the Milan Show of November 1977, it had full flow oil filtration, with a spin on oil filter, and a one-piece forged crankshaft. This show model also featured a full fairing in the style of the race kit 750/900SS fairing, and Campagnolo hydroconical brakes. Belt covers on these early engines mimicked the cylinder head finning.

Not much development happened throughout 1978, and for the Cologne Show in October another version was exhibited, now with polished aluminium cam belt covers. One month later, at Milan, the Pantah had the Speedlines replaced by six spoke FPS wheels. Production was announced to begin in March the following year, but it would be several months after that before the first series was built. The pre-production bikes were painted two-tone blue and white, but the first series of 250 bikes, when they finally appeared after the summer break of 1979, were red and silver.

The Pantah deviated considerably in design from the 750/860 bevel-gear twins. It was intended for desmodromic valves only, and was much more compact. While using the 90 degree twin cylinder layout with vertically split crankcases, the swing-arm was also pivoted on bearings within the gearbox casing. This was done to bring the pivot as close as possible to the countershaft sprocket, reducing chain snatch.

In many ways the Pantah was a mirror image of the bigger twin and earlier 500 racers. The crankshaft was still supported by axial thrust ball main bearings, Taglioni being wary of the plain main bearings as fitted to the parallel twin, with the helical primary drive gears on the right side, and the alternator on the left. Whereas the cylinders were offset with the horizontal cylinder to the left on the 750/860, in the interests of keeping the exhaust pipes more compact, this was also reversed on the Pantah. Also, unlike the big twin, the flywheel with ignition trigger sat inside the 200W alternator. The Bosch BTZ ignition system was new, and was adapted from the same system used on the Darmah SD900. As it was designed to be electric start only, the starter motor was neatly fitted under the front cylinder and drove through reduction gearing to a sprag clutch screwed to the back of the flywheel. The toothed belts and valve gear were driven off a jackshaft running between the cylinders and geared from the crankshaft on the left side. This enabled the engine to kept much narrower (at only 776mm) than the larger engines that needed to fit the geared camshaft drive inside the alternator rotor.

The primary drive, with a ratio of 31/69 or 2.226:1, drove a standard Ducati style wet multi-plate clutch, something has been under continued refinement by the factory. It is beyond the scope of this book to detail every modification to Ducati clutches over the years, but generally they occur at almost annual intervals. If there has been an Achilles heel to the Ducati engines over the years, it has been the clutch, and as the engines get successively more powerful, the clutch slipping problem is exacerbated. The Pantah clutch too was the reverse of the 860, in that the six springs clamped the driving and driven plates from the inside outward of the alloy clutch drum and hub.

The forged one-piece crankshaft necessitated the change to two-piece connecting rods with plain bearing big-ends, and a corresponding increase in oil pressure. Whereas the old engines, with all their ball and roller bearings, could run with only 15 psi from its geared pump, the Pantah flow rate was regulated to 70 psi. The geared oil pump resided in the same location as the earlier engines, but was now driven by the helical primary drive gear.

Unlike the larger twin, maintaining a short wheelbase wasn’t such a problem, so the gearbox was the indirect type, with separate input and output shafts. Consequently the engine rotated forward, not backward as the 750/860. As with the 860 though, the first engines (to engine number 3245), used gearboxes with six engagement dogs. Following racing 860 practice, these became the stronger three dog type in 1982.

Much of the reason for making the Pantah a mirror image of the earlier twin was so that the gearshift could be properly incorporated on the left side. The cylinder barrels were also Gilnisil (an Italian Nikasil), a plating incorporating silicon and carbon particles that was much harder than iron, lighter, harder wearing, and offered better heat transfer. The only down side was that the cylinders couldn’t be rebored. The two-valve cylinder heads used the 60 degree included valve angle of the 1973 racing bikes and parallel twins, with 37.5mm inlet and 33.5mm exhaust valves. The desmodromic valve actuation system mirrored Taglioni’s design for the parallel twin 500 Sport, but with the different timing figures of inlet opening 50 degrees before top dead centre and closing 80 degrees after bottom dead centre. The exhaust opened 75 degrees before bottom dead centre, closing 45 degrees after top dead centre.

Feeding these cylinder heads were 36mm Dell’Orto PHF carburettors, restricted by a large air filter on top of the engine, under the fuel tank. Compression ratio was 9.5:1, and claimed power was 52 bhp at 9050 rpm.

Supporting this engine was a trellis type frame, also designed by Taglioni. Two pairs of parallel tubes running from the rear cylinder to the steering head met another pair of tubes running up from the rear of the crankcases. This was braced for extra rigidity. The engine hung below the trellis and was bolted to it at six points. It wasn’t the most compact frame as the wheelbase was still 57 inches (1450mm), but it was considerably shorter than the larger twins. Suspension was by Marzocchi front and rear, with 35mm diameter forks and 310mm shock absorbers. With clip-on handlebars, and a half fairing, the 180kg (396 lb) Pantah 500SL was still very much a sporting motorcycle. The Nippon Denso instruments and the switchgear were the same as on the Darmah.

When the first production models finally appeared during 1980, they were painted a pale blue, with red and dark blue stripes. The styling didn’t meet with universal acclaim, and the first 500SL’s were unlike other V-twin Ducatis in that they had very little bottom end and mid range power. As delivered, the Pantah was an extremely quiet bike with its toothed belt camshaft drive, rubber plugs in between the cylinder fins and quiet Contis. The engine liked to rev, but unfortunately the gearing was so high at 2.533:1 that performance was limited, and the bike wouldn’t run near to its power peak in top gear.

“Motor Cycle Weekly” managed 114.34 mph (184 km/h) in October 1980 running to only 8500 rpm in top gear. Contemporary tests were extremely complementary about the handling of the Pantah. With a 30.5 degrees steering-head angle, the Pantah was a stable motorcycle, and the frame more than sufficient for the modest weight and power of the 500cc engine.

My experience with 500 Pantahs was that they handled well enough, and steered slowly and predictably, yet did exhibit signs of looseness somewhere between the rear wheel and steering head over bumpy roads. The 35mm forks were lacking in rigidity too, especially by modern standards. The engines though, while lacking in torque compared to an 860, were thoroughly reliable and oil tight. A small practical problem with Pantahs though was the slow discharge of the 12V 14Ah battery if they weren’t used regularly.

In line with past Ducati practice, it was obvious that a simple overbore would be the first step in the development of the Pantah. Already, early in 1980, a 600 Pantah with a Mike Hailwood Replica style full fairing, had been seen at the factory, and a factory racing kit that included larger pistons was marketed for the 500, just as the first production bikes became available.

The new 600SL was displayed late in 1980 along with a prototype turbocharged Pantah engine. Nothing came of the turbocharged version, but the 600SL became available in early 1981, with silver paintwork, a new fairing and a hydraulically actuated wet clutch with stronger springs. Paioli 35mm forks were fitted on the earliest versions, and throughout 1981 and 1982, either Marzocchi or Paioli forks and shock absorbers appeared on the production bikes. These also had larger, 08 Brembo front brake calipers, mounted behind the fork legs, and a larger, 4.00H18 rear tyre. The 600SL was unchanged throughout 1982 but for a black plastic front guard. Claimed dry weight was up to 187kg.

The 500 Pantah continued alongside the 600, and in 1981 received the 600 style fairing, but not the hydraulic clutch. The engine cases were standardised as they had been with the square-case 750/900SS in 1975, so that in effect, from number 1654 the 500 was a sleeved down 600 (for some reason 290 engines after this had the earlier cases).

The extra capacity for the 600 was gained in exactly the same way as the 750 had become an 860, by a 6mm cylinder bore increase. With an 80mm bore and the 58mm stroke, capacity was 583cc, with compression still 9.5:1. Valve sizes, valve timing, and carburettors were shared by both models. Claimed power was 58 bhp at 8500, but by 1982 it had risen to 61 bhp at 9100 rpm with compression now 10.4:1. For the 500 the power went down to 45 bhp in 1982, with no change in specification. There were many aberrations between claimed power and weight figures for various models at this time, but it is difficult to believe that a simple 17 percent capacity increase would equate to a 35 percent power boost.

The 600SL was even more highly geared than the 500 at 2.4:1, and also wouldn’t run to the red-line in top gear. The English “Motor Cycle News” in April 1982 could only manage 117.29 mph (188.8 km/h), in fourth gear.

Both the 500 and 600SL Pantahs were listed through to 1984, by which time the 600 was painted in the Mike Hailwood Replica colours of red, with green and white stripes, with a red frame. These last 600s had also reverted to a cable operated clutch and now had a larger, steel clutch basket. The last 500SLs were white with red stripes. For the Italian market, a 350SL appeared in 1983, also in the MHR colours, but with silver FPS wheels. The 349cc engine, with a 66 x 51mm bore and stroke, 10.3:1 compression, and 30mm Dell’Orto carburettors, produced 40 bhp at 9,600 rpm.

To homologate the 750TT1, Ducati needed to stroke the Pantah engine, and as an interim way to get this stroke homologated, the 650SL was created. While most aspects of the motorcycle and engine could be altered for the TT Formula racing classes, the road going crankcases, cylinder head castings, and stroke of the engine had to remain unchanged. By boring and stroking the 600, the 650 emerged, but it could easily have been a full 750.

Also, for 1984, the World Endurance Championship saw a drop in the capacity limit from 1000cc to 750cc, so a 750cc Pantah-based racer could once again mean that Ducati could be competitive in this class.

By lengthening the stroke 3.5mm to 61.5mm, a moderate 2mm overbore to 82mm created the 649cc engine. Valve sizes remained as for the 500 and 600, 37.5mm inlet and 33.5mm exhaust. Compression ratio was down slightly to 10:1, and power only up slightly to 62 bhp at 8,500 rpm. The most noticeable improvement with the 650 engine was some more mid-range torque.

Painted in the red/yellow colours of the factory F2 bikes, the 650SL was virtually identical to the final 600SL. They both shared the wheels, large indicators and tail light of the 1983 MHR and 900S2, but the 650SL had the instrument panel of the 600TL with the large plastic surround, its electromagnetic fuel taps, and the new type of fuel cap that was notorious for allowing water, as well as petrol, into the tank.

The 650SL continued in production after the Cagiva takeover, even though the same engine was sent to Varese for the 650 Alazzurra. Despite being available through to 1986, they are a less common model than the earlier 500 and 600SL. With the factory racing full 750cc engines by the time the 650SL was available, it was overshadowed by the prospect of the street version of the 750TT1. When the 750F1 finally appeared in 1985, the 650SL was immediately superseded. It offered no real advance over the 500SL of 1979, yet the 750F1 was potentially a race replica in the very best Ducati tradition.

By Ian Falloon

Ian Falloon is one of the world’s foremost motorcycle historians and valuers, with a particular passion for Ducati. He has written many books on the marque, including The Ducati Story and Ducati Motorcycles, Every Model Since 1946. You can see Ian’s extensive range of titles, and get in touch with him if you would like to purchase, here.