Panigale Debut in WSBK Testing

[Triple J]

Not a great start, Checa's 1199 blew up and oiled down the front straight.

Ouch!

It'll be interesting to see how reliable the 1199 turns out in racing. Seems like a pretty radical engine design.

[OT]

Back in HS/college (late 60s / mid 70s) we used to salivate whenever a really nice Italian car (or chick   ) came along, but no one ever seriously considered buying one because we all knew they were very, very high maintenance....

So, nothing's changed in 35 years?  

[Goat_Herder]

Considering that this is the first off-season testing, I wonder how much Ducati Corse is sandbagging or simply trying different things to see how the bike would react.  They do have riders new to a bike with brand new setups (and reduced weight).  Even if the Panigale is fast, I wouldn't want to show my cards at the flop.  IMHO. 

[zooom]

   Even if the Panigale is fast, I wouldn't want to show my cards at the flop.  IMHO. 

why not?....more privateer teams riding your product under race condition if it comes out being the bad-ass outta the box...

[gm2]

So, nothing's changed in 35 years? 

nope.

[Goat_Herder]

why not?....more privateer teams riding your product under race condition if it comes out being the bad-ass outta the box...

Maybe I are relating it to pre-season in football - you don't run all the plays and formations during pre-season, always save some for the games that count.  Racing is different, I suppose?  

[zooom]

I would think so...how else do you attract the Effenbert's and Pata's and other teams that don't have the direct factory link for their team...they want the best bang outta the box they can buy, and quite frankly, the only 2 manu's that make a pretty much race ready machine out of the box are Ducati with the "R" or "RS" series bikes, and the Priller "Factory" bike....everything else, I think they pretty much tear it down and rebuild the whole bike from scratch almost....I could be wrong on that to a small degree...but more or less, that is my understanding.

[Goat_Herder]

Well, I guess it makes sense (cents) to go fast right out of the gate then.  

[OT]

Wonder how much MotoGP (rider) feedback went into this new bike?

[derby]

I would think so...how else do you attract the Effenbert's and Pata's and other teams that don't have the direct factory link for their team...they want the best bang outta the box they can buy, and quite frankly, the only 2 manu's that make a pretty much race ready machine out of the box are Ducati with the "R" or "RS" series bikes, and the Priller "Factory" bike....everything else, I think they pretty much tear it down and rebuild the whole bike from scratch almost....I could be wrong on that to a small degree...but more or less, that is my understanding.

only the RSs, and any team worth it's salt will take those apart and reassemble 'em, too.

[PhilB]

Back in HS/college (late 60s / mid 70s) we used to salivate whenever a really nice Italian car (or chick   ) came along, but no one ever seriously considered buying one because we all knew they were very, very high maintenance....

So, nothing's changed in 35 years?  

In a sense, no.  I can't speak for the Italian chicks, but the Italian machines back then were the same as now -- as good as anything else in the world IF you (a) do the recommended maintenance, or close to it, and (b) USE the damn thing and don't let it sit and rot.

I grew up with Alfa Romeos; that's what my parents drove.  Our main family cars for almost 20 years were a pair of 1967 Giulia Super sedans, each of which nearly hit 200K before expiring (one by rust, the other by teenage driver).  I had a 1973 Alfa Berlina in college; bought it with 70K, added another 70K, ran great.  If my roommate hadn't wrecked it, I'd likely still have it.

And I'm over 200K on my Ducati.  Still runs strongly.

PhilB

[Triple J]

I'd say Ducatis are as reliable as any other make for general use.

For racing, not so much. From what I've seen (and experienced), they break more often than their Japanese counterparts. There's a reason most club racers (i.e., self funded) don't ride Ducatis.

[desmoquattro]

I'd say Ducatis are as reliable as any other make for general use.

For racing, not so much. From what I've seen (and experienced), they break more often than their Japanese counterparts. There's a reason most club racers (i.e., self funded) don't ride Ducatis.

That was certainly true in the 1098/1198 series, especially for crankshafts and engine cases. But according to the guys at Desmotosport (who service a good number of the club racers around here) they were expecting the 1199 to be more robust and reliable for racing. It'll be interesting to see how Tigre and others get on with it next season, not to mention the folks in BSB and WSBK.

[Triple J]

That was certainly true in the 1098/1198 series, especially for crankshafts and engine cases. But according to the guys at Desmotosport (who service a good number of the club racers around here) they were expecting the 1199 to be more robust and reliable for racing. It'll be interesting to see how Tigre and others get on with it next season, not to mention the folks in BSB and WSBK.

Hopefully that's true...would be great news! 

I know of quite a few 1098s and 848s with broken cranks, along with my 749, and my old 748 (guy who bought it from me). That's not to say the Japanese bikes don't break...just doesn't seem like they do as much.

[desmoquattro]

Hopefully that's true...would be great news! 

I know of quite a few 1098s and 848s with broken cranks, along with my 749, and my old 748 (guy who bought it from me). That's not to say the Japanese bikes don't break...just doesn't seem like they do as much.

Tigre broke quite a few cranks over the last 2 years on the 1198s he's been racing. They've shaved that metal down so much that they tend to break under racing stress, especially where the oil passages are drilled. Some racers are putting Superbike-spec cranks in their machines just to stand up to the stress. Big $$$.