World Ducati Dealer Conference 2
Posted by Paul NPRDucati at 11/6/2007 9:55 PM and is filed under uncategorized 
Dear NPRHeads, (spoken as Nipperheads, like the RCA dog Nipper looking at the Victrola),
Totally gratuitous, but I love that dog and our new bike! The 848 is the answer that many interested parties have been looking for-130 hp with great torque in a middleweight package of 369 pounds dry. All told, this will make a responsive, lithe package that will tear up your favorite road or track. And it is killer in the new for the 848 metallic white paint. Traditionalists will appreciate the alternative red color, but you have to see the white, it's that cool.
We have deposits already for this bike, sight unseen and unheard, I hope we can get enough to satisfy the demand.
Let's put the latest Ducati Superbike in context, so to speak. This is my totally anecdotal SBK history, and we had a killer Italian meal tonight, with plenty libations, so bear with me.
Item A.
My beloved 888, with a ton of work in the motor, including a bore kit equaling 926cc, 54mm mega full system exhaust, race pistons, big valves, race rods (about 1500$ back in the day!), an SPS-style crank, flowed heads and lots of other bits, made a whopping 110-114 hp at the wheel. It also ran poorly at less than 4500 rpm, came on the pipe viciously, and got about 34 mpg. It was also tall and heavy, even with the custom swingarm, liberal carbon usage, and deep-sixing a lot of the street bits and the heavy stock bodywork for race glass. Sure loved that bike.
Item B.
My favorite in the next series of the Ducati Superbike was the 1996 916SP. Such a beauty, and a little helping hand from the Ducati engineers resulted in a bike that made about 112 hp, with the usual big torque and steady handling of these bikes. A limited edition, rare and pretty pricey 12 years ago. Fun bike, but pales in comparison to our new girl.
Item C.
In 1999, Ducati unveiled the 996 series. Cool bike, with the bore and stroke of the previous 916SPS bikes. It never really caught fire until 2000 when they made a bunch of invisible changes like a different primary. These made about 118hp, some a little more with creative mapping. Early ones came with Ohlins shocks standard. Five spoke wheels helped the bike as well, but a set of SPS cams really started making it go right! These hit the scales around 440 pounds dry, if I recall correctly. Hmm.
Item 4.
The 996r came next, with the first Testastretta motor. These were getting there, being a super-limited edition bike that grafted the then unknown Testa concept on the 996 motor. The first deep sump motor as well. I loved this bike, but bike was so rare it was out of my reach in any case. I seem to remember they made two batches of 25. We sold two. The first guy still has his and the second guy brought his 1098 in last week for Dean to fettle. Power was around 122hp, but no warranty.
Item 5.
The next advance was in 02, with the true testa motors in the 998 models of various models, std, S and Bayliss and Bostrom models. I can remember selling the #1 Bostrom bike sort of by accident. We should have known, as Super Hunky used to say, since we had just sold the #12 bike a couple weeks earlier and elementary math
told us if we were listening that the bike with the 11 lower number VIN was pretty special, but we had been told that Ben was getting that bike. The guy that got it ended up not loving it much anyway, so maybe not much harm done. No offense Ben, but I really wanted the Bayliss bike anyway as he had kicked ass in the World SBK and I thought it was a little less tarty. Just one man's opinion. I should've told Bayliss that during the First Bathrobe Bonanza, I bet he would've thought it was funny. So anyway, the 998 bikes made about the same ponies as the 996r, but were better equipped and a little less money. Buy one if you can find one that's in good shape, great bet for a collector. They're still great fun to ride, although no lighter than the 996 etc. Super flash too.
Item 6.
The next couple of years were a little dodgy for the superbikes, the leftover and reissued 998, 998 Matrix, and 998S mixed in with the 999 models. I'm sure I'll get hate mail for this, but the early 999 models (2003-2004) are a pain in the ass. They're not really any more livable than the earlier superbikes, they were quite expensive, they are not fun to work on, and the easier set-up of the 999 chassis is offset by the numbness of the front end. With some work they can be made to work very well, but the looks were not what most Ducatisti were looking for, and the bike wasn't any more practical except in fractional terms. Still quite heavy-the 999 std models were a couple pounds more than the 998, IIRC. The motor was nicer, a little more power to see off those upstart Brand A and their cheater magazine bikes, and some other nice things like a light alternator and stronger crankcases.
Item 7.
The 749r. What a bitching bike it is to ride, it was lighter handling than the big bikes, had some good bits on it (especially the first year) and was the first xx9 series bike to look hot. This was the bike that started the red frame craze in modern terms-they had all been other colors since the F1, if memory serves-and the black wheels, running gear, and new red fairing started to show the promise the 749/999 had inherent. Fun to ride! Very quick and good ones pushed out 115 hp, almost as much as our 800 Pro-Thunder bike at the time. With a Ducati Performance race pipe and ECU you were looking at 122, and the 749r was the first of the superbikes that got more priority towards leanness. Jeff Nash and others have done some wicked work on these and got big numbers from them without spending VR money. Look at what Pegram and Craggill did last year on essentially 4 year old race bikes against the best that Japan has to offer in AMA Formula NOTV Extreme. The Brand J companies pay a lot of attention and yen to that class and were embarrassed by a guy that they had written off and a bike they didn't realize was fast. Larry says he has one left if anyone is interested.
Getting back to the point, it was expensive and they didn't make many.
Item 8.
2005/6/7 999/S/R
These are all pretty good bikes, in a variety of colors and versions. Much more better motors, lots of power up to 143 hp in the later bikes with no mods. Ducati had started measuring hp in (gasp) japanese terms, that is to say at the crank, but the L twins are pretty efficient and don't lose proportionally as much through the tranny and final drive as some bikes so it's still a valid measure to judge the bikes against their competition IMO. The bikes had better breathing by now, especially the 104mm bore R models, but they got wayyy up there in price, and still had a fair layer of pork on them. Even the bitchin bikes, with carbon fairings, forged wheels, alloy subframes etc were on the wrong side of 420 pounds.
Item 9.
All right, here's why I rambled on about the bikes. We have all seen the Kick Ass 1098, a bike inspired largely by
the lessons learned by Claudio Domenicali and the Ducati Corse team and the commercial lessons over the last ten years. The bike has great power, a trick chassis, good lines, and is reasonably affordable at a couple thousand bucks more than the cookie-cutter J brand alphabet soup bikes. Now we are happy to enter the fray with our 848 and see what we can do. And it looks good, doesn't it? The 848 specs out at 130 hp, great torque, top shelf suspension, brakes, and componentry, and hits the scales at an amazing 369 pounds. The quick-revving engine that uses a new crankcase manufacturing technology that removes excess metal from the cases and saves over three pounds from the cases alone. The legendary Ducati handling gets even better on this bike with the lack of mass to move, helping agility and stability, as well as suspension compliance and flickability.
One of the major comparative factors the car and airplane guys use as a measure of responsiveness is the weight of the vehicle divided by the power produced. The reason they do this is to give a general idea of the responsiveness of the vehicle. In the old days, the bike guys did it also, but over the years they got caught up in the horsepower wars, propelled by the Brand J manufacturers that measured their bikes by the last tenth of a horsepower, in some cases, which is a terrible way to measure performance, to my mind. Ask Bayliss whether he would rather have five more horses or fifteen pounds less. (Of course, he'll say he wants both, but that's beside the point).
369 pounds divided by 130 hp gives 2.83 lbs/hp. Pretty Kick Ass!
More later in the day. Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Paul
Totally gratuitous, but I love that dog and our new bike! The 848 is the answer that many interested parties have been looking for-130 hp with great torque in a middleweight package of 369 pounds dry. All told, this will make a responsive, lithe package that will tear up your favorite road or track. And it is killer in the new for the 848 metallic white paint. Traditionalists will appreciate the alternative red color, but you have to see the white, it's that cool.
We have deposits already for this bike, sight unseen and unheard, I hope we can get enough to satisfy the demand.
Let's put the latest Ducati Superbike in context, so to speak. This is my totally anecdotal SBK history, and we had a killer Italian meal tonight, with plenty libations, so bear with me.
Item A.
My beloved 888, with a ton of work in the motor, including a bore kit equaling 926cc, 54mm mega full system exhaust, race pistons, big valves, race rods (about 1500$ back in the day!), an SPS-style crank, flowed heads and lots of other bits, made a whopping 110-114 hp at the wheel. It also ran poorly at less than 4500 rpm, came on the pipe viciously, and got about 34 mpg. It was also tall and heavy, even with the custom swingarm, liberal carbon usage, and deep-sixing a lot of the street bits and the heavy stock bodywork for race glass. Sure loved that bike.
Item B.
My favorite in the next series of the Ducati Superbike was the 1996 916SP. Such a beauty, and a little helping hand from the Ducati engineers resulted in a bike that made about 112 hp, with the usual big torque and steady handling of these bikes. A limited edition, rare and pretty pricey 12 years ago. Fun bike, but pales in comparison to our new girl.
Item C.
In 1999, Ducati unveiled the 996 series. Cool bike, with the bore and stroke of the previous 916SPS bikes. It never really caught fire until 2000 when they made a bunch of invisible changes like a different primary. These made about 118hp, some a little more with creative mapping. Early ones came with Ohlins shocks standard. Five spoke wheels helped the bike as well, but a set of SPS cams really started making it go right! These hit the scales around 440 pounds dry, if I recall correctly. Hmm.
Item 4.
The 996r came next, with the first Testastretta motor. These were getting there, being a super-limited edition bike that grafted the then unknown Testa concept on the 996 motor. The first deep sump motor as well. I loved this bike, but bike was so rare it was out of my reach in any case. I seem to remember they made two batches of 25. We sold two. The first guy still has his and the second guy brought his 1098 in last week for Dean to fettle. Power was around 122hp, but no warranty.
Item 5.
The next advance was in 02, with the true testa motors in the 998 models of various models, std, S and Bayliss and Bostrom models. I can remember selling the #1 Bostrom bike sort of by accident. We should have known, as Super Hunky used to say, since we had just sold the #12 bike a couple weeks earlier and elementary math
told us if we were listening that the bike with the 11 lower number VIN was pretty special, but we had been told that Ben was getting that bike. The guy that got it ended up not loving it much anyway, so maybe not much harm done. No offense Ben, but I really wanted the Bayliss bike anyway as he had kicked ass in the World SBK and I thought it was a little less tarty. Just one man's opinion. I should've told Bayliss that during the First Bathrobe Bonanza, I bet he would've thought it was funny. So anyway, the 998 bikes made about the same ponies as the 996r, but were better equipped and a little less money. Buy one if you can find one that's in good shape, great bet for a collector. They're still great fun to ride, although no lighter than the 996 etc. Super flash too.
Item 6.
The next couple of years were a little dodgy for the superbikes, the leftover and reissued 998, 998 Matrix, and 998S mixed in with the 999 models. I'm sure I'll get hate mail for this, but the early 999 models (2003-2004) are a pain in the ass. They're not really any more livable than the earlier superbikes, they were quite expensive, they are not fun to work on, and the easier set-up of the 999 chassis is offset by the numbness of the front end. With some work they can be made to work very well, but the looks were not what most Ducatisti were looking for, and the bike wasn't any more practical except in fractional terms. Still quite heavy-the 999 std models were a couple pounds more than the 998, IIRC. The motor was nicer, a little more power to see off those upstart Brand A and their cheater magazine bikes, and some other nice things like a light alternator and stronger crankcases.
Item 7.
The 749r. What a bitching bike it is to ride, it was lighter handling than the big bikes, had some good bits on it (especially the first year) and was the first xx9 series bike to look hot. This was the bike that started the red frame craze in modern terms-they had all been other colors since the F1, if memory serves-and the black wheels, running gear, and new red fairing started to show the promise the 749/999 had inherent. Fun to ride! Very quick and good ones pushed out 115 hp, almost as much as our 800 Pro-Thunder bike at the time. With a Ducati Performance race pipe and ECU you were looking at 122, and the 749r was the first of the superbikes that got more priority towards leanness. Jeff Nash and others have done some wicked work on these and got big numbers from them without spending VR money. Look at what Pegram and Craggill did last year on essentially 4 year old race bikes against the best that Japan has to offer in AMA Formula NOTV Extreme. The Brand J companies pay a lot of attention and yen to that class and were embarrassed by a guy that they had written off and a bike they didn't realize was fast. Larry says he has one left if anyone is interested.
Getting back to the point, it was expensive and they didn't make many.
Item 8.
2005/6/7 999/S/R
These are all pretty good bikes, in a variety of colors and versions. Much more better motors, lots of power up to 143 hp in the later bikes with no mods. Ducati had started measuring hp in (gasp) japanese terms, that is to say at the crank, but the L twins are pretty efficient and don't lose proportionally as much through the tranny and final drive as some bikes so it's still a valid measure to judge the bikes against their competition IMO. The bikes had better breathing by now, especially the 104mm bore R models, but they got wayyy up there in price, and still had a fair layer of pork on them. Even the bitchin bikes, with carbon fairings, forged wheels, alloy subframes etc were on the wrong side of 420 pounds.
Item 9.
All right, here's why I rambled on about the bikes. We have all seen the Kick Ass 1098, a bike inspired largely by
the lessons learned by Claudio Domenicali and the Ducati Corse team and the commercial lessons over the last ten years. The bike has great power, a trick chassis, good lines, and is reasonably affordable at a couple thousand bucks more than the cookie-cutter J brand alphabet soup bikes. Now we are happy to enter the fray with our 848 and see what we can do. And it looks good, doesn't it? The 848 specs out at 130 hp, great torque, top shelf suspension, brakes, and componentry, and hits the scales at an amazing 369 pounds. The quick-revving engine that uses a new crankcase manufacturing technology that removes excess metal from the cases and saves over three pounds from the cases alone. The legendary Ducati handling gets even better on this bike with the lack of mass to move, helping agility and stability, as well as suspension compliance and flickability.
One of the major comparative factors the car and airplane guys use as a measure of responsiveness is the weight of the vehicle divided by the power produced. The reason they do this is to give a general idea of the responsiveness of the vehicle. In the old days, the bike guys did it also, but over the years they got caught up in the horsepower wars, propelled by the Brand J manufacturers that measured their bikes by the last tenth of a horsepower, in some cases, which is a terrible way to measure performance, to my mind. Ask Bayliss whether he would rather have five more horses or fifteen pounds less. (Of course, he'll say he wants both, but that's beside the point).
369 pounds divided by 130 hp gives 2.83 lbs/hp. Pretty Kick Ass!
More later in the day. Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Paul
Tough job, but if it has to be done, might as well be you!
Absolutely, it is necessary to have the skills, as they would translate it here in Italy...
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