Producing 170hp (125kW) and with a dry weight of just 169kg (372.6lb), the
new 1198 S now incorporates more World Superbike technology than ever before by
taking the 1198 motor and adding top-of-the-range suspension, lightweight
chassis components and a true racing-style traction control system designed for
road use.
The high performance, fully adjustable 43mm Öhlins forks, which sport low
friction titanium nitride-treated fork sliders, respond effortlessly to every
imperfection in the tarmac. Beyond their advanced engineering solutions, one of
the most important characteristics of Öhlins forks is their ability to
communicate the condition and quality of the tyre-to-road contact patch, a
feature that puts every rider in superior control. The suspension set-up at the
rear is complemented with a fully adjustable Öhlins rear shock equipped with a
ride enhancing top-out spring and mounted to a single-sided swingarm for
outstanding drive and traction. The front-to-rear Öhlins package is completed
with a control-enhancing adjustable steering damper.
The 'S' sets the standard for lightweight performance. On any sport or race
bike, the most effective area to reduce weight is its 'unsprung weight'. These
are components like tyres, brakes and wheels. Lighter wheels have a lower
'moment of inertia' that is beneficial with every direction change and
application of the brakes. The 1198 S addresses this important area by mounting
new 7-spoke GP replica Marchesini forged and machined wheels. Both front and
rear are super lightweight and their benefit is immediately apparent. The weight saving is further enhanced with
the application of a carbon fibre front fender.
The 1198 S is supplied with the Ducati Data Analysis (DDA) and Ducati
Traction Control (DTC) systems as standard equipment. The DDA package enables
the retrieval and analysis of data collected from your previous track session or
road trip. DTC monitors front and rear wheel speeds to detect rear wheel-spin
under acceleration and electronically reduces engine power to restore traction.
Review
A page is about to be turned in Ducati’s
glorious quarter-century history of building the world’s ultimate twin-cylinder
Superbikes, with the expected introduction one year from now of the Italian
firm’s new-generation ultra-short-stroke 1200cc desmo V-twin. Featuring gear
camshaft drive, a cassette gearbox and its cylinders still set at 90 degrees but
rotated rearward to produce a true V-twin motor rather than the traditional
L-twin format of all Ducati Superbikes ever made, the new engine will reputedly
be located in a monocoque chassis based on the format of the Desmosedici MotoGP
contender. As such, it represents a radical departure from the layout adopted by
Ducati on all its models ever since the debut of its first liquid-cooled
fuel-injected Superbike back in 1986, comprising a tubular-steel trellis frame
housing an L-twin motor with toothed-belt cam drive.
To mark this forthcoming end of an
illustrious era, Ducati has launched the most avant-garde volume-production
sportbike it’s yet developed as the ultimate version of its series of
title-winning twins. Replacing both the previous 1198S and 1198R models, the
1198SP isn’t a limited-edition homologation special like the R Corse, but it has
all the electronic software and mechanical hardware, including DTC (Ducati
Traction Control), DDA (Ducati Data Acquisition), Ohlins suspension, Brembo
monobloc brakes and Marchesini seven-spoke forged aluminum wheels. New for the
SP is DQS, Ducati’s Quick Shifter system that is the first for any Ducati
production bike and is also fitted to the base 1198 model. Also new are a
ramp-type slipper clutch fitted as standard and the larger, aluminum 4.8-gallon
fuel tank from the R Corse model that saves two pounds compared with the 1198’s
3.8-gallon plastic tank. The SP is available in red or black, each with a red
frame and black wheels with distinctive red pinstriping, and the SP lists for
$21,995, just $200 more than the S model it replaces and $500 less than the
Aprilia RSV4 APRC SE, similarly loaded with World Superbike title-winning
electronics.
The engine is identical to the
standard 1198 powerplant, and no R version is offered for ‘11. However, engine
internals will be available through Ducati Performance to upgrade the engine to
the R specification.
Riding the 1198SP at Ducati’s iconic Imola home track-where the Italian
factory’s race-winning heritage was forged back in 1972 when Paul Smart won the
Imola 200 on the first-ever Ducati desmo V-twin racerunderlined the significance
of this series production model. Carlos Checa, double race-winner on the Team
Althea customer race version of this very motorcycle in the World Superbike
round held just one month earlier on the same track, was present to give me a
master class on how to ride the swoopy, switchback circuit, and confirmed his
bike was still competitive at the very highest level. This new streetbike is the
closest thing I’ve ever ridden to the bike I’m racing at weekends, even compared
to the R1 Yamaha I built to do track days on when I was racing for Yamaha in
MotoGP.
Same as all Ducati big twins since the advent of the 1098, the 1198SP has a
spacious, balanced riding position without excessive weight on your wrists and
shoulders, which gives you lots of space to move about the bike and use your
body weight to load up either wheel by moving back or forth, as appropriate. As
with the 848 EVO also launched that day, you sit much more within the Ducati
than on it, with your arms draped round the voluptuous, larger fuel tank.
The traction control system is
essentially unchanged from the 1098R it was introduced on three years ago, and
monitors the relative speeds of the two wheels, engine rpm, throttle angle, gear
selected and the engine map to deliver instant electronic adjustment to the
ignition advance or, when more extreme intervention is required, cut the fuel
injection. The rider has eight different levels to choose from, and it’s a
genuine race-quality traction control system. However, the cutout causes a
staccato rattle when the rear wheel loses grip and the TC activates, whereas the
more controlled and refined Aprilia-developed system in the RSV4 APRC equivalent
of Ducati’s 1198SP is completely silent and arguably quite a bit more refined in
operation.
The Ducati Quick Shift system works cleanly and precisely, with none of the
irritating over-sensitivity the feature fitted to some race bikes suffers from,
even though it feels awkward at first hitting the lever upwards to change gear
rather than using a more track-friendly race-pattern shift. It also shifts wide
open between first and second gears without any stutter or outright balking as
it passed through neutraland again, several systems won’t let you do that.
Another first for Ducati is
the slipper clutch and the way the 1198SP stopped for any of the Imola
chicanesespecially downhill into the Rivazza double leftwas really
confidence-inspiring, with the reassurance of the trademark click on the clutch
lever when you downshift to remind you that it’s there. Now, there’s no big deal
about miscounting your gearchanges or aiming for too much engine braking on the
overrun, and you no longer need to be quick on the draw with your clutch hand to
avoid chattering the rear wheel into the kitty litter.
The Öhlins fork and Marchesini forged aluminum wheel are carried over from the S
and R models, while the outstanding Brembo monobloc brakes are shared with all
versions of the 1198.
The SP’s four-piston radial-mount monobloc calipers gripping meaty 330mm Brembo
front discs deliver what is surely today’s benchmark braking on bikes, combining
impressive sensitivity with ideal control. The 370-pound dry weight claimed by
Ducati for the 1198SP seems barely credible for a big twin, but those brakes
certainly stop it well from high speed, such as into the Tosa hairpin or the
walking-pace first-gear Variante Bassa chicane in front of the pits. Even
lifting the rear wheel slightly under really hard braking, as I repeatedly did
downhill into Rivazza, didn’t result in any real instability, even though the
soft stock setup for the fully adjustable 43mm Ohlins fork, which Ducati hadn’t
had a chance to dial in for Imola because of heavy rain the previous day, meant
a lot of front-end dive when hard on the brakes.
SPRP 110500 DUC 08 HR1299536583905124.JPG
The SBK/MotoGP-derived Öhlins...
The SBK/MotoGP-derived Öhlins TTX shock is standard, and features twin-tube
technology aimed at minimizing friction and reducing the risk of cavitation, as
well as a ride-enhancing top-out spring.
SPRP 110500 DUC 07 HR1299536646618369.JPG
Ducati has had a bit of practice...
read full caption
SPRP 110500 DUC 07 HR1299536646618369.JPG
Ducati has had a bit of practice getting quick shifters right as it was the
first team in World Superbike to fit such a system to Carl Fogarty’s factory 916
back in the mid-1990s. It’s surprising that, while you can switch the SP’s
system off if you want, you can’t convert it to a race-pattern shifter.
SPRP 110500 DUC 09 HR1299536663706141.JPG
Recalling the original fuel...
Recalling the original fuel tanks of Paul Smart’s Imola-winner and its 750SS
replicas, which had a clear stripe of unpainted fiberglass to serve as a quick
gauge of how much gas was left inside, the SP’s alloy tank is partly unpainted,
the bare metal just clear-coated in part to show what it’s made of.
The 1198SP’s Testastretta Evoluzione engine still has the same muscular, meaty
torque as the 1198S motor it’s basically identical to, which makes it eager to
wave the front wheel in the air in a second-gear power wheelie when you
accelerate hard out of any of Imola’s quartet of chicanes, using the TC to lay
the power down to the max. With what feels like every bit the massive hit of
torque the numbers promise (a claimed 97 ft-lb peaking at 8000 rpm, most of
which is already on tap a couple of grand lower down the rev band, and 170
horsepower delivered at 9750 rpm), the new Ducati has a brutal but addictive
build of power out of a turn, especially those four second-gear chicanes at
Imola. Just as well the dual-compound rear Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP warms up
quickly and has a harder tear-resistant center section that does its job in
laying the power to the ground. Still, I remembered to make a point of lifting
it upright exiting a turn before pressing the trigger, to be sure to use the fat
section of the rubber to absorb all that meaty grunt. Plus, you must force
yourself to use a gear higher than often seems appropriate at first, because of
the hefty low-down punch that will see the front wheel lazily lofting above the
ground even in third gear. There’s no sign of an anti-wheelie program on the
1198SP as its Aprilia rival has, and this is a pity as the big twin with all its
torque really could do with it. Still, the way the Ducati drove out of corners
was truly impressive, coming on strong as low as 3000 rpm before building easily
and eagerly to 7000 rpm. From there, it really takes off toward the 10,000 rpm
mark, when the first of the three shifter lights on the dash flashes to remind
you to hit a higher gear, before the arrival of the relatively harsh 10,800 rpm
rev limiter heralded by a bright red light.
The final ingredient in the new Ducati’s alphabet soup, the Ducati Data Analysis
system, is included as a stock feature on both the revised 1198 and the 1198SP,
while on the latter there’s an Ohlins fully adjustable steering damper as there
was on the S model. But the Digitech dash is just as hard to read as ever
cluttered and dark with too small digits.
Ducati’s done a good job in loading up the 1198SP with all the electronic and
mechanical rider aids it’s had on its factory Superbikes down the years, all of
which work well and are a direct example of how racing improves the breed.
Diehard Ducatisti will like this bike, significant as it is in pulling down the
curtain on the family of motorcycles born back in 1986, which not only
established the small Italian manufacturer as a major force on the world
two-wheeled stage, but also defined its commercial strategy for the past quarter
of a century. SR
Source
sportrider.com
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