DUCATI PANIGALE R F15
RACER TEST
P78
corner, so this year we've length-
ened it more compared to last
year, for extra stability."
They've achieved that, be-
cause even with my extra weight
on the bike compared to Chaz's
featherweight 163 pounds for
such a tall (6'1") guy, it didn't
sit down at the back and start
waving the front wheel in the
air as I was expecting with the
softer shock setting chosen to
eradicate the Imola bumps. And
the longer wheelbase hasn't
sacrificed agility compared to a
year ago, because the Panigale
still changes direction faster and
more easily than any previous
Ducati V-twin Superbike, pre-
sumably thanks to the centraliza-
tion of the engine package, the
reduced gyroscopic effect of
its lighter crankshaft assembly,
and especially the downsized
rotating mass of the flywheel.
The Davies F15 Superbike felt
like a Supersport 600 in making
the quick flick from right to left
or vice versa, then accelerat-
ing hard away from either of
I'VE BEEN
FORTUNATE
ENOUGH TO
RIDE EVERY
FACTORY DUCATI
V-TWIN RACER
EACH YEAR FOR
THE PAST THREE
DECADES, AND
NONE OF THEM
WAS REMOTELY
AS FIERCE
ACCELERATING
AND PRACTICALLY
VIOLENT IN
ITS THROTTLE
RESPONSE AS
THIS ONE.
