The Ducati 916 is a fully faired sport bike made by Ducati from 1994 to 1998. Featuring a fuel injected, 4-valve, desmo, liquid-cooled, 90° V-twin engine in a trellis frame with a single-sided swingarm and USD forks, the 916 is frequently cited as one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever. Design and development The first development of the 916 model family can be traced back to the development of the four-valve Ducati engine, the Desmoquattro, through the development and racing of the earlier Pantah models, to the road-going 851 and 888 models. The chief designer of Ducati motorcycles since the 1970s was Fabio Taglioni (1920–2001), who introduced the Pantah in 1979. The engine was updated in the 1990s in the SuperSport (SS) series and all modern Ducati engines are derivatives of the Pantah, which used its camshafts to both open and close the engine's valves, eliminating the usual valve closing springs, a system called 'desmodromic'. Taglioni, did not, however, have an interest in four-valve head engines, and so this was left to his successor. The eight-valve V-twin was the work of Taglioni's successor, Massimo Bordi. Designed by Massimo Tamburini and Sergio Robbiano and his team at the Cagiva Research Centre in San Marino, the 916's water-cooled engine was a revision of that of its predecessor, the 888, with larger displacement and a new engine management system. The greater displacement was accomplished by increasing the crankshaft stroke from 64 mm to 66 mm, keeping the same 94 mm bore size as the 888, resulting in a capacity of 916 cc. (By the time the 916 was introduced, the final 851/888 Corse engines had also had their bore sizes increased to 96 mm resulting in 'race only' capacities of 926 cc and 955 cc respectively.) The 916 was a smaller motorcycle than the 888, with a chrome-moly trellis frame which was shared with the Ducati 748 in 1995 and beyond. This was combined with striking new bodywork that featured aggressive lines. In contrast to Japanese inline four-cylinder competitors of the time, its V-twin engine produced less outright power, but a more even torque spread. The 916 model was replaced by the 996 model in 1999. Design of the Ducati 916 was a synthesis of form and function: The stylish single-sided swingarm was designed to make wheel changes faster during races. The underseat exhausts improve aerodynamic performance, and gave very clean lines. This