Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

panic stop doesn't produce excessive front-end dive from the Marzocchi forks. It's just ... well, nice to ride. A key ingredient in this is the boxstock desmodue motor, which it seems Ducati has worked hard on refining since the last time I rode a 90055 some 18 months ago. The biggest improvement is in the gearbox, which is now more precise in selection and especially has a lighter clutch action than any desmodue ever built: even neutral is easy to find, at last. There's good response low down from the fuel-injected engine, with the Marelli EFI's mapping more refined - that word again low down, compared to other systems: it doesn't jerk off the bottom like others do. This makes riding the MH on a twisty mountain road pretty rewarding, even in potentially slippery conditions, as you brake deep into the apex of a bend while waiting for any messages about road conditions from the front tire, which the lowtech but effective Marzocchis are well capable of passing on. The smooth but responsive pickup when you get back on the throttle again for the drive out of the turn allows you to ride the torque curve of the V -twin engine even more easily than 20 years ago on a Mike Hailwood Replica first time around, making at least one ratio of the six-speed gearbox all but redundant. I'll come clean and admit that I had no idea until I actually did so that the MH900e would prove to be as satisfying to ride as it is attentiongrabbing to look at. Apart from the high stance and the unexciting exhaust note, it's a more refreshing and arguably a better bike than the 90055 its mechanical package is derived from. In which case, this is a concept too good to stay a Iimitededition lustbike, to be jettisoned after the 2000 promised examples are built and delivered. What Ducati has here, almost unintentionally, is the ideal basis for the next-generation 90055 and its junior brethren, representing an enhanced mechanical package while remaining more faithful than the current model to the traditions of what the firm's now-departed Dr. Desmo, Massimo Bordi, correctly termed the 'classic sports' desmodue concept. As such, the MH's various period design references would find their just place in a volume production bike, alongside a later Ducati trademark like the 'monobraccia' rear end, here created in more traditional materials. Go for it, Ducati - this is a showbike that deserves a wider audience than the 2000 lucky people who hit their PC keyboards while the rest of us were partying it up on New Years Day 20001 eN = ;! i ~ ~ ~ I ~ ~ I ~ I ~ ~ I ~ 6 • 'NED. APRlLl8 GATESOp PoST E Ell Sa,m N1RJEs' • ~Rll.19 . PRA~ a.m, •4pJII P.m, FOi.l.o'NED 7aJII i nee • APRJl2o.21 '22 BY RACIN~ PER SCHEDULE' RACING 7a,m, I • ~ ~ ~ $ liB! SUZUKI. II~I t l ~ w ~ ~ l m NMA RIDER BIKE CLASSES 114\UV~- PRODUCT AWARDS AND DISPLAYS: -(t('~ 50P.WeeSlk.Thru6 1250penThru16,.,&DVNLDP., '")fyc' ~ n ~ ~~:::::t~7~hru6 125~:~~:Q ~Simp/JII"HSI/orYOur!Jile.l:Z!lJ",'f.hi 125 Mod. Beg. i ~s ~~- 125 Mod. Novlc. Jr. • :i 9 ~ : _ ~ ~ .5 Stk. Thru'1 85 ModThru11 125 Mod. Pro 2SOStf<.Novlce 85 Stk. 12·13 2SO Mod. Novice 85Mod12·13 .5 Stk.14-1S 2SOStf<.lntor. 250 Mod. Inter. :~~~N1"'6 ---... ~: ~':d:;',;, tea. ~ 9 ~ ~ ~ ,.III . .1IID6ESTODE ~ ~ • ~ '!11!l!l1J1J~ ~ """ldd$ t?-J MOTOItCTCLE SAF£TY ;. • • .. r • _ .I;tIj'!-;ED~-;::....'~........., 6 ~JSC~DesiJJ"S ~2 ~ ~~' • i £ Event Photo~ ,,""~I'-' A:'=~" .nn:T§dlD/CE'~ 'R/I/Al ~ ~ ~ lA!VJ'?f"'¥'Ii!:n,... sptids r'!'l'~T~~9 . h., ~ i ~ _ _ I.~ ~ AGECLASSESEFFECT1VE~ •. ~ • ~_": HONDA SuperMini Mod Thru 16 Plus 30 Open "8" Ulr ASOFAPRlLl,2001 71 I h'r:I ~er.SJ 13.!L~~ I.11Yd.N ....._~e:n ~ II ~ < ~<:><:.~ ..__ .:=.~_=:.l:_.::-::::::::::::;::_ Ii A· ~ 65 ~;: Cycle ~:'9~ 125Stk.Pro ;:::,;;.;;;;; • ... _ :~ ~~~~ Mod.g..11 ~~~ ~':d~7::'. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ! ~~I#J~~S:OTT

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