More than that, compared to gargantuan manufacturers of cars, generators, musical instruments, and oil tankers—that also happen to build motorcycles—Ducati is a tiny company (even though parent company Volkswagen AG had the second largest market share of the car market in 2018). From the outside looking in, it seems like human ideas and values tend to get less confused by the bean counters, that embedded enemy of innovation and boldness. At Ducati, human values, effort, and ideas—both good and bad—are injected into the aluminum engine cases and molded bodywork. It’s part of the reason we can overlook useless mirrors, suicide kickstands, and short maintenence intervals—they’re minor imperfections that declare that these are motorcycles made by humans. It makes them relatable. And it’s what makes a used Ducati less anonymous than, say, the mid-’80s generic Japanese cruiser with which it shares Craigslist space.