Ducati’s pre-war business centred on radio equipment and precision engineering. Its route into motorcycle manufacturing opened with Cucciolo, an auxiliary engine that could be fitted to a bicycle.
Aldo Leoni and Aldo Farinelli developed the design. A four-stroke engine and two-speed gearbox turned the familiar bicycle into powered transport. When SIATA could no longer meet demand with its own production capacity, Ducati became involved.
In March 1946 Ducati made its first ten T1 engines under SIATA licence. By 1948, its first engine designed entirely in-house had entered production. Dedicated frames and increasingly independent motorcycle designs followed.
Cucciolo’s significance lies in that transition from a basic transport need to a new industrial direction. The bicycle provided a starting point for a company whose later identity would also be shaped by racing.