Ducati 999S Team USA Limited Edition

Don't feel bad if you were fooled. If you took one quick look and thought that was Neil Hodgson's AMA Superbike above, well, Ducati wants it that way.

At first glance, it's easier to overlook the turn signals and mirrors than to miss the resemblance to the racebikes that former World Superbike Champion Hodgson and former AMA Superbike Champion Ben Bostrom currently ride into AMA competition for the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team.

And while the fairing may say "Parts Unlimited," these bikes are actually quite limited. Ducati will build 150 999sTeam USA Edition motorcycles, all for sale in the United States.

Ducati also has a plan to increase the exclusivity factor even more. Once the 150 Team USA bikes are built in Italy, they will be shipped to dealers around the country without their tail sections. Those pieces will be shipped to California, where Hodgson and Bostrom will sit down for an autograph session with some Ducati bodywork. The tail sections will then be reunited with the bikes, so each Team USA owner will have Hodgson and Bostrom autographs on those white "number plates" on the tail.

If you buy one, you might not want to ride this bike in the rain.

Underneath its unique skin, the Team USA Edition is identical to any other Ducati 999s. That "s" suffix indicates a few upgrades from the regular 999:

• Öhlins suspension, front and rear, replaces the Showa pieces on the regular 999. Suspension is fully adjustable at both ends.
• The 999s gets a radial-mount front brake caliper.
• The "s" is rated three horsepower stronger than the 999.

Like all of Ducati's entries in its superbike class, the 999s looks a little anorexic. You can see its ribs, in the form of that lovely steel trellis frame, which has become part of Ducati's signature, along with the 90-degree "L-twin" engine, the desmodromic valves you can't see and the red paint you can't miss.

But anorexic is not a bad thing when you're going for a 140 mph tango on the race track. The Ducati is lean but in no way does it lack muscle. In fact, it feels made for the track from the moment you settle onto the solo seat and grasp the low clip-on handgrips.

The big, white-face tachometer takes center stage in the gauge cluster, with details such as the digital speedometer off to the side. The Öhlins steering damper across the top triple clamp is a reassuring presence as you're about to unleash the 999s, and there's one other unmistakable sign of this bike's racetrack orientation staring the rider in the face: the adjustable steering head that allows you to change the rake of the Ducati's front end from 23.5 degrees to 24.5 degrees.

Ducati allowed me the opportunity to ride the Team USA Edition on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during the first-ever Ducati Revs Ohio day, less than a week before the real Parts Unlimited bikes showed up for battle in the AMA Superbike Championship. Ducati dealers and regional reps organize the "Ducati Revs" track days around the country to reward customers and build enthusiasm.

"Customers get a chance to use the bikes the way they were intended," says Jason Chinnock, Ducati's regional rep. "This is where the bike shines."

And the Team USA Edition does shine on the track, where the racy ergonomics feel just right.

The 999 was a good bike to be riding for my first time on a new-to-me track. As I was still learning my way around, the Ducati cooperated by not caring much if I happened to select the wrong gear. The twin's wide powerband, compared to, say, a 600cc four-cylinder, meant that if I tried to pull out of turn 11 in third gear, when I should have been in second, the bike just tugged me right down the track without complaint instead of bogging.

Even though the motorcycle was brand new, the gearbox worked smoothly and I never missed a shift.

The slim profile and that anorexic feeling make shifting your weight easy and hanging off feel natural. You could certainly ride this bike on the street, and because of its exclusivity, many owners will probably just take it to the occasional sunny-day bike gathering to show it off. But like any bike in Ducati's superbike lineup, it's most at home on the track.

I'd love to give you a more comprehensive review of this bike's abilities, but two things make that impossible. First, the bike's abilities exceed my own, so I'm never going to be able to find its limits. And second, my day of riding was cut short by a simple, silly mistake on my part. Believe it or not, I dropped the bike in the pit lane entrance.

That's right, I scratched up that exclusive body work. It certainly wasn't the worst motorcycle crash I've ever committed, but it was easily the most embarrassing.

Fortunately, you'll soon be able to see a pristine, unmarred 999s Team USA Edition at your local Ducati dealership. The bikes should begin arriving in September.

Source Amadirectlink.com