There is no way I can prevent getting emotional when I speak or write of my great friend Massimo Tamburini, and that Simona Tamburini loaned his father's own 916 to the Ducati Museum to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of the most legendary sportbikes ever. It truly touches my heart, as do the pictures portraying Massimo at work on the prototype and then testing it himself, on a lost mountain pass road on the Apennines surrounding his native town of Rimini. Great memories of a great man.
Massimo conceived the 916 after he had finished his first bike project for Ducati, the Paso 750. He kept honing the style, aerodynamics, and the chassis structure and geometry for six years. Being a real motorcyclist, Massimo tested every prototype he designed and then executed in his shop. He progressively developed three prototypes to finalize the definitive 916 that went into production, refining every detail on the basis of his personal experience with every evolutionary step applied to the prototypes.
I remember when he called me announcing he had been able to get a perfectly balanced weight distribution with a chassis spanning an ultra-short (by Ducati standards) 56-inch wheelbase by moving the battery as far forward as possible. Great Massimo!
He put so much love, passion, and pride in his creativeness. His personal 916 is unique in that it features a number of special carbon fiber parts, a special lightweight single side arm swingarm, and a number of details that he had put in this final prototype but never reached production—like the magnesium racing wheels, no turn signals, no odometer, only the speedometer, and the water temperature gauge. Pure, his personal signature. Massimo’s own 916 will remain on show at the Ducati Museum until January 15, 2020.
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