Ride Review: Ducati 1199 Panigale

Fresh from the Ducati 1199 Panigale international press launch at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, our friends from OmniMoto.it have been kind enough to share their experience on Ducati’s newest flagship model, since Asphalt & Rubber wasn’t one of the American publications invited to test Borgo Panigale’s latest creation. Our Italian brother in arms, OmniMoto‘s Lorenzo Gargiulo shares his initiation to the 1199, while riding around one the world’s most expensive race circuits…the lucky bastard. With much thanks to him, enjoy Lorenzo’s review and continue to countdown the months until A&R will get its own chance to flog the Ducati 1199 Panigale in a similar manner.

Yas Marina Circuit + Troy Bayliss + Ducati 1199 Panigale S

The International press launch of the Ducati 1199 Panigale is underway in Abu Dhabi this week, with initial reports on Ducati’s flagship superbike being very positive. A track usually reserved for cars, not bikes, the Yas Marina Circuit is really something to behold. Situated on a man-made island off the Abu Dhabi coast, the Middle-Eastern track cost a cool $1.32 billion to construct back in 2009, and holds the distinction for being one of Formula One’s night races. While we wait for the Panigale to come across the Atlantic Ocean, Ducati has put together this video of Troy Bayliss taking a lap around the 21 turns of the Yas Marina Circuit. It’s an oddly edited video, but should bring grins to the Ducatisti in your life.

Ducati Valued at €1 Billion – Acquisition Talks Continue

With nothing coming to fruition on the Mercedes deal, Ducati again made waves in August when it was reported that the company was interested in making a private stock offering in 2012. Today’s news of course is the logical extension of that announcement, as it is both 2012 and Investindustrial is rumored to be in talks with several possible private buyers for Ducati. While none of this news should surprise anyone, what is of note is the price tag being attached to Ducati is €1 billion.

A New Aprilia RSV4 for 2014?

It seems a bit silly to be talking about the 2014 model year when we are only into our second month of 2012. However, such is the case today because a certain Max Biaggi let it slip during the Aprilia Racing Team’s World Superbike presentation that 2012 would be the penultimate season for the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC. Adding that Aprilia would not be developing its race bike for the 2013 season, the signs would seemingly indicate that a new liter bike model from the Italian manufacturer is on the horizon for 2014.

Update on the Bottpower BOTT XR-1

The Bottpower BOTT XR-1: A racier and more custom version of the Harley-Davidson XR1200X (The BOTT XR-1 is actually based off a Buell motor), Bottpower has done such a good job making the Buell look Alana Blanchard hot that the Voltron generation will forget all about the reasons their didn’t like the Bar & Shield brand in the first place, and instantly liquidate their pre-IPO Facebook stock in order to make room for Bottpower’s work in their marina-view apartments. Needless to say, I like what’s going on here.

14 Photos of the 2012 World Superbike Spec Aprilia RSV4

Aprilia was in Milan today, unveiling its 2012 World Superbike team with Max Biaggi and Eugene Laverty. For this season, Aprilia Racing is outfitting its RSV4 race bikes with the company’s classic black & red livery, a break from the white Alitalia paint scheme from last year. Unable to defend his #1 plate, the 40-year-old Max Biaggi will return to racing with his “3″ on the front of his RSV4. Eager to regain World Superbike’s top position, Biaggi’s toughest competition could come from his own teammate. His second season in World Superbike, Laverty has shown a great deal of promise already on the Aprilia. Keep your eye on the Irishman for some podiums in 2012.

Video: 2011 AFM Banquet Film – Death to Second Place

The oldest racing organization in the country dedicated soley to motorcycle road racing, the AFM is a Northern Californian non-profit racing organization that has helped hone the skills of riders like Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kenny Roberts, and Steve Rapp — not mention a weekend warrior or two. Each year the racing league comes together for a banquet, and lately the tradition has been to include a highlight film of the year’s racing. I’m not sure what films in the past have been like, but if the latest AFM banquet video doesn’t give you goosebumps, you might want to check your pulse. Bonus points for the including the Versus “Second Place” monologue — it’s very apropos.

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2011 – The Ducati Story

Grab some popcorn, because this video from Ducati North America is over 14 minutes long. Telling the story of Ducati at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), DNA has put together a great video that really captures how special the racing is at Pikes Peak, and how gorgeous the scenery is of the Colorado Mountains. With Santa Barbara Ducati’s Carlin Dunne winning the overall motorcycle category on his dealership’s Multistrada 1200 demo model, Alexander Smith from the Spider Grips Ducati Team made it a double podium for Ducati in the 1205cc class. If you’re new to racing at Pikes Peak, or wanted a quick re-cap of last year’s race, Ducati’s video pretty accurately sums up racing on the mountain and the anxiety around last year’s race.

Ducati Announces Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Team with Carlin Dunne & Greg Tracy

Ducati has announced its factory team for the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), and the Italian company has secured the services of last-year’s winner and Rookie of the Year Carlin Dunne as well as six-time PPIHC winner Greg Tracy. Ducati has also partnered with the Spider Grips team, who will help prepare the teams Ducati Multistrada 1200 for the “Race to the Clouds” on July 8th. For 2012, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be fully-paved to the top of the mountain, which will surely see the speeds of competitors increase, and lap times drop on the 12.42 mile long course that ends at 14,110 feet.

Cutaway Photos of the Ducati Superquadro Engine

I was flipping through some photos from the 2011 EICMA show, and found these shots of the Ducati 1199 Panigale’s Superquadro engine. Unfortunately at the show, Ducati had its 1199cc v-twin motor behind a Lexan case, which created a bit of a glare, reflections, and of course had smudges from the touchy-feely Italian crowd. But still, the photos give a good idea of what’s going on in Ducati’s most-advanced production engine to date, and are better than just looking at the CAD renders. If you look at the shots very closely, you can almost see where the 195hp and 98 lbs•ft of torque is lurking inside.

Rumor: Ducati 799 Supersport for 2013?

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Mon, January 9th, 2012 @ 4:13 pm, by Jensen Beeler13 COMMENTS
Home » Popular » Rumor: Ducati 799 Supersport for 2013?

Rumor: Ducati 799 Supersport for 2013? Ducati 1199 Panigale aerial 635x449

Now that the 2012 model year motorcycles have debuted (though we still expect a few mid-year releases), the speculation can now begin for the 2013 model year machines. Wasting no time in this process, the Italian press is afire with rumors of a Ducati 799 superbike model to compliment the recently released Ducati 1199 Panigale.

A rumor of this nature, this early in the year, is certainly an interesting one. There should be little debate over the fact that Borgo Panigale has a supersport variant of the 1199 superbike already figured out, tested, & ready for prime time, and our Bothan spies confirm just as much to us. The details of such a bike though, now that’s where the devil resides.

According to the rumors out of the Italian press, the Ducati 799 will have a 750cc displacement, make 145hp, and tip the scales under 160kg (353 lbs). The move to the 750cc displacement apparently comes as a bid to race the mini-Panigale once again in the World Supersport Championship, and of course the 749 designation has already been used.

If true, such a move would be a marked departure from the current Ducati 848 Superbike, which has been a top-seller for the Italian company here in the United States, and according to our notes was top-selling motorcycle for Ducati North America. Showing that 848′s have no problem selling without a racing pedigree, Ducati is seemingly getting back to its roots with the rumored 799, and putting an emphasis on production racing (not that its prototype racing effort has been going swimmingly well).

While there is very credible pattern of Ducati’s middleweight superbike design following its liter-bike compatriot within a one model year window, there has to be some pause regarding this news, since it is coming so closely on the heels of the Panigale’s launch. A radical departure for Ducati, the 1199 is shaping up to be a monster of a machine, but the v-twin superbike still comes with the asterisks that its MotoGP-inspired chassis design has yet to be actually proven in MotoGP racing.

While Bologna expects to hit the ball out of the park with the Panigale, the Italian company could surely hold off on the Ducati 799 (or whatever it ends up being called), if sales for the 1199 Panigale are stronger than expected (releasing the 799 too early could cannibalize sales from the 1199, which will surely will have a higher profit margin).

True, the Ducati 848 Superbike has been long in the tooth for some time now, and has already been EVO’d in 2010 and Special Editioned for 2012 — two clear signs that a model revamp is coming down the pipe, but there does seem to be some cause to refrain from jumping on this rumor’s bandwagon so early in the year, especially when we haven’t even seen the Panigale in the hands of the public. Stay tuned Ducatisti.

Source: Two Wheels Blog

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Comment:

  1. Smitch says:
    January 9, 2012 at 6:11 PM

    Only in the press are bike designs ever referred to as “long in the tooth”. The 916 design was around longer than any of them, but nobody in their right mind complains about it. That said, of course it will be time to roll out a replacement for the 848, but I wonder if the “799″ will be as good a road bike. I would imagine it be more peak-ey if you can refer to a twin as such…

  2. ttxgpfan (@ttxgpfan) says:
    January 9, 2012 at 7:50 PM

    Really? They can’t reuse the 749 number. I don’t think anyone is going to confuse a 749 Panigale, with a 749. New customers won’t even know what a 749 is. Arrggg, Italians.

  3. Ax1464 says:
    January 9, 2012 at 10:20 PM

    Regarding the possible name: 1199 -> 799 shows the relationship between the two bikes better than calling it a 749 or whatever.

  4. Lumengrid says:
    January 10, 2012 at 12:31 AM

    @Smitch

    Well Twin will be more “peak-y” – torquey :) but if they map it right it will be let just say more civilized and Ducati’s are sport bikes and from what I gather from the text above it will never be a road bike like VFR1200, anyway that is what I call roadbike in mine dictionary.

    Knowing Ducati, it will be sporty, it will have killer looks and it will make you want it ride faster and harder,.

  5. Leo says:
    January 10, 2012 at 3:49 AM

    Ummm… Why not just call it. “750″ ???

  6. Jake says:
    January 10, 2012 at 10:54 AM

    145 HP and 353 lbs? Yes please. That’s 50 pounds more than my supermoto with more than triple the power.

  7. Westward says:
    January 10, 2012 at 2:39 PM

    I don’t know how much cannibalizing a 799 would have on the 1199. I always run into people who think anything less than a 1000 is an affront to their manhood…

    I think I will hold off on the MV Agusta F3, and see how this rumour pans out….

  8. mxs says:
    January 10, 2012 at 3:37 PM

    Just avoid them, don’t run into them .. .they have no idea.

  9. MikeD says:
    January 10, 2012 at 10:28 PM

    Give me the most comfortable reclining chair u have on the first row and hand me some pop-corn.
    I can’t wait to see that anorexic screaming biotch…LMAO.

  10. Bryan says:
    January 14, 2012 at 11:20 AM

    I am absolutely waiting for this bike. There would be little reason to buy an 848 this year. The dark model no longer carries a $1000 discount that it had in 2011. I think that to conversion to chain driven cams alone is reason enough to come out with the 799 in a year. It eliminates the major maintenence issue of replacing belts every couple of years. Less weight and just a little more power would make it perfect for my purposes. I just hope they keep the price point close to the same.

  11. Grant says:
    January 15, 2012 at 5:42 AM

    Production racing is what ducati is all about It would be good to see ducati mix it up with the supersport grid.

  12. MaxAR15 says:
    January 27, 2012 at 7:49 PM

    First, there is no reason for me to buy the 1199 because here in Jersey it would rarely get out of the lower three gears and still be legal. I know some would say all that power would be great and you would be right but it would only be useable on a track. I’m not racing.

    Second, at 62 my reaction times are no longer as sharp as they were when I was in my 20′s. My ego is alright with that too.

    Lastly I wish Ducati would made a Super Mono again as the size would be perfect for me however, I could suffer so nicely with a 750 size Panigale.

  13. patrick says:
    February 5, 2012 at 11:40 AM

    damn! Im a little dissapointed with ducati. dont get me wrong, I interned with ducati north america. but as a racer and a purist I hate to see the trellus frame go away. without it the bikes lose thier individualism. in truth im a little bias. as a racer in 600 class the 848 has been wonderfull. I really hope this new bike will still be permitted for supersport. does anybody have any insight.

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