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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128165
Oucati 999 country road. Plus, there's less weight transfer under the heavy braking that the excellent conventional Brembo brake package fitted to the bikes I've ridden (not the version with radialmounted calipers employed on the Rmodels, whose snatchy response is overkill for street use) allows you to indulge in with total control. This part-of-the-bike posture comes in spite of the fact that there's a pretty massive single silencer box, made in Germany by Zeuna, mounted under the seat, which on the Biposto pre-production version I rode had what appeared to be an ill-fitting, though reasonably spacious, passenger pad mounted on top. That's before a closer look revealed it's deliberately mounted that way to allow adequate all-around ventilation for heat extraction, so as to prevent the passenger needing to wear asbestos underwear for that quick zap to the cafe. I didn't try carrying anyone on the 999 yet, but it looks as if it should be quite a bit more accommodating than the 998 and its predecessors. However, the first time I heard the 999 running, its flat blat sounded distinctly non-ducatista - more like a Buell, with its car-type exhaust silencer - but as befits a bike from the land of Verdi and Puccini, some dedicated work since then has restored 'Ia bella musica,' and while meeting the required 80 dBa noise level, the 999 now sounds like it ought to. Anyway, I'm sure Termignoni or Akrapovic or even Zeuna themselves will soon have an even frUitier-sounding aftermarket carbonwrap noise box available, allegedly for track use only, of course. It seems almost discourteous after all the hard work invested by Mengoli and his men practically to take for granted the performance of the 999's Testastretta engine, but I have to say that riding the base-level 999 back to back with a current higher-spec 9985 revealed hardly any noticeable difference in engine performance once you reach the 6000-rpm strong power threshold, with a smooth pickup from a closed throttle followed by a liquid surge of torque as the engine builds revs all the way to the 10,500rpm revlimiter. This leads one to the conclusion that the combination of the revised airflow to the engine and the altered exhaust layout of the new bike is more efficient than the old one. The inevitable like-for-like tests we'll all be lining up to make in future months will tell their own story - but meanwhile I can only repeat my admiration for the empirical development on the desmo V-twin concept (okay, okay - L·twin, for pedants!) which Ducati continues to carry out so effectively. Respect..... Same goes for the 999's handling, which perhaps, because of its revised architecture while still retaining the same steering geometry as the 998, feels better balanced than the older bike. It's a fact especially noticeable under heavy braking, when there seems to be less weight transfer, so the rear wheel stays in contact with the ground better, in turn adding to stability as you trailbrake into the apex of a chicane or a twisting mountain road - noting as you do so that the bike does not need to be wrestled onto its side into the turn. It won't stand up on you and understeer if you grab an extra handful of brake leaned over. The ease with which the 999 changes direction compared to the unwieldier older bike is truly remarkable, and given that the steering geometry is the same, this must be down to weight distribution. I hate to say it, but this feels like a V-twin version of the Supermono single, which thanks to its low-slung center of gravity flicks so easily from side to side in tight bends. Another noticeable improvement on the 999 is around fast, bumpy turns like Monza's Curva Grande, or a fourth-gear sweeper atop one of the Appenine hills, where the 999 is not only definitely more stable on standard settings for the Showa suspension, it just seems to float over the bumps while still holding a tight line with no understeer. Ride quality is also better than before, and you feel more confident about maintaining turn speed - but why? Well, one reason might be the different ratio for the rear shock, another the altered riding position and the way the rider's weight is therefore distributed differently, and for sure a key element is the longer swingarm Terblanche has fitted to the 999. It all adds up to more weight onto the front wheel. It's a little-known fact, says Pierre, that the modification made to Fogarty's '94 title-winning 916 to cure initial handling problems in race use were never implemented on the street equivalent, or its successors only on subsequent factory Superbikes and the Corsa customer replicas. What was that mod? Well, Ducati cut 'n' shut the cast-magnesium swingarm to weld in an extra 20mm of length, to throw more weight onto the front wheel and resolve the problems of front-end instability which Carl & Co. were suffering from. Now, at last, a similar mod has been incorporated on the customer streetbike's new twin-sided, castalloy swingarm, resulting in a slightly longer 1420mm wheelbase - though this varies depending on the head angle chosen for the Showa forks: like its predecessor, the 999 chassis offers a choice between 23.5 and 24.5 degrees, via an eccentric insert in the steering head. Altering that also requires you to change the cleverly adjustable mounting of the steering damper fitted as standard across the front of the headstock, behind the beautifully lightened, forged upper triple clamp - both fine examples of Terblanche's ability to incorporate fine detail touches which are practical as well as pretty. "We've tried to rethink elements like this which also add practical convenience wherever possible," says Terblanche, "so, for example, on the sidestand which is now forged, we tried to get away from the tradition dictated by the fact these were originally welded-up round tubing and make something which is substantial but also easy to use, and is integrated into the shape of the bike. And it's not a sui-sidestand anymore, eitherl" Amen to that - but the result is also solid and stable, and exactly the right length: good design. Same goes (Below left) The nose piece of the new Ducat! is distinc:tlvely different. (Below center) The 999's Infocenter illuminates in green. Ergonomically, everything is In the right spot. (Below right) A massive single silencer bolt is mounted under the seat, and the bike's sound is more Buell than Ducati. n • _ s for the compact but easily legible instrument duster, which, by incorporating a white-faced Marelli analog tachometer with a digital speedometer and assorted warning lights and LED readouts, combines a reference to tradition with modern dynamics, replacing the neo-vintage analog dash of the 998 which is so very 1980s, and just old-fashioned rather than retro. The 999 infocenter is illuminated at night in a restful shade of green, and is very legible - though I must say I found the separate position light mounted above the upper of the dualstack headlights rather irritating and distracting. You can't help but notice it all the time you're riding the bike in the evening or at night, because it protrudes above the bottom of the screen right in front of your eyes, just where the bodywork curves around out of sight. I hate to say it, but I reckon I'll unscrew the bulb when I get my bike and pretend it's blown. Yes, you read it right: my name's going down for a 999, and not as a freebie loaner, but as a real-world ride that'll be bought and paid for, to join the Alfa SZ in the weird-Iookingbut-wonderful section of the Cathcart motor house. Because Pierre Terblanche and Gigi Mengoli, and the dedicated engineers and stylists working with them, have opened a new, moreuser-friendly chapter in Ducati's desmodromic annals. Believe me when I tell you that 999 is the absolute desmodromic dog's biscuits. Oh, sorry· no speak English? That means it's the business . the best Ducati V-twin yet in a long and illustrious line - and the thought of trying this bike in 999R guise, fitted with the 104-bore Testastretta motor Bayliss is currently cruising to the title aboard, has my throttle hand sweaty with anticipation, even if I and almost every other customer will end up opting for the more humble Biposto, or just maybe the 999S, on grounds of: a) cost, and b) license retention. The best V-twin in the business just got a whole lot better, meaning Ducati management can relax at last and stop worrying about that persistent nightmare of what to do with the 916. Sweet dreams, guys. CN