Motorcycling history is stuffed full of iconic colour schemes, from Kawasaki green, Honda red and white, and Yamaha blue, through to BMW red, white and blue and Ducati red.
That latter manufacturer only really turned to the traditional Italian red in the 1980s; before that, the very best – and rarest – v-twin-engined Ducatis wore what are arguably the best colour schemes ever, silver-over-green, with the frame green and the bodywork silver. Most famously, it was applied to Paul Smart’s 1972 Super Sport Desmo 750 model, as raced at Imola, and later, it appeared on the road-going replica, the 750SS.
Ducati has now resurrected the colours for its latest Scrambler model, the limited-edition Formula 73. Still using the air-cooled V-twin engine that can trace its history right back to the first Ducati v-twin (and which is likely to be on its last legs as more and more Ducati models switch to the liquid-cooled 890cc engine), the new model is all-Scrambler under the skin, the major changes being cosmetic.
However, when something looks this good, who really cares if the beauty is only skin deep? Not that under the skin anything is lacking! The 803cc Desmodue V-twin pushes out a respectable 73bhp and 48 lb.ft. of torque, breathing through a Termigioni exhaust for the full Ducati rumble effect.
The most obvious styling elements are the nose cowl with a single round LED headlight and not-too-extreme clip-on handlebars. The petrol tank graphics mirror the see-through strip in the glass-fibre tank of the original Paul Smart model, which was used to check the fuel level.
Naturally, there are plenty of other details, including billet aluminium foot pegs, fuel cap and levers to try and justify what is likely going to be a hefty price tag, although you can be sure that, with only 873 examples available worldwide, the Formula 73, looking like a million dollars, will be snapped up very quickly.
For more information on Ducati models, visit: www.ducati.co.za
