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If you read the January-issue print story, “Real Deal,” then you know that Ducati has built the bike of my dreams, a MotoGP 990 with lights. Here are some notes that didn’t make it into the story.
A few quotes from Tech Director Andrea Forni to illustrate my building euphoria about the bike: “The front subframe with airbox air ducts is built from carbon-fiber as it is the lightest possible solution—of course, also the most expensive. This part weighs .43 kilograms, compared to the magnesium part on the 1098, which is .61 kilograms, or the aluminum part on the 999, which weighs 1.8 kilograms. We believe this is the first carbon-fiber subframe on a production motorcycle.”
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| Just because something costs $72,000 doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time with it; Nick testing the D16RR’s FI response. |
He went on to list the carbon-fiber pieces: all the bodywork, including the high-temp c-f surrounding the vertical exhaust exit in the tailsection; radiator ducting; airbox; footpeg guards and license-plate carrier. Trick stuff, neater than I expected.
“In engineering, we work with a stiffness-to-weight ratio,” Forni continued. “For instance, the RR swingarm weighs 5.4 kilograms, approximately .5 kilogram more than the 999 arm, Ducati’s last dual-arm swingarm; but the RR arm is 35 percent stiffer while only being 10 percent heavier.”
Forni launched into a step-by-step explanation of the bike, describing the aluminum fuel tank that saves .9 kilogram over a plastic unit of the same size. “Aluminum is the only choice for a racebike fuel tank,” he stated.
“The steel frame connects to the cylinder heads and is made up of a variety of tube sizes varying from 1.5 to 2.0mm in thickness,” Forni explained. “The RR frame weighs 7.2 kilograms versus the 1098’s 9.0 kilograms, but the RR frame has a rigidity of 4250 Newton-meters divided by degrees, while the 1098 frame has a rigidity of 2300 Newton-meters divided by degrees.” In other words, it’s 85 percent more rigid.
Then Forni summed up the Desmosedici frame design with four words that actually describe the entire concept: “Complicated but accurately calculated.”
Racebikes wiggle and squirm more than plush, under-sprung streetbikes because firmer suspension and a more rigid chassis respond to traction-induced feedback and rider-induced movements right now. Exiting Miller’s final turn for the run down the 3500-foot front straight at race pace had the D16RR moving around, feeding me information about the rear Bridgestone’s work. It felt as alive and responsive as my old 250 racer, letting me know exactly what was happening at the contact patch. And as I noticed on the MotoGP racers I’ve been lucky enough to tide, jumping around aggressively on the bike entices a longitudinal weave that reminds you to move smoothly in all actions. Very racebike-like.
The D16’s rear brake proved to be stronger than I expected, stronger than any rear brake I’ve ever felt on a Ducati. When I asked Forni about it, he told me it was the same spec Ducati always uses. Perhaps the rear brake lever is longer or the geometry is different? I had the back end come around on me when using the rear brake in a fast, downhill entrance. It spooked me into cruising down the next straight and playing with the rear brake while completely vertical. D16RR owners should experiment with the rear brake to see if it’s too touchy for them. Or perhaps our early-production testbike was an anomaly. Begin cautiously…entrance mistakes on a bike this fast and expensive make your heart beat very, very quickly.
We don’t get the racebike’s traction control, though Forni and team have equipped the Magneti-Marelli electronics with the necessary wizardry to facilitate TC once the wheel-speed components are installed. The rear wheel-speed sensor is in place to drive the speedometer, and Forni showed me how the front wheel-speed sensor replaces the caliper-mount spacers. I got the feeling that the team is working on TC and it will be available soon.
Sound Off! Who else should build a MotoGP replica?
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