Red lips and curving hips leave the timid rider feeling a little weak in the knees. :
Ducati doesn’t skimp when it comes to suspension and this is where things start to merge a bit more between the street and race bikes. The suspension on the GP8 is only a couple generations in front of that on the D16RR. In other words, a few years back the GP boys were riding on the exact same gas-charged Ohlins fork and Ohlins TXX rear shock the
D16RR hits showroom floors with. Where the real difference comes from is in the setup and tire grip. Stoner’s ride felt compliant and amazingly balanced no matter what I threw at it, though slightly loose on corner exit. This comes from loads of testing data at the Valencia track where I rode it and a seasoned team, one which just won a world championship.
On the other hand, the stock Desmo’s settings were so incredibly far off it was almost scary to ride at first. The whole thing was stiff as a board and the bike would instantly stand up when any amount of brakes were applied at lean. It took the better part of a day for us to get it properly set up, as the gas-charged Ohlins are tricky. Some extreme preload reduction and pulling the compression back several clicks on both ends resulted in a much more complaint machine, one which would actually allow trail-braking.
The bike’s limitation then became the tires. Due to an odd-sized 16-inch rear wheel, the only tires currently available for the D16 are the stock Bridgestones, which have to be ordered from a Ducati dealership at a fairly steep price. I guess anything associated with this bike fits the, “If you’ve got to ask, you can’t afford it,” adage. They are a mix of street and track, and are quite competent on the road but leave something to be desired on the track. When wailing away at 150mph through Turn 8 at Willow on an $85,000 motorcycle, the last thing you want to worry about is tire grip. Not to mention the rear wears extremely fast when pushed hard, a result of the massive power being pumped through the back rubber. This added a fairly nerve-racking element to the two days of track testing.
"If God were to ever ask me what my perfect motorcycle would be, Ducati’s Desmosedici D16RR would be it." - Waheed.
: It’s impossible not to notice those long, gold gas-charged canisters behind each fork leg. Although they’re standard issue in professional Superbike and MotoGP circles, I was really skeptical of how they would perform on the Desmo. Are they even real? After two stints at Willow International Raceway the answer is: Yes!
Even for my 180-pounds, the bike was really stiff with the front end never really compressing even under hard braking. Thus, getting the bike to change direction took plenty of muscle. When you did finally get the bike to turn, once you’d reach a certain threshold the bike would fall into the corner, which was unpredictable and not very confidence inspiring to say the least.
Fortunately, the Ohlins FG353 pressurized fork has a versatile window of adjustment. We backed out the preload and low-speed compression on both the fork and Ohlin’s TTX rear shock which drastically changed the Desmo’s handling characteristics. While it still required a bit of input to change direction, once turned it would fall into the corner predictably.
On the street, there’s simply no way to dial down the suspension to a comfortable level. Out on the highway, road bumps that you would typically glide over on a normal street bike are big enough to get the rear wheel to momentarily lose contact with the pavement. And, unless you’re coming into a cloverleaf hot, triple-digit speed-style, you never really notice the benefits of the fork. But they sure look the part.
With 180 horses to chew up circuits, the Desmosedici is a bike built from the start with the track in mind.
Atlas: Another area where the two feel nearly identical is the chassis, probably even more so than suspension. They kept every last ounce of the GP8’s rigidity on the street machine, making probably the stiffest street-legal bike currently (or maybe ever) produced. While this makes for a harsh ride when going to the coffee shop, on the track it translates every last bump and imperfection right to the rider. Coming from mostly soft street bikes recently, this took a few sessions to get used to, but I became quite fond of it, bringing me back to relive my 15 minutes of GP fame.
Waheed: From the moment you lift the kickstand and slip out onto the road, there is no way to mask how rigid the Desmo’s chassis is. Even softening the suspension has little change on how unyielding it feels as a whole. On the flip side, when you’re lapping around Willow’s 2.5-mile road course, the Desmo feels more solid than a high-end European sports car. The tiniest body movement or control input yields an equally exact response from the machine. All the while an almost overwhelming level of road and machine feel is delivered through the control surfaces on a level higher than most full-on production-based road racers! Perhaps what’s even more amazing is just how much feedback is delivered considering the less than optimum racetrack performance delivered from Bridgestone’s D16RR-spec BT-002 tires. I could only imagine how incredible it would feel with some of Bridgestone’s racing slicks.
If you're looking for the cup holder, you need not apply.
: Like the chassis, the ergonomics remain unchanged from the GP rocket to the street rocket.
Ducati was smart – when they said they were going to build a direct replica they did exactly that. No disappointment here. Again this instantly brought me back to my GP ride, right down to the material the seat is made from. It’s quite aggressive for the street, but who cares? This is about having a radical race-replica machine and the Italians know exactly how to do that. Give the consumer the real thing.
Waheed: A self-confessed, Ducati-phile, it appears that the Ducati Corsa engineers designed the Desmo specifically for me. Although the seat height will be tall for many, it’s spot-on for my six-foot frame; so is the extended reach to the low-slung handlebars. The bike is much narrower between your legs than any new 1000cc Inline-Four, yet is still slightly wider than Ducati’s own super-slim 1098/1198. With feet propped on both pegs there was just enough room for my lower body, which made it just plausible enough for some sport-touring. When the road starts zigzagging, however, the ergonomics are not only perfect but it’s literally impossible to drag any hard parts … unless you’re moments away from crashing.
FUN QUOTIENT
Atlas: For those who ride at the racetrack on a regular basis and TIVO every motorcycle race they can get their hands on, plus have a good paying job, the Desmo may just be the perfect motorcycle. Who cares if it’s uncomfortable on the street and costs a truckload of money; those thoughts will quickly be erased the second your right wrist is pinned to the stop. The power is smooth and relatively easy to control, but the monstrous torque slams you back in the seat with vigor.
Functional art, the Desmosedici is as photogenic as it is thrilling to ride.
The real GP steed, on the other hand, is almost too much. The sheer speed and effort it takes to comprehend the velocity it produces is extremely taxing. That said, the exhilaration is unrivaled, with one’s adrenal glands pumping gallons of the good stuff straight into your blood the entire ride. It’s for this reason that I’ve been in withdrawal ever since. At least until we got our hands on the D16RR.
Waheed: If God were to ever ask me what my perfect motorcycle would be, Ducati’s
Desmosedici D16RR would be it. It’s perfect when you’re wheelieing down the freeway, spinning laps on the racetrack or scaring soccer moms as you zip through rush-hour traffic. It embodies everything awesome about sportbikes and does so at the rawest, most pure level. It’s sensitive, loud, flashy, fast, expensive and completely impractical – except for those 1500 or so lucky people who realize how much of a bargain an $85,000 MotoGP bike is.
BELIEVE THE HYPE?
We all want to be
Valentino Rossi or
Casey Stoner. It’s why we follow the sport religiously, it’s why we put stickers on our sportbikes, and sometimes it even dictates which brand motorcycle we buy. Ducati has given us as close an option as there has ever been, and maybe ever will be, to experiencing a true GP machine. The cost is extremely steep, but so is the performance. If I could honestly come anywhere close to 85K, I would flat out have to have it. In fact, I even considered getting a loan – and I have access to just about any new sportbike at any given time, for free. But there is only one
Ducati D16RR. I yearn to have it back, I want that rush! What can I say, I’m an addict.
