Ducati’s ultimate v-twin
By, Trevor Hedge
It is fair to say that Ducati’s original 916 model released in 1994 set a new level for motorcycle design and many, including myself, doubted that its svelte lines could ever be bested. Less than five years later however the MV Agusta F4 was born and suddenly the 916 look dated. Both those machines were penned by legendary Italian maestro of design Massimo Tamburini.
Ducati’s recent 749/999 series failed to live up to the glamorous precedent set by the long running 916 variants. Despite those machines being a far nicer ride than their more elegant predecessors, the buying public never really warmed to the model and Ducati sportsbike sales slumped as a result.
Pierre Terblanche designed the 749/999 series but the design of the latest 1098 series was entrusted to the relatively unknown Gianandrea Fabbro. One glance is all it takes to see that Fabbro took his styling cues from Tamburini’s original masterpiece in designing the 1098. The buying public showed their approval by swamping Ducati dealers in droves. The new model was almost solely responsible for Ducati’s recent 43 percent sales increase in Australia during 2007.
The base model 1098 retails for $26,495 plus on roads, rises to $31,495 for the slightly higher specification 1098S and topping the v-twin price list is the coming 1098R at a whopping $54,995 plus on road costs. Australia has secured quite a generous allotment of Ducati’s ultimate road going Superbike and buyers are responding in droves with more than 50 already spoken for. The machines are not expected to hit Australian shores until late March.
For the price of two base models one would expect a lot of fruit and exclusivity on the 1098R and Ducati have delivered. The 1098 is an incredibly pretty piece of art but in 1098R guise Ducati have come up with pure motorcycling porn. The changes however are much more than skin deep.
Despite keeping the 1098 nomenclature, the R model actually displaces 100cc more than the base model and measures in at a whopping 1198cc. Power is up more than ten percent over the base model with Ducati claiming the R delivers 132Kw (180hp) at 9750rpm with a prodigious 134Nm of torque available at 7750rpm. With those sorts of numbers and the characteristically fat v-twin torque curve the 165kg 1098R promises to be a very serious ride indeed. Add the race silencers and matching ECU that come in a box with the 1098R and power rises even further while releasing that trademark Termignoni boom that Ducatisti lust after.
Helping to put that power to the ground is a sophisticated traction control system developed in MotoGP. A top shelf Ohlins twin-tube TTX shock and exquisite Titanium Nitride coated 43mm forks help to keep the wheels in contact with terra firma while Brembo Monobloc callipers provide the stopping power. From the delectable forged Marchesini rims to the carbon Termignonis, this is one bike that shouts ‘no expense spared’. Hopefully a prospective owner never has to inspect the engine internals but with sand-cast cases, titanium valves and con-rods, this is one Ducati that for the engineering aficionados amongst us is as pretty on the inside as the outside.
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