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Ducati 1299 Superleggera

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If you are the lucky owner of a Ducati 1299 Superleggera, then you should pay attention to this recall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as it pertains to all 97 of these bikes that are in the USA.

The recall comes from an issue with the brake pads, which may see the brake pad’s friction material detaching from the brake pad’s back plate. This can happen specifically, but not exclusively, for motorcycles that have been operated in corrosive environments.

According to the recall documents, if this occurs, the distance between the braking plate and brake disk cannot be balanced with a single action on the brake master cylinder, rendering the brake pad ineffective and defective. Accordingly, potentially defective pads can increase vehicle stopping distances.

Here is a common joke that you will often hear: "How do you make a small fortune in the motorcycle industry? Start with a large one." Well, the next time you hear the lead-up, here is a new punchline for you: "Sell a limited edition model."

Motorcycle manufacturers have been onto this gag for a while now, offering limited edition, numbered for collectors, pure unobtanium motorcycle models to the well-heeled masses.

There may not be that many people that can afford a motorcycle that costs as much as a modest house, but there enough of these people in the world that selling a couple hundred expensive superbikes a year is a pretty trivial feat - it helps too that many of these enthusiasts are return-customers too.

Take the case of Ducati, as our Bothan spies have provided us with some interesting information about the Borgo Panigale brand. Last year, the Italian company made more money on its special edition superbikes, than the regular models it sells.

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It’s official, the folks in Bologna are about to launch the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition, the name being confirmed in emission filings made to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) this week.

The CARB document confirms a couple items for us (most notably the name of the final v-twin superbike), but it also raises some interesting questions.

For instance, the CARB document shows that the “FE” Panigale will have a 1285cc engine, just like the rest of the Ducati 1299 Panigale lineup, yet the bike will still carry the “R” badge, which is usually reserved for Ducati’s race homologation machine.

If you were one of the lucky few to plunk down $80,000 on the new Ducati 1299 Superleggera, your wait for this ultrabike is finally over.

This is because the first Ducati 1299 Superleggera just touched down in the United States, at AMS Ducati Dallas, with more to follow soon at dealers around the United States.

Only 500 units of this carbon-fiber-everything superbike were made available by the folks at Bologna, making the Ducati 1299 Superleggera a very exclusive affair. 

This is because the 1299 Superleggera is the first production motorcycle with an all carbon fiber chassis, and it also happens to boasts 215hp (220hp when you put on the Akrapovic exhaust), while tipping the scales at 344 lbs when it’s bone dry.

The machine also has Ducati’s most advanced electronics package, which features an inertial measurement unit, and thus allows for the traction control system to adjust both the slide rate and spin rate of the rear tire.

We hear if you still want one, there are some dealers that have machines that are no longer spoken for, but you better act fast.

Yesterday we brought you an interesting Photoshop mashup, where Ducati 851 Superbike fairings were CGI’d onto a Panigale chassis (it was a 1199 Superleggera, to be precise), with drool-worthy result.

That lead to the guys at OTTO Revista pinging us, to show their work, which includes the bodywork from the venerable Ducati 916, photoshopped onto the Ducati 1299 Superleggera, Borgo Panigale’s latest and greatest.

Taking from arguably the most beautiful Ducati ever produced, and adding to it the most technologically advanced Ducati street bike ever concieved, well…the result (above) speaks for itself.

Just for kicks too, there is a Supermono mashup, as well as a TT2 (Pantah) version, after the jump.

Did Santa forget to put a certain carbon fiber superbike under the tree this Christmas? Us too.

Since we aren’t one of the lucky 500 people who will be receiving the Ducati 1299 Superleggera in 2017, we will have to make do with appreciating Ducati’s latest halo bike from a distance.

Ducati officially lists the 1299 Superleggera as making 215hp and weighing 156kg dry, though with the installation of the included race kit that peak horsepower figure pops to 220hp, while the dry weight drops to a near-nothing 150kg. OMGWTFBBQ.

Numbers aside, the truly astounding part of the Ducati 1299 Superleggera is its carbon fiber chassis, a first for a production motorcycle.

Make no mistake, the Bologna firm has been continuously pushing the boundaries of what defines a superbike, and it has been interesting to watch other brands react to their creations.

There might be a lot of talk about the death of sport bikes, but we argue that they have never been more intriguing.

You won’t find any photos of the Ducati 1299 Superleggera at a higher resolution than the ones after the jump. Enjoy!

Episode 38 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is aptly named, as it covers some of the new bikes that debuted at the 2016 EICMA show in Milan, Italy. There’s no need for a long summary of the show, as Quentin and I merely cover some of the standout machines that caught our eye in Milan this year.

We think you will enjoy this podcast, it’s pretty much classic Two Enthusiasts fodder (when we remember to hit the record button), and we give more than one shout-out to the departed Husqvarna Nuda 900, a bike we hardly knew.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

The Ducati 1299 Superleggera might be the most technically astounding machine ever to come from the Italian brand, but all those exotic materials and fancy electronics are lost on some riders – motorcyclists who prefer more simpler times.

So the good folk at Speed Junkies have heard this call, and mashed-up the 1299 Superleggera with Ducati’s perhaps most coveted nod to the past, the Mike Hailwood inspired Ducati MH900e.

Both the Superleggera and MH900e are beauties in their own right (a proper Ducati collection should be considerd incomplete if it is without an example of both machines), though there is something interesting to the design that Speed Junkies proposes with the two bikes together.

We thought you would find the concept interesting, and there is a second “race” version waiting for you after the jump as well. We are of the belief that either would look good in our garage.

Episode 37 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast covers a bit of motorcycle happenings in the past few weeks, and starts off with a discussion about the Red Bull Straight Rhythm event in Southern California.

An interesting racing format for supercross fans, those in attendance were also treated to the Alta Motors Redshift MX electric dirt bike racing against its 250cc gas counterparts. It did quite well, with Josh Hill finishing fourth overall on the Alta.

Our conversation then turns to cruisers, as Quentin and I got some seat time on the Victory Octane. Neither of us are big fans of the cruiser motorcycle format, but had some interesting thoughts on the Octane, which is a pretty good bike for its $9,999 price tag.

We then turn our attention to the new bike season, with the debut of the Yamaha YZF-R6 at the AIMExpo, the leaked images of the now released Ducati 1299 Superleggera, and other machines.

It’s a classic Two Enthusiasts show, we think you will enjoy it. Also, if you’re in the Portland area on Friday, November 18th, you should attend our live show at the MotoCorsa dealership. We hope to see you there.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

The Ducati 1299 Superleggera is easily the bike of the 2016 EICMA show, and it is the first production motorcycle with a carbon fiber chassis.

On top of that accolade, the 1299 Superleggera is the lightest and most powerful superbike ever created by Ducati, making 220hp and weighing 162kg at the curb, when the track-only race kit is installed.

Every detail of the Ducati 1299 Superleggera serves the purpose of making the motorcycle faster, and each piece has been shaved to find ever ounce possible in weight savings. It helps too that the Ducati 1299 Superleggera is a looker too.

As such, we have some up-close photos of the Ducati 1299 Superleggera, for those who cannot experience the machine in the flesh. Enjoy!