2018 DUCATI 1299 SUPERLEGGERA
FIRST TEST
P108
markers and picking your turn-
in for a given bend.
However, you don't have to
work the gear lever very hard
on the 1299 Superleggera,
and that's because of the
massive extra midrange punch
from this ultimate version of
the Superquadro motor. It's
no longer critical to choose
the right gear for each section
of track in order to keep up mo-
mentum, as it is with the much
less torquey 1199 Panigale—in
fact, it's better to use one gear
higher in many places than
you might otherwise think of
doing, and hold that gear from
way low to way high. I found I
could lap the entire 3.259-mile
Mugello circuit from the end of
the 0.6-mile-long main straight
back to the start of it with just
three gear changes, in spite
of the quartet of chicanes and
the steep climb up to Arrab-
biata one and two turns. I'd use
second gear for San Donato at
the end of the straight, short-
shift into third climbing uphill
to the Luco chicane, and then
I could hold third gear all the
way round the rest of the track
to the short straight after the
Biondetti chicane, when I'd
grab fourth briefly before back-
shifting to third for the long,
long Bucine downhill sweeper
on to the main straight. To
convince myself I wasn't being
lazy, I checked the onboard lap
timer in the DDA (Ducati Data
Analyzer) that's included in the
race kit and was fitted for my
ride, which you set with the
flash button as you cross the
startline, then leave the GPS
mounted at the front of the bike
to trigger each lap. A compari-
son with using the gears and
revving the bike hard told me I
was going faster the lazy way,
which let me focus more on
choosing a line and maximizing
turn speed via the surprisingly
flexible motor.
The 1299 Superleggera
starts to pick up engine speed
a bit faster just above 5000
rpm, and from there to its
torque peak at 9000 rpm,
there's a delicious wave of
grunt that you look forward to
surfing each time you catch it.
But even after that peak has
been reached the midrange
A huge array of carbon fiber,
magnesium and titanium
components justify steep cost
of this exquisitely produced
motorcycle, the last in the line of
desmo V-twin ultra-bikes.