There are few brands in the world that stir passion as the Ducati brand does, it's always been right up there in the desirability stakes and in most cases just out of reach. Ducati now change this with the launch of the new 899 Panigale, putting a Ducati in reach of every superbike rider.
Not everybody needs a 180hp superbike to thrash around a track or on the road but saying this there are very few people in the world that can actually take one of these beasts very close to their design limit. They are way too intimidating and everything just starts happening too quickly when adding too much horsepower. Any monkey can go quickly in a straight line but it's when the road becomes a little curvy that the straight line super heroes need to step aside. There is a reason MotoGP riders are so young. Let's face it, the world of superbike riders out there can be divided into two groups; those who own Ducatis and those who want to own them. It's just one of those absolutely beautiful motorcycles that stirs the soul from every angle and makes it just so special. The Italians have flair, just look at their shoes, their cloths and even their buildings, and it’s especially evident in their new 899 model. And, coupled to this, having a German owner in Audi is not going to hurt the company at all, just look at what it has done for Lamborghini.
Ducati call it super mid perfection; it's not a normal capacity by industry standards but it is a replacement for their 848 which was arguably one of the most rideable bikes to be offered in the last few years. What Ducati aim to do with this new model is make the brand more accessible to the broader public but also provide a sportsbike which is a little more road orientated and they call it the “Road to the Track”. In a nutshell, the bike looks almost exactly the same as its older brother with the main visual change being the dual sided swing arm. The new Superquadro engine features a revised bore and stroke, pushing capacity up to 898cc which in turn has pushed the power up to a claimed 148hp - that's 8hp more than the outgoing 848 motor. But what makes this bike feel so special is that the engineers have managed to get even more torque out of it and the engine now produces 99Nm at 9000rpm. Granted those are high revs for maximum delivery but if you look at the graph, the bike pulls harder than its predecessor right through the rev range, so it's a nice tractable engine to ride and it's rewarding to ride hard. If you look at the second graph you'll also be able to see the improved acceleration over the previous model, so on paper at least, this bike looks like a rocketship. The new power unit is part of the fully stressed monocoque construction and the dry weight is down to only 169kgs. The bike also offers all the riding aids like ABS, Engine Braking Control (EBC), Traction Control (DTC), Riding Maps, Ride-by-Wire (RbW) and, of course, the Ducati Quick-Shift (DQS).
So, what's it like to ride? Well first off it was a dream come true for me to be invited to the Imola race track. This is the track where I saw the best WSBK race of my life (albeit on TV) between Bayliss and Edwards so I've wanted to ride there ever since and I was not disappointed. The weather for our first session was wet, it had stopped raining but the track was still wet. All the bikes were fitted with Pirelli racing wets and the bikes were put into rain mode which limits the bike’s power to 100hp. Obviously conditions were a little treacherous but immediately the bike just felt right. The motor is torquey and pulls smoothly but even on the first lap I wished I had full power. Second session was wet again but, on the Sport setting, delivered all the power just more gently. This session felt a lot better but I was still a little gingerish around the bends, not being able to push it because of the wet conditions. Finally, the third session arrived and it was dry so the tyres were swapped to brand new Pirelli Super Corsa SC2s. By that stage I knew the track and immediately I was off in Race mode. Boy, what a difference! I'm not sure if it's the lack of power over the 1199 that makes this bike so stable and predictable, or perhaps it’s the revised rake and trail, but the 899 tackled every corner with absolutely accuracy, the only mistakes coming in from the rider, me! Big bikes can be intimidating but this bike is fast enough to be thrilling without being scary because of less outright power. I loved the Ride-by-Wire light controls and the traction control felt super smooth and, while we all know electronics are evolving all the time, this system is arguably one of the best on offer right now. In my peripheral view I could see the little yellow light flashing as I accelerated hard exiting bends.
The riding position for the Panigale is also a lot more comfortable than its predecessor’s was and it is not a long reach for the ‘bars. Even trying to be critical, I couldn’t find anything to complain about - this little bike really is a peach. The seat even has 5mm of extra sponge compared to its older brother to enhance road comfort but the additional padding even helped on the track.
So, let’s have a look at the new Panigale in more detail starting with engine. The 899 gets its name via a narrower cylinder bore (100mm) and shorter stroke (57.2mm) netting a displacement of 898cc. For reference that’s 4mm wider and 4mm shorter compared to the bike it replaces, the 848 EVO. The compression ratio is 12.5:1 which is 0.8 less than the EVO. Correspondingly, the porting of the cylinder heads and valve sizes were tweaked and the engine is fuelled through a pair of smaller throttle bodies with a single fuel injector per cylinder instead of two. The 899’s motor uses aluminium engine covers instead of the more costly to manufacture magnesium pieces as used on the 1199. It’s also missing slipper action functionality inside the clutch mechanism. Fortunately, Ducati offers an alternative with its adjustable Electronic Braking Control (EBC) that continues to feed the engine with fuel after the throttle is closed, thereby helping reducing rear wheel instability during aggressive deceleration. Lastly, it gets a five-tooth larger rear sprocket (44) to help it accelerate better in each of its six forward quickshift-enabled gears.
Moving on to geometry and suspension, although the 899’s steering head angle is 0.5-degrees sharper (24 degrees) with 4mm less trail, there is no obvious instability, rather just razor sharp turning. Other differences include a wheelbase of 1426mm (4mm shorter than the 848), the use of a steel subframe and the presence of Showa’s latest big piston fork design, contrary to the Marzocchi or Ohlins units used on the 1199 standard and S model. The wheels and tyres are also different with the 899 using less costly aluminium wheels shod with Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso Corsa sport rubber in sizes 120/70-17 front and 180/60-17 at the rear. The swingarm is a conventional-looking double sided swingarm fabricated from aluminium as opposed to a single-sided one and I actually like the look. This was done to save costs and to distinguish it from the premium Ducati superbike. Like the standard 1199, the 899’s gas-charged shock is sourced from Sachs but operates within a non-adjustable and street-riding friendly progressive-rate link. The fuel tank still gives 17 litres of capacity but is made from steel instead of the 1199’s plastic fuel cell and the front braking callipers are Brembo’s lower-spec M4s. It is important to note, however, that the M4s are still machined from a solid piece of aluminium, making them of higher quality than the two-piece callipers that the original generation 848 used. The actual disc is also slightly smaller than the 1199’s and is 320mm. Another cost saving item is the one-colour instrument display, which still gives all the information, but looks a little more basic. Although the 899 is approximately 4.5kgs less than the machine it replaces it’s also around 5kgs heavier than the standard 1199 at a claimed 169kgs dry (wet - 193kgs).
In conclusion, have Ducati nailed it with this new model? I would have to say very much so and you still have that absolutely unique Ducati feeling riding the bike. The proposed price range compares it with the big Japanese superbikes and even though it has less power than the 1,000s it does offer all the electronic wizardry as standard at the same price. In essence, this little bike is a gem and if there was a one make race series, this would be my bike of choice. No pricing had been established by the time of going to press but expect the bike to be around R170k. It's a lot of money but then again you are getting a lot of bike!
