Ducati 888

The Ducati 888 is a motorcycle that Ducati manufactured between 1991 and 1994 as an upgrade to the 851. The 851 had introduced liquid cooling, computerized fuel injection and four-valve heads to the two cylinder engines of the company, and in 1991 Ducati increased its capacity to 888 cc. Both engines used the Desmoquattro valvetrain, a four valve per cylinder design with desmodromic valve actuation. Production figures for the four model years from 1991 to 1994 total 7,594 units, including the Strada road models, the SP and SPS homologation versions and the SPO, developed for the North American market because the SP5 could not be made road legal. Doug Polen won the 1991 and 1992 World Superbike Championships on the 888. After losing the 1993 title to Kawasaki, Ducati ended the 888 and released the larger 916.