VOL. 53 ISSUE 29 JULY 26, 2016 P77
Ducati 916, Cagiva Mito and MV
Agusta F4/Brutale, had finally
come to an end. But like all great
artists, Massimo had one final
masterpiece kept up his sleeve,
which, with the expiry on January
1, 2012, of the non-compete con-
tract he'd signed when cashing
DEVINE COMPONENTS
"A
ll the components on the
T12 are the maximum pos-
sible available in their sector. So
the Brembo Monobloc brakes
are wet-weather components
from MotoGP—my father thought
about fitting carbon brakes, but
decided against them in terms
of practicality—complete with
Staubli metal lines and quick
release connections. The Öhlins
suspension also comes from
MotoGP, but the T12 Massimo has
an even higher level of rear suspen-
sion performance than a MotoGP
bike, because of a modification
which Papa persuaded Öhlins to
make to their race shock. This en-
tailed fitting a counter-spring within
the body of the shock—which was
very difficult for them to do, but they
succeeded. This delivers such an
outstanding level of compliance and
performance that Luca Cadalora,
when he tested the T12 at Modena
autodromo, did not make a single
adjustment to the shock rear setting,
not even a single click! It's highly
likely that now that Öhlins has had
the validity of this design confirmed,
they will incorporate it in their Mo-
toGP shocks for 2017!
"My father chose forged mag-
nesium wheels rather than carbon
fiber ones because he hoped that
one day someone might race the
T12 in whatever form of competition
it would be admitted to, and that
would have required metal wheels.
To that extent this was a compro-
mise forced on him by the rules.
But even with these wheels fitted
the dry weight of the T12 Massimo
is 340 pounds, which I believe is
exceptional for this type of motor-
cycle fitted with a series production
four-cylinder engine. Sorry, but I
can't give you the exact weight dis-
tribution, which we prefer to keep
to ourselves at present, but I will
only say that it has a slight forward
weight bias, but not an exceptional
one. In the same way, we prefer not
to disclose the steering geometry
and wheelbase figures at the mo-
ment—but let's just say that these
are all comparable to current Mo-
toGP figures, and that while the bike
looks very small and quite short, the
wheelbase is over 55 inches."
(Above) MotoGP-
spec componentry
from Öhlins and
Brembo abounds
on the T12.
(Below) What does
that wheel pattern
remind you of? Hint:
It's one of Massimo's
finest creations
from Ducati…
