Ducati Motorcycles Diana 1961
The first production Ducati Diana 250 was unveiled at the Milan Fair in April 1961.
It was equipped with clip-on bars, a 180mm twin leading-shoe front brake with an air vent, a rocking heel-and-toe gearshift and a large Veglia tachometer that overshadowed its tiny, sparsely-calibrated, headlamp-mounted speedometer. Its single-cylinder 250cc engine featured a bevel-driven single overhead camshaft and a Dell’Orto SS29 carburettor with a velocity stack and no air cleaner. Its peak output was 24hp and top speed was around 85mph (134kph). It was marketed as the Daytona in the UK.
In 1963, the Diana was upgraded with peak engine output of 30hp and it featured a five-speed gearbox in place of the four-speed found on the first model. It was called the ‘Mach 1’ in Europe and the ‘Diana Super Sport Mark 3’ in the US. A track test conducted by Cycle World found that it was capable of a standing quarter mile in 16.5 seconds with a final speed of 79.5mph (128kph) and a top speed of 104mph (167kph) making it the fastest production 250 in the world at the time – even faster, according to Cycle World, than a Yamaha TD-1 racer also tested that year.
This 1966 example was acquired for the NZ Classic Motorcycles collection from a private vendor in Morro Bay, California in January, 2009.