When a
motorbike company starts with a clean-sheet style, there are numerous ways that to travel wrong. typically it’s best to attend for Version two.0. however Ducati has knocked one out of the park with its sensational new 1199 Panigale, the primary ground-up mass-production model from Ducati since the 1979 Pantah.
While a definitive verdict can ought to wait till we tend to take a look at the 1199 on home soil, our short time aboard it at the amazing Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi was enough to confidently predict the Panigale is one in all the best sportbikes ever created and could be a leading contender for our annual bike of the Year award.
There is no space of performance it does not excel in – power, handling, braking, electronics. it's everything you'll wish during a fashionable liter-sized sportbike, together with sharp styling that blazes a replacement style path. Compared to the outgoing 1198, the Panigale rocks twenty five additional horsepower whereas weighing twenty two lbs less.
Tech Mate
Ducatis have long been known for attractive Italian vogue, however rarely for implementing cutting-edge technology. The Panigale blows that perception away.
Key to its style is its distinctive monocoque frame that uses the V-Twin engine as a serious part of its chassis. A cast-aluminum section weighing simply nine.3 pounds provides the steering-head support for the fork and, like clever engineering solutions, additionally doubles because the engine’s airbox and aluminum fuel tank base. The alloy structure bolts to the engine for the chassis’s core composition, easy as that. Supporting the seat and tailsection is another light-weight (just four.6 pounds) aluminum piece that bolts to the engine’s rear cylinder and rear fringe of the steering box. A magnesium structure up front weighs simply one.3 pounds and supports the higher fairing, headlights and gauges.
Standard equipment on the $17,995 Panigale includes multi-level traction management, 3 riding modes (Race, Sport, Rain) that modify throttle response via the ride-by-wire throttle, Ducati’s fast Shifter and a new-for-2012 Electronic Braking management.
The upmarket S version ($22,995) brings higher levels of specification, upgrading from Marzocchi and Sachs suspension to electronically adjustable Ohlins parts. every riding mode has default compression and rebound damping settings which may even be tweaked individually by pushing many buttons on the left-hand switchgear whereas navigating the splendidly legible TFT instrument panel. additionally on the S is that the industry’s initial LED headlight.
Let’s Ride!Unlike any of the handfuls of racetracks I’ve been to, the 3.45-mile Yas Marina Circuit is accessible by walking directly from our hotel, the visually spectacular Yas Viceroy, to constant paddock that annually hosts the exclusive Formula one series. prepared within the garage may be a phalanx of gleaming red 1199 Panigales that seem even additional sinister than they give the impression of being in photos. they are available across as stylish and modern however while not being spinoff of the rest. Even my mom, who had her 77th birthday on my ride day and dislikes motorcycles, would be ready to acknowledge the Panigale may be a special machine.
Anyone who’s thrown a leg over
Ducati’s 1098/1198 models are going to be pleasantly shocked by the 1199’s revised ergonomics. It’s seat is moved over an in. nearer to the handlebars, and therefore the bars are raised 10mm, that add up to a layout abundant less stretched and considerably lighter. Slinging a leg over its diminutive tailsection is simpler than the 1198’s that had 2 significant exhaust canisters stuffed beneath it. The Panigale has its mufflers placed beneath the engine, Buell-like, for mass centralization. Its seat is alleged to be at thirty two.5 inches however appears lower, and its tank feels nicely slender between the knees.
Thumb the starter button and therefore the 1199cc V-Twin involves life with an authoritative bark. A clever, cam-mounted decompression device permits a way smaller starter motor and battery, saving 7.3 lbs of weight. A twist of the throttle has the large four.41-inch pistons rising in revs quicker than the 1198 and makes its rider smile to the angry exhaust note. The new wet clutch incorporates a moderate pull and engages while not the grabbiness of the previous dry style.
Pulling the throttle laborious at 5500 rpm may be a very little disappointing compared to the 1198’s lump, because the most oversquare bore/stroke ratio of any production bike would lead one to suppose. however the gentle disenchantment is entirely forgotten once past 7500 rpm when the Superquadro engine piles on revs with ferocity previously unknown from any V-Twin.
Peak torque arrives a thousand rpm later than the 1198 at 9000 rpm with a stonking ninety eight.1 ft-lb of force (measured at its crankshaft). From there, horsepower builds viciously to its 195-horsepower climax. It’s price noting the Panigale’s rating may be a combine of ponies over BMW’s scintillating S1000RR, though we’ll ought to strap it to a dyno to prove if its horsepower really reigns supreme.
The Superquadro’s love for revs is distinct from the other liter-size Twin. considerably larger intake and exhaust valves, still desmodromically actuated however currently with titanium intakes, let the engine breathe within the higher revs allowed by the short-stroke style, screaming all the thanks to eleven,500 rpm. The 1199’s engine designer, Marco Sairu, says the Panigale’s final piston speed of twenty-two meters/second is sort of similar to the four-cylinder S1000RR. Despite all this new performance, a switch from rubber cam belts to a chain-and-gear cam drive nearly doubles valve adjustment intervals to fifteen,000 miles.
My 1st session {on track|on target|on course|on the right track|heading within the right direction|not off course} was spent in the ECU’s Sport mode that allows all 195 horses however with suppler throttle response than in Race mode. The Panigale’s ride-by-wire throttle permits the 2 fuel-injecting throttle bodies to work independently, using laptop brain-power to best deliver what a rider’s wrist is inquiring for. There are 2 injectors in every throttle body, the one closest to the intake tract used at lower revs, whereas the higher showerhead-style injector engages at high rpm.
This sounds additional HAL 9000 than it feels, as response from the throttle is surprisingly direct and intuitive. Reaction in Race mode is sort of somewhat sharper than in Sport however still quite manageable. A secondary-air system will inject air into the exhaust ports for additional complete combustion, permitting a richer intake charge whereas still meeting emissions regs and eliminating the on-throttle abruptness caused by lean mixtures.
After changing into acquainted with the Superquadro’s gobsmacking top-end wallop, i noticed the Panigale is undoubtedly the foremost agile
Superbike-series Ducati ever created. Rake remains at twenty four.5 degrees whereas path is lengthened a nominal 3mm to 100mm. Despite a traction-enhancing longer (by one.53 inches) swingarm, the 1199’s wheelbase is up simply 7mm because of Sairu’s thoughtful tight arrangement of transmission gears.
Regardless of the hardly altered geometry, the Panigale responds with eagerness the 1198 may solely dream of. It’s less unwavering than the freight-train-like 1198 however not unstable. Its enthusiasm to tip into corners is due in giant half to its higher and one.26-inch wider handlebars that deliver additional leverage, however credit additionally its lighter weight (415 lbs with its larger fuel tank full) and mass-centralization efforts that lower the inertia moment around its roll axis. Also, the S version of the one99 we tend to tested is shod with light-weight solid and machined Marchesini wheels that are nearly 1 lb lighter than the solid wheels on last year’s 1198SP.
But there’s a lot of to judging a bike’s handling than simply fervent tip-in behavior, conjointly the} Panigale’s mid-corner feedback and composure also impress. Its weight distribution of 52/48 F/R is just like Ducati’s World Superbike, and is advantageous for front-tire loading as compared to the previous 50/50 balance. The ergo layout makes it straightforward to hold off in corners.
It was a windy day in Abu Dhabi, bringing in an unwelcome dusting of sand on the track. Clouds of rooster-tails burst from the tires of bikes ahead and brought major anxiety for adhesion levels. however a mixture of a grippy track surface from mixture shipped in from England to pave the track and Pirelli’s wonderful Supercorsa SP street tires yielded rather more traction than expected. The rear Pirelli’s size is that the new 200/55-17, and its pure gold larger naked (no tread) edges feature a softer compound to produce tenacious grip. The front donut is molded with one compound in a very ancient 120/70-17 spec.
Strong drive out of corners is aided with the protection internet of an updated version of Ducati Traction management on the market in eight settings. I rode most of the day in Race mode that encompasses a default DTC setting of level three, and it proved to be unobtrusive and engaged discretely. An orange lightweight at the highest of the gauge pack shows when it’s cutting in. If you’re TC-phobic, it may be utterly transitioned.
Hard on the gas, the Panigale hurls itself out of corners, piling on revs voraciously and demanding fast upshifts as indicated on the distinguished sequential shift lights. normal on all 1199s is that the Ducati fast Shifter that briefly interrupts the ignition to permit full-throttle clutchless upshifts. The bike gathers speed with S1000RR-like alacrity, pulling up its front wheel over a small rise even when in fifth gear. At the tip of Yas Marina’s one.2-kilometer straight, the speedometer of the Termignoni and up-spec-kitted version I rode saw an astonishing 296 kph! That’s 184 mph for the metric-disinclined.
Bleeding off speed is that the responsibility of a potent set of brakes. New Brembo M50 monoblock 4-piston calipers up front are seven-membered lighter than the 1198’s and are exclusive to the Panigale. Biting on 330mm discs, the petite clampers deliver an ideal mix of power and sensitivity. innumerable feedback encourages trail-braking to corner apexes, however the bike is modestly reluctant to tip in absolutely with the brakes still on, thus it’s best to unharness them slightly before the apex.
We tested the optional Bosch antilock system that uses four channels of information (one at every master cylinder and one at every caliper) for the utmost in precision. Forget no matter you thought you knew regarding ABS on a racetrack, as this can be one sensible and powerful system that provides up nothing in performance and adds solely five lbs. Levels two and three link the rear brake to the front lever to varying degrees, however level one doesn't and disengages rear ABS to permit stoppies when braking onerous. And if you’re feeling brave, ABS may be disabled.
Fears of braking zones also are assuaged by the slipper perform of its back-torque-limiting clutch and new Electronic Braking management that cracks open the throttle butterflies when decelerating to scale back the engine’s compression-braking result over 3 levels or disengaged entirely. I kept EBC on Level one and had no problems with the rear tire dancing around throughout the toughest braking I dared to explore.
Yas Marina’s swish surface did very little to check the electronically controlled Ohlins suspension, however we’re assured the high-quality Swedish dampers are absolutely up to task. I didn’t bit the taut settings that are programmed within the ECU’s Race mode as a result of they felt ideal.
Conclusion
To anyone noticing this has to date been a sugary-sweet review, you may doubt this author’s objectivity. However, the Panigale extremely is that this sensible. In fact, it’s the foremost spectacular new sportbike I’ve ridden since the debut of Yamaha’s landmark R1 in 1998.
As for negatives, they're few and minor. Its windscreen provides solely modest protection, and its clutch pack stands proud way enough to interfere with a rider’s right calf when at a stop. Heat from the engine may be excessive when ridden at low speeds, though doubtless no worse than the 1198 and doubtless higher.
Otherwise, the Panigale could be a completely entertaining superbike for the road with a lot of technology than any sportbike on the market. Even its mirrors offer a moderately helpful read, that are some things unprecedented from Ducati’s superbike series.
Riders of various skills were highly impressed with the Panigale. Rishad Cooper, our correspondent from India who rarely rides such powerful machines on a racetrack, had solely glowing comments regarding the bike. At the opposite finish of the spectrum is AMA Superbike racer Chris Ulrich, a man generally not averse to speaking negatively regarding street-compromised bikes, who said he had no performance problems with the Ducati.
Simply put, Ducati’s Panigale astounded me with its sheer performance and its high level of refinement, and it's mouth-wateringly beautiful. The 1199 could be a very good machine that had many jaded motojournalists considering shopping for one for themselves. it would even be the simplest sportbike ever created.
