2020 DUCATI SUPERLEGGERA V4
R I D E R E V I E W
P70
Hungarian races in 1990 with Ran-
dy Mamola and Ron Haslam at the
helm. Back then, the understand-
ing of lateral and torsional stiffness
was in its absolute infancy, and
the Cagiva design—while beauti-
ful—was a disaster. The chassis
was so stiff it almost chattered
the rider's teeth out, and Cagiva
quickly reverted to an aluminum
chassis for 1991.
In 2008, Ducati brought car-
bon-fiber chassis technology back
into MotoGP with Casey Stoner,
who incidentally loved the carbon
monocoque, although no one else
did. When Valentino Rossi joined
Ducati in 2011, he hated the car-
bon monocoque with such zeal
that Ducati changed frames mid-
season to an aluminum twin-spar
to appease its Italian mega star.
The carbon--fiber monocoque
chassis may have been dead in
the MotoGP water ever since (al-
though carbon swingarms, body-
work and fork sliders are still very
much in use), but that didn't stop
Ducati from exploring the material
for its high-end superbike range.
The Superleggera V4 is the
third such superbike to come from
Ducati using carbon fiber as the
main material for the chassis. The
first two Superleggera's of 2014
and 2016 used carbon for the
monocoque, and when the V4 plat-
form with its Front Frame design
emerged in 2018, it was inevitable
that we'd see a carbon-fiber Super-
leggera V4 hit dealer floors.
(Right) The Superleggera V4 in all its glory. We
used Pirelli Superbike slicks at Laguna Seca; the
production machine will come with Pirelli Supercorsa
SP's. (Top) The bi-plane wings are the talking point,
adding massive amounts of downforce on the
front of the chassis. (Bottom) Every Superleggera
gets a signature on the cylinder head cover by the
technician that did the valve timing. Nice.
