The Ducati Cucciolo - a short lesson on 4-stroke History

[Technocyclist]

The Ducati Cucciolo - the engine kit that should have been cloned.

The Ducati Cucciolo, aka 'Little Puppy', was the first 48cc 4 stroke kit designed to be installed on bicycles.

What happened to it? CLick on the links and find out.

This should be the engine that the Chinese should be copying. I think this is the way how a proper 4-stroke kit should have been made.

Another good thing about this kit is that the drive sprocket is on the right side, so no shifter kit is required.

I think even the engine mounts are better on this kit.

So you want specs? here are some good links:
Ducati Classic Motorcycles
PAGE 38. Cucciolo History: Rocher & the Elvish www.Cyclemaster.co.uk
Ducati Cucciolo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How did it sound like? Listen to this (you may watch it also):
YouTube - Ducati / Siata CUCCIOLO

This should be what an MB should really sound like...

This little puppy can go 40mph and the sport version can go up to 65mph.

This kit should be resurrected from the ashes and make it into a Rottwieler. Maybe someday it will come back. And I hope it will be soon. *sigh*

The engine itself already has a transmission, some models have 2 speed, some have 3, and yet small enough to fit your common bicycle frame.

I wonder if Ducati or some builder would come up with similar designs and improve it to today's technology.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Yes, but what would it cost now? Especially since Ducati is a darling of the euro bikes and have a premium price tag.

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Sorry wasn't trying to kill the thread, which is very interesting to say the least. The Little pup was the granddy of the motorized bikes and may be what got Ducati through a few lean/limited years.

 

[corgi1]

Are the patients still in effect?

 

[azbill]

what a cool sounding engine !!!...
thanks for the links

 

[Technocyclist]

It's common knowledge that Ducati has a reputation of their high price tags, but would'nt it be cool if the Chinese came up with a clone version of this, just like the Honda clone, so the price tag would not be as expensive... I think the Ducati pocketbikes are made in China...

 

[diegom]

hi guys,

if you're at all interested, here's a mailing list I run that's devoted to all push- and pull-rod ducati singles...
ducatipushrodsingles : Ducati Pushrod Singles

yes, the Cucciolo was actually a pullrod engine! and it's really an amazing piece of engineering, you open it and it's almost empty inside! the clutch is quite funny, it's got something like 14 brass plates in it...

pricewise, unfortunately you're looking at around 500 euros for something to rebuild up to a 1000 for a runner... for a complete bike from 1500 up to 3000, depending on the frame builder... there were several variants of the engine, some more collectable than the others... the very first ones are the most expensive, which was before Ducati took up the license, and it was made by the original manufacturer, SIATA

I have two engines (although one is actually a 65, 3-speeder with foot change) and occasionally you can find something cheaper... I paid 550 euros for my Cucciolo with a CCC frame... it was all in very sorry state, but since it's one of the frames that collectors go after, I traded it for a complete engine with a list member... the other one I've assembled it from parts bought over several months... it's complete now and I've spent around 250 euros so far, but still it requires a total rebuild. parts availability is actually decent, although outside of italy is not very good... in fact, I actually help all the members of my mailing list in dealing with the (few) italian suppliers...

I'll soon start building the first one, although it will be totally period-correct... heavily based on the one in the first picture, which is a 1949 Coven frame with a Cucciolo T2 engine...

the second one might very well end up in a board-tracker inspired replica, see second pic (yeah, I know the forks are too long, but I'm not very good with photoshop!)

ciao from Italy

diego

 

[diegom]

oh, and BTW, there's a very cool racing kit to pump it to 72cc... and it makes an AMAZING sound... it's based on a period racing conversion, and it's been remanufactured by the leading Italian supplier of Cucciolo spares... the only downsize is that it costs 1700 euros (cylinder, head, carb, piston and rings, and exhaust)

the picture was taken at the Imola swap-meet last september and the racing engine is the left-most

ciao

 

[Technocyclist]

oh, and BTW, there's a very cool racing kit to pump it to 72cc... and it makes an AMAZING sound... it's based on a period racing conversion, and it's been remanufactured by the leading Italian supplier of Cucciolo spares... the only downsize is that it costs 1700 euros (cylinder, head, carb, piston and rings, and exhaust)

the picture was taken at the Imola swap-meet last september and the racing engine is the left-most

ciao

Those engines look as if they just came out of the assembly line. Very nice indeed...

 

[makaworx]

Are the engines next to it more affordable?
They look realy nice.

 

[diegom]

I gave the ballpark figures for the prices of engines in the message above... those are perfectly restored so they'll be even more expensive than I quoted... and please note that the 1700 euros for the racing one is the price of JUST THE KIT, on top of the normal engine!!

anyway I'm just looking and there's one engine on ebay italy at the moment, the seller wants around 300 or 400 euros... admittedly it's one of the later engines, so it's less sought-after

ciaociao

 

[makaworx]

sorry, thought it was for a complete bike unrestored.

Hmm for 300 400 it's great.

 

[diegom]

hi guys,

here's some (mostly period) pics of cucciolo-based racers, hope you like 'em!

ciao

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

Thanks for those!

 

[diegom]

sorry, thought it was for a complete bike unrestored.

Hmm for 300 400 it's great.

here's the auction:
DUCATI MOTORE CUCCIOLO 65CC su eBay.it Ducati, Ricambi Moto d'Epoca, Moto ricambi e accessori

that's a 65cc 3-speeder with kickstart

if you're interested and the guy doesn't ship to the USA I can help you, have it sent to me and I'll forward it to you (I do this all the time for other US and australian friends)...

the engine is about 7 or 8kg so you're looking at around 100 euros to ship it...

 

[beerbattered]

This is the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. A DUCATI!?, MB.... What!

 

[diegom]

here's another cool one
Ducati cucciolo Moto e Scooter usato - In vendita Reggio Emilia

note the added rev counter driven by the flywheel and the lever-operated baffle on the exhaust

the only downside is the 5,000 euro asking price!

ciao

 

[CaliRebel]

I can't believe no one has referenced the all time best credit this MB has. Che Guevara toured 2,800 mi of SA on a bike with a Cucciolo he installed. That trip preempted his more infamous trip documented in The Motorcycle Diaries, which introduced him to the world he became determined to change. His 'Little Puppy' is still on display in an Argentinian museum.

As strange as it sounds hearing his story actually inspired me to see motorized bicycles as having the potential to change peoples lives by opening up their world, even if not as dramatically as Che.

There are absolutely no patent issues remaining. It could definitely be reintroduced by any manufacture. It has major inherent mechanical advantages, which I think justify it being in the market of engine kits. Although any modification of the design would require a professional engineering that most Chinese manufacturers wouldn't supply to the process. Grubee and ChinaGAS could probably resurrect it with some motivation.

 

[matthurd]

what i like most about it is the fact it can even be put on a 20inch bike with the proper set up, how light would that be? i can lift my 20 inch bmx bike with my pinky, i can carry my worksman+66cc grubee up the stairs but it sure isn't easy, i'd 1 hand a 20 inch even with the motor on it.

the drive side confuses me a bit, not sure if it really still counts as a bicycle but still it would be nice.