1199 Photo leak!

[junior varsity]

People are discussing the link between the 1199 and MotoGP on several fora and in the media. I doesn't need to be true to hurt sales, just people believing it's true is enough.

this i agree with.  it may not be inferior to current design at all, it could be equal or an improvement - but sales hurt if there are concerns that it is similar to the GP bike's design, and with the GOAT on the GP bike and not winning - it doesn't look good. Add to it that the current model SBK had a fairly abysmal season in WSBK & AMA, people might not be looking at Ducati at all.


Troy's posts and times are encouraging - wonders if this was done on a 'base', an 'S', an 'R', or a factory bike such as an 'RS', and what his comparison time was done on.

[iRam]

Fairly abysmal WSBK?..   i think checa's been dominating.

[junior varsity]

have you been watching the races?

[DRKWNG]

have you been watching the races?

You mean the series that Checa is dominating this year?

[iRam]

Got em all on DVR.

[junior varsity]

i watched 'em too.  you see checa true enough, and then ... any others?   factory team...?     Aprilia is running a fairly new bike and hasn't been competing in WSBK as consistantly as Ducati, yet they have 20 podiums - only 3 short of Ducati.  And Checa is definitely kicking ass - but he's certainly a bit special too - he's ridden for Ducati in the past, and his resume includes WSBK, MotoGP+250+125, etc.

how about in AMA? - the bikes were not competitive like they should have been.  One rider changed off of his to a Triumph during the season!

[junior varsity]

i ought to fess up for those who do not follow the series, i am referring to DiSalvo, and it wasn't until NJ that he switched.... he'd been doing "OK" during the season, if I recall a strong start then a lot of mediocrity

[Raux]

isn't the 848 kicking ass in that endurance series

[junior varsity]

i only see the results of that one, don't record/watch it - 6 series is enough time as it is (sbk & ss ama, sbk & ss wsbk, MotoGP & Moto2)

[zarn02]

⁰ - in that case, lets switch back to less expensive conventionally mounted two-piece calipers, semi-floating or fixed rotors, external-reservoir-less shocks, axial-pump master cylinders, rubber brake lines, lower spec tires (pirelli supercorsas are expensive!), and valve springs... cost would go down drastically - to same as Japanese SBK's!
¹ - People (and Magazines) complained of 916-748-996-998's ergonomics: seat higher than the handlebars + really long reach, but it wasn't made for pedestrian uses, like bike night or commutes - it was made to win, and it won.
² - Honda, for example, produces showroom models only with wet clutches but at top level MotoGP - they, like all manufacturers, run dry clutches.
³ - seen the colors Lamborghini puts out now? trying to make it into hip-hop videos i suppose, but they all appear gaudy/flashy to me.

All I have to say is that it's been a while since I saw a post with footnotes. The pedantic nerd in me approves wholeheartedly.

[zarn02]

As for Ducati's race results, with regards to production series (serieses? series'? I really should know this...)

Checa is dominating in WSBK, but he probably would be on any other marque of motorcycle, as well. Guintoli and Smrz both perform decently, but aren't championship contenders. Nobody else on a Duc seems to be doing much. How much of this can actually be blamed on the 1198 is of course up for debate, but the Ducati is hardly filling out the bottom of the roster.

At Imola, in Superstock 1000, the top four riders were on 1198s.

There aren't many Ducs in BSB, but Rutter can manage to keep up with the I4s. Jessop is no slouch either, though Rutter has overshadowed him through much of the season.

However, the Ducati suffered greatly at the Isle of Man due to its top speed deficit.

On power circuits, the 1198 is at a disadvantage compared to the four cylinders more impressive top-end. Though Checa would probably do well on anything mildly competitive, it can't hurt Ducati to make a more powerful bike with greater top-end go-fast-ness. Everyone else will be.

None of the complaints about the 1198 seem to have anything to do with the frame, or handling. I do hope Ducati have their shit together with this new frame concept, as it would be mighty expensive (and hurt corporate pride) to have to redesign after a year or two.

For full disclosure, my comments are based on the fact that I follow WSBK/SS/STK, MotoGP/2, BSB, and pretty much ignore AMA, etc.

(I feel certain I had a point I wanted to make, going into that. I'm not sure I managed to do so, but there it is...)

[DRKWNG]

So yea, I think we've sufficiently covered the fact that the 1198 has languished in competition this season. 

[muskrat]

so has anyone tested the bike and "leaked" the results?  I'm still betting the base price to be $24,999 

[zarn02]

So yea, I think we've sufficiently covered the fact that the 1198 has languished in competition this season. 

In superbike trim, yes.

It seems to do better in superstock trim.

[DRKWNG]

I was being a bit sarcastic.