The Ducati Parallel Twins was a series of 350cc and 500cc standard motorcycles manufactured by Ducati from 1975 to 1981. The Ducati 500GTL was made for only two years, from 1975 to 1977.
The Ducati 500GTL was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro and used the same angular design as the 860GT. Besides some insignificant modifications like headlight brackets, the bike remained unchanged over its production period.
Visually, the bike had standard features, such as a large, round headlight up front with British Smiths instruments mounted on top, a one-piece dual seat, a dual chromed exhaust system, side-mounted rear shocks, and wire-spoke wheels.
The bike was built around a single down tube frame that used the engine as a stressed member and was fitted with a Marzocchi fork on the front and a swingarm with twin Marzocchi shocks on the rear.
In the braking department, the bike packed two 260 mm discs on the front wheel coupled to dual-piston calipers and a 260 mm drum braking unit on the rear that was also fitted on the 350cc model.
As for the power figures, the 1976 Ducati 500GTL had its soul brought to life by a 497cc four-stroke air-cooled parallel-twin engine with two Dell'Orto carburetors in charge, boasting 35 hp with maximum strength at 6,500 rpm.
As for transmission, the bike packed a five-speed with a wet clutch and a final chain drive that pushed the motorcycle to a top speed of 170 kph (110 mph).