Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

But nothing lasts forever - and especially in a style-conscious segment like the sportbike sector, where brand loyalty is acknowledged to be pretty low, and the latest is usually the greatest - especially if it's also sexy looking. For several years longer than they had a right to expect, Ducati succeeded in bucking this trend with the 916 and its various spin-offs, not only because of the model's timeless looks, but also by virtue of its ongoing racing supremacy, and the constant improvement in engine performance and technical allure which fueled this. Sooner or later, however, it was inevitable that it would have to be replaced - if only to expand Ducati's customer base by attracting new converts to the desmodromic fold. Well, that time has come, with the debut of the all-new 999 - created by Ducati design chief Pierre Terblanche - which will make its public debut at Munich's Intermot Show in September. Well - not quite all-new, because each recent iteration of the 916 family has seen Ducati's team of engineers under R&D boss Pierluigi Mengoli preparing the technical basis for the 999's advent, first with the 100 x 63.5mm Testastretta engine which debuted last year in the 996R, and will power the new bike in the volume production 999 Biposto and 999S guises in which it will commence production later this year. Then, for the current model year, Mengoli & Co. produced the ultra short-stroke 998R, whose 104 x 58.8mm version of the Testastretta motor is currently powering Troy Bayliss toward a second successive World Superbike title, and will in due course appear in what is likely to be a costly but ultra-effective, limited-edition 999R - as a homologation special providing the basis for the Italian factory to make it three in a row in 2003. The first time I saw the prototype 916, I remember being transfixed with astonishment and admiration. It was just so unexpected, so original and so - well, so beautiful. Same thing when I was given a private advance showing of the bike which many regard as the 916's spiritual successor, Tamburini's four-cylinder MV Agusta F4. Seeing Terblanche's 999 for the first time in a style studio or a show stand may not command the same response at first - but take it from me, although this is a bike which does not photograph well, especially from the side, it is infinitely more alluring and undoubtedly striking when viewed outdoors, in the metal, in daylight. Motorcycle analogies are hard to find, but it personally reminds me of seeing the Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo SZ coupe for the first time in magazine photos after its Turin Show launch back in 1989: it looked rather, ~ell, weird. But its ultra-distinctive, styling grows on you relentlessly, just like the 999's does. Anyway, aesthetics are always a question of personal taste - there'll be lots of people pushing to the front of the sales line to buy the 999 who think the 998/916 looks old-fashioned and boring, and who've been waiting fOT ages for Ducati to do something different - at last. Plus, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and all that. What's much more important for serious sportbikers is: What's it like to ride? Well, maybe the best way I can prepare you for the answer is to say that anyone thinking of buying a 999 and is unconvinced as to its merits, should do as I did and first take a ride on a golden oldie 998, then swap to a new-generation 999. The difference is immense: this is a design which completely addresses everyone of the irritating inconsistencies in rider comfort and dynamic ergonomics everpresent in the 916 and its progeny, especially for a taller six-foot rider like me who could never feel completely at home on one of Tamburini's icons. The new 999 is altogether different: alongside its completely individual, wedged in position with scarcely any room to slide back and forth for a more aerodynamic stance at high speed, but you also have more weight on your arms and shoulders, especially under braking, when the sloping seat invariably means that your nether regions tend to get squashed against the back of the fuel tank. The 999 completely addresses this problem by adopting the present generation of GP/sportbike architecture, with a more rational, level stance instead of the tail-up/nose-down attitude of yesteryear. This means that, not only is it more comfortable to ride hard for longer than the older bike, it also allows the rider to adopt a much more aerodynamic stance at high speed, aided by the fact that the footpegs are positioned slightly higher and further back, and the fuel tank is lower at the rear, so you can tuck yourself away better behind the screen. This is apparent by the reduced helmet noise you get on the new bike at speeds of up to 155 mph when way adjustable, the space between the shift lever and the footpegs can also be altered, and the seat can be slid more than an inch back and forth, all contribute to fmding an ideal riding position tailored to any stature - or boot size. Terblanche already proved a decade ago with the benchmark Supermono, which was his debut Ducati clean sheet design, that he's a master of packaging the rider on the bike. Now with the 999, his first-ever volume-production Ducati road bike designed from the ground up (the current 900SS was essentially a cosmetic update of an existing model, the MH900e - a limited-edition showbike), he's brought these talents to a wider audience. The only thing I didn't care for initially was the squared-off corners of the front of the fuel tank, which dig into your arms at full stretch, and in aesthetic terms appear at odds with the bike's voluptuous shape. Riding it later on the street in more upright stance showed this wasn't a problem in everyday use - but I still can't say much fresher and more modem styling, it also sets new satisfaction standards for desmodromic sportbiking. How so? Well, the difference is immediately evident the first time you sling a leg over the 999 - codenamed '97/11' within Ducati, on the grounds this was the month the first lira was spent on its development (November 1997)1 You don't have to stand on tiptoe to do so, and once ensconced in the shapely, comfortable, almost spacious seat which has improved support for your posterior, a taller fellow can easily put both feet flat on the ground - so no more tiptoeing around at traffic lights or backing out of parking spaces, like with the 916. This will also be a much easier desmo V-twin for shorter riders to feel at home on, too. That's not so much to do with the fact the 999's seat height is slightly lower, as that it's flatter and also narrower behind the tank than on the 916, where not only are you more swapping straight over to it from the old one, and also by the way you can crouch down more easily behind the fairing's slightly lower but noticeably broader and less pointy screen at high speed on the racetrack. The way the airflow is ducted over your shoulders by the angled flanks of the broader fairing wings on either side of the screen definitely reduces wind buffeting on your body. It's a function that is aided out on the highway by the mirrors - which I can confirm after having ridden the bike at speed both with and without them, do indeed playa surprisingly important aerodynamic role. They're also easier to adjust than the old bike's, and offer a reasonably good view behind. "We mounted a little adjuster lever on the lenses so you can actually tune them on the go without worrying about crashing into the bushes," says Terblanche. Quite so - but that's not all: the fact that the 999's footpegs are five- this detail of the design appeals to me. However, Terblanche's focus wasn't just a question of making riders of different statures feel comfy on the bike, but also of improving the dynamics. So the 999's fuel tank is shaped very differently than the old bike's, with part of the fuel load going under the seat. This has allowed him to narrow the flanks of the tank where your knees grip it, and together with the narrower front to the seat pan and the lower seat height, this slimmer build allows you to feel much more a part of the bike than before, not so much perched on top of it as a semiafterthought. Although, to be fair, the latest 998 is less extreme in this respect than the original 916. Still, the 999 conveys far more the impression of sitting in, rather than on, the motorcycle, and this consequently makes it much easier than the older bike to ride it harder with more confidence through twisty sections of track or along a winding cue I e n • _ S • JULv31,2002 41

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