SHOOTOUT
P74
6 TH
2013 MIDDLEWEIGHT SPORTBIKE SHOOTOUT
D
ucati is known for bending class rules and satisfying niches with its Italian
bikes. It peeved Japanese rivals
five years ago with its original twin
cylinder-powered 848 and later
followed with an EVO-spec model designed to better bridge the
performance gap between it and
four-cylinder sportbikes. Fast forward to today and the 2013 EVO
Corse SE ($14,995) is still the
platform Ducati competes with in
the middleweight segment.
Once again the 848 has the
distinction of being the heaviest
machine in this contest weighing
433 pounds. That's 18 more than
the featherweight CBR and five
pounds off the six-year-old R6.
And it certainly feels that way the
moment you hop into the seat.
Physically it's a much larger-feeling motorcycle, which shouldn't
be a surprise considering it has
similar dimensions to the Italian
brand's previous 1098/1198-generation Superbike. It also has the
most demanding riding position
that just plain feels weird within
this class.
"The bike is very narrow, which
is nice," says Zemke, who raced
