With a claimed 180bhp in road-legal form, and well over 200bhp in race trim, this is the machine Ducati’s works riders,
Troy Bayliss and Michel Fabrizio, will be using next year in an effort to reclaim the World Superbike championship. And around £20,000 will put one in your garage. The new Ducati 1098R gets a bored-out 1198cc engine to give it a huge 20bhp power boost over the stock version. A race-only ECU, which comes with the bike, adds more power and activates a sophisticated traction control system with eight different settings, allowing different amounts of slide to be allowed before the ignition is retarded to cut back the power. As you’d expect from a range-topping Ducati, the suspension is the latest Ohlins kit. At the back there’s a new TTX shock, the first time the design has been used on a road bike, which offers adjustable rice height as well as damping and preload. Front suspension uses 43mm upside-down Ohlins forks, with titanium nitride coating and fully adjustable damping. Ohlins also provides an adjustable steering damper. Brembo Motobloc calipers, while the gold-coloured Marchesini wheels are 1.9kg lighter than those on the standard 1098. As on the previous “R” model superbikes from Ducati, the fairing is all carbon fibre, and comes with white “number” panels to add a racing look.
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