Road Racer.
500 units. Yip only 500 units of this Ducati “MotoGP” bike for the road will be made so those with deep enough pockets better rush. Ducati touts this as there pinnacle of road bike engineering. Just scan through the spec sheet also confirms this. Based on the Panigale V4 which is already a pretty impressive piece of kit the team at Ducati threw everything bar the kitchen sink at this bike. Take the fairings for example which are made from carbon fibre including the winglets. The winglets are not just for show, they are based on the GP16 racebike and provide actual downforce. 50kgs of downforce to be precise which is 20kg more the Panigale’s winglets. The Chassis, wheels and swingarm are all carbon fibre which contributes to the Superleggera’s astonishing dry weight of 159kg(16kg less than Panigale V4). Track configuration reduces it to 152kg!.
The Heart of the Beast.
Euro 4 Compliant, now that’s out of the way I can talk about the stuff that really matters. The Desmosedici Stradale R engine in this carbon fibre frame puts out 224hp. Power can be bumped to 234hp when the Akrapovič titanium exhaust is fitted. (Part of supplied racing kit). The peak power is made at a stratospheric 15,250rpm while the peak torque of 116nm is available at 11,750rpm. There is a special, lighter STM EVO-SBK 8 disc clutch. Even the chain is taken from MotoGP with the Superleggera you get the Regina ORAW2 chain.
The fun doesn’t stop there but with the Brembo Stylema® R front brake callipers, the bike stops where you need it to. To keep everything composed Ducati made use of lighter, pressurised Öhlins NPX25/30 upside down 43 mm fork and Öhlins TTX36 shock absorber with titanium spring and GP valves. The Carbon fibre wheels are wrapped in Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tyres. All these components make for a scintillating bike and that’s before we even get to the electronics.
Electronics.
This bike has to have one of the most comprehensive electronic packages currently on the market. It starts with the 5″ TFT screen which has three unique displays Track, Road and RaceGP, with latter being available one the exhaust is fitted. The Superleggera makes use of a 6 way IMU to control all the following components. Cornering ABS, Ducati traction control, wheelie control, Ducati slide control, Ducati power launch, Ducati quick shifter and engine brake control. Other nice features include the lap timer, pit limiter and the data analyser. To top it all off there is also 5 personalised riding modes. You could probably spend a whole day just fiddling with all these things.
Is this a true Moto GP bike for the road? well, in my opinion, it’s as close as you can get at this stage. I have no idea on price for the Superleggera but as the saying go “If you have to ask the price you probably can’t afford one”.
