Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S

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Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S
Ducati

Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S

Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S

Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S

Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S

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Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S
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motorcycles

Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S

Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S
Stripped V2 super sports car

Nomen est omen: With the Streetfighter, Ducati is bringing an uncompromising piece of sports equipment for life at the limit, a stripped super sports car with slightly more civilized ergonomics.

Gert Thole

April 8, 2009

Safety first ?? so release the clutch and slowly pull up the gas. After all, you don’t want to start a day when you can let off steam with a 155-hp grenade on the racetrack with a backward somersault. The Streetfighter S catapults itself down the short pit lane with the familiar V2 vehemence, only gently lifting its front wheel a few centimeters above the asphalt. It is possible to reach the first bend without an accident.

Wouldn’t it be a pretty sight for the assembled Ducati troop if all of their pride was dismantled into its components after just a few meters. Okay, the danger wasn’t serious, but a little adrenaline in your veins always helps. Because in the first laps on the intricately winding Ascari race track in southern Spain, you have to be on your toes. Because of the pitfalls of the slope and because of the Streetfighter S, which is not exactly easy to steer, this one also develops without a certain basic speed, without warm tires, without correct timing Ducati A life of its own in the search for braking and turning points, especially at the entrance to the bend. One suspects: The Streetfighter is built for speed, nothing easy to care for to roll around comfortably. A naked bike that challenges its rider just as much as the in-house super sports car.

In any case, you immediately know where you are. A clear announcement has always been the right way for Ducati, even if ?? or just because ?? that is more elitist than mass-compatible. Models that deviated from the company’s sporting philosophy often flopped. The forerunner of the Streetfighter, the S4R, was not a big hit either. It always seemed piecemeal, somehow inconsistent. But now everything should be different. The ?? monstrous ?? Following the latest revision, the series will in future be limited to the two-valve Luftikusse. Above that, the Italians are positioning the new naked bike with a four-valve kettle. And that really knows no compromises. The Streetfighter is quite simply a stripped super sports car, in the original sense of its name.

The term streetfighter …

… is originally from England. There, in the eighties, the hardcore representatives of the speed freaks built wild devices for heating on the street out of accident-prone super athletes by simply moving crumbled plastic into the bin and a higher tubular handlebar for better handling and a more comfortable sitting position during the robbery. The street fighter was born. Ducati’s interpretation clearly stands out from most of the current representatives of this genre. Neither a KTM Super Duke nor a Triumph Speed ​​Triple are so clearly dedicated to the sport, they are more geared towards everyday suitability. Brocken à la B-King or BMW K 1300 R should not even be mentioned in this context. The Streetfighter does without such concessions as pillion suitability or comfort from the outset. With the low-lying lamp, it crouches low on the ground at the front and stretches the tight rear of the super sports car up into the air. So that the whole thing looks nicer than with the four-valve monster, the designers tidied up the engine periphery a little, untangled hoses and cables and styled new lids.

It also corresponds to the original Streetfighter idea not to touch the engine in the first place. No moderate cam profiles, no wider gears, no narrowed channels, as is the custom with the Japanese interpretation of this genre. No, the Duc is powered by an uncastrated sports unit. The 1098 supplies the performance-determining components, i.e. heads, cylinders and pistons. The housing, including the lighter crankshaft, comes from the current 1198 production, which saves additional pounds. The difference in performance of five hp compared to the 1098 can be explained solely by the other airbox with shorter intake paths. In practice, the number difference to the marginal note withers. 155 or 160 hp doesn’t really matter on a naked bike. There is always more pressure available than you ever need. It makes sense that the Streetfighter is in the same league as the sports machine in terms of driving dynamics. Especially since the dry weight of less than 170 kilograms is unrivaled in this segment. So the Duc shoots all its power through almost seven centimeter thick stainless steel pipes from the double side silencer, clicks with the slightest turn of the gas in every speed range that it presses the pilot against the crisp, short rear fairing. No other two-cylinder engine can convey this sound, this typical feeling, so fascinating.

Comfort, handling, surcharge


Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S


Ducati

The Streetfighter crouches aggressively on the asphalt, the S version lures with Ohlins suspension, Marchesini forged wheels and some carbon bodywork.

The fact that the wheelie mentioned at the beginning was so subtle on the first sprint is also due to the long gear ratio, because the gear ratio and final gear ratio correspond exactly to the values ​​of the super sports car. Because of the lower top speed, the translation could have been much shorter, then the impression would be even more explosive. In order to keep the front wheel on the ground, the technicians also heaved more mass towards the front wheel by lengthening the swing arm and shortening the tank. This results in a very front-oriented posture, especially since the unusually cranked tubular handlebar is screwed to the front of the upper fork bridge. But the ergonomics are good on the racetrack. In combination with a slightly flatter steering head angle, the mass transfer towards the front wheel should ensure stability. In this regard, the Duc certainly has no problem, as the first contact on the flat track already shows. And the great handling is not significantly influenced by the slight changes to the geometry.

On the other hand, one can speculate that the naked Duc, like the super sports car, will not be pampered with supple comfort on the road. Tightly sprung hindquarters, tend to have a soft front, that is the typical set-up of the house. We know that, it has already been discussed extensively and controversially. Nevertheless, even skeptics have to admit that the Duc works better on the racetrack the harder you pull on the cable. Not least because of this unorthodox set-up, the Streetfighter is a sensitive one when it comes to the suspension setting. A few clicks next to it, a little too little tension, and after a few laps, sweat is on your forehead. After all, the screws on the Ohlins spring elements react directly to any change.

The surcharge for the S version, for Ohlins instead of Showa, carbon fiber instead of plastic and forged instead of cast wheels, is an impressive 4,000 euros. An investment that only pays off for those who also drive on the racetrack. You hardly need the goodies for the street. Nevertheless, it is a shame that the traction control of the S, which can be adjusted in eight stages, cannot even be retrofitted to the basic machine. It also makes sense as a safety feature on the road. Only the S also has the data recording on board, which saves the most important parameters on a memory stick and is used for analysis after the training session. The basic Streetfighter is still not a budget version. For example, it has the same aggressively biting Brembo brake with the huge 330 mm discs and the noble Monobloc pliers. Just pure teaching, no more compromises.

Technical data – Ducati Streetfighter (S)


Driving report Ducati Streetfighter S


Ducati

With Showa suspension elements, the basic version doesn’t look bad either, but the driver has to do without traction control and data recording.

engine
Water-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke 90-degree V-engine, two overhead, toothed belt-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, desmodromic actuation, wet sump lubrication, injection, ø 60 mm, (S: with DTC traction control), regulated catalytic converter, alternator 520 W, battery 12 V / 12 Ah, hydraulically operated multi-plate dry clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain, secondary ratio 38:15.
Bore x stroke 104.0 x 64.7 mm
Displacement 1099 cm³
Compression ratio 12.5: 1
Rated output 114.0 kW (155 hp) at 9500 rpm
Max. Torque 115 Nm at 9500 rpm

landing gear
Steel tubular frame, load-bearing motor, upside-down fork, ø 43 mm, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, single-sided swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, double disc brake at the front, ø 330 mm, four-piston Fixed calipers, rear disc brake, ø 245 mm, two-piston fixed caliper.
Cast aluminum wheels (forged aluminum wheels) 3.50 x 17; 6.00 x 17
Tires 120/70 ZR 17; 190/55 ZR 17

Dimensions + weights
Wheelbase 1475 mm, steering head angle 64.4 degrees, caster 114 mm, spring travel v / h 127 (120) / 127 mm, seat height 840 mm, dry weight 169 (167) kg, tank capacity 16.5 liters.
Warranty two years
Colors red, white (red, black)
Price 14790 euros (18700 euros)
Incidental costs around 255 euros

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