Autumn breaks

Benzina #3 is bagged, labelled and almost ready to post - freebie stickers due here Tuesday, together with a little extra something to say thanks to all who've ordered.


In between this and writing a piece for Classic Bike on Pat Slinn's BSA C15 (yes, Tony Rutter's famous Ducati fettler has a C15!), Pat's been telling me about the autonomy Taglioni and his development workshop enjoyed. Pictured is - well, you tell me? A Ducati prototype single? Looking for all the world like a Desmo Sport 500; ironic, really, since the original twin was prototyped in 450 Desmo bodywork, only to hit showrooms in sub-860GT style. The Leo Tartarini styled Desmo Sport appeared in 1976, two years after single production ended. This was taken (Pat thinks) in '75, and yes, it was a runner - he even had a go on it. So was this Taglioni trying to cuckold the twin with his beloved singles? Sadly we'll probably never know, but as Pat points out, part of the romance of Ducati is the complete mystery that surrounds so much of its history