2018 DUCATI 1299 SUPERLEGGERA
FIRST TEST
P114
direction on the Superleggera,
because you can speed up
doing so without the bike feel-
ing nervous or flighty. But the
Superleggera was also very
stable in a straight line, with
the taller screen from the race
kit fitted for the test. Squatting
behind this down that long
front straight, moulded to the
fuel tank as you click sixth
gear at 11,000 revs just as you
cross the startline, with the
deep-throated but muted growl
from the 2-1-2 race kit exhaust
exiting the twin silencers just
below your seat and altering an
octave as you hit top gear, was
motorcycling nirvana.
The Brembo brakes are
absolutely superlative, and it
takes longer than I had on the
Superleggera to start explor-
ing their limits meaningfully.
By swapping the pages on the
TFT dash I saw 183 mph on
the speedo down the 0.6-mile-
long main straight with its long
downhill entry (this is a fast
bike!) before stopping hard
and backshifting into the sec-
ond-gear right-hander of San
Donato that lies at the end of
it just as I passed the 650-foot
board. Yet each time I men-
tally cussed myself because it
seemed I'd braked too early,
because those radial Brem-
bos are so effective, combin-
ing balls-out stopping power
with so much feel and good
modulation as I searched for
the right turn speed in a bend.
And there was definitely more
engine braking available in the
The Superleggera at home at Mugello.
ACCELERATION IS TRULY PHENOMENAL,
BUT IT'S NOT EXPLOSIVE BECAUSE IT'S
DELIVERED SO SMOOTHLY, AND WITHOUT
ANY STEPS IN THE POWERBAND.
