Ducati Streetfighter S

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Ducati Streetfighter S
Ducati

motorcycles

Ducati Streetfighter S

Ducati Streetfighter S
Street fighter

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Streetfighter – a word with a thunderous echo. Scenarios with burning garbage cans immediately appear in the eternal twilight before the inner eye. It is precisely this trashy topic that the aesthetes at Ducati have taken on.

Robert luck

05/14/2009

genre

The origin of all evil were toppled, shredded supersport bikes. At some point in the early 80s, smart guys with little money came up with the idea of ​​reanimating their crushed yoghurt pots without any disguise. These austerity measures created a tuning and conversion trend that developed into the street fighter scene.

They also laid the foundation for the power nakeds, which are currently very popular and have almost the performance and chassis qualities of a super sports car, but focus on the classic, naked virtue of motorcycling and accommodate the pilot sitting upright behind a thick tube handlebar.

The most consistent interpretations of this class so far have come from Italy; besides, most of the articles from the Far East look like overweight bourgeois convertibles. And now the next blow in the neck for the hesitant Japanese product planners: The Ducati Streetfighter S is a true derivative of 1098 power, 1198 chassis, lightweight construction and Italian design; a goddess, reduced to the essentials in the planning, equipped with this essential in abundance, consistently staged – and just as radically built.

Dimensions and ergonomics


Ducati Streetfighter S


Ducati

The Ducati Streetfighter S positions the pilot upright and close to the steering column.

But can that go well? Do so many superbike genes work in a bare motorcycle with a thick tubular handlebar that places the pilot close to the front wheel so that the wind can easily attack it? I drove a privately converted 1098S in Streetfighter trim last year at the Lausitzring – and I got scared. The stove went permanently on one wheel when accelerating and braking; Cornering stability and feeling for the front wheel were subterranean.

So forewarned, I got into the saddle with skepticism when the Ducati Streetfighter S was released for the first time in Ronda, a perfectly flat Spanish racetrack. Despite her close proximity to 1198, of course, significant things were changed to give the nude woman more stability. The steering head is one degree flatter (now 64.5 °), the caster grew by 10 to 114 millimeters, and a 35 mm longer swing arm increases the wheelbase to 1475 mm.

The main frame is identical to those of the 1098 and 1198 except for a cross strut in the steering head area, which made the modified intake air duct necessary. It has a new, steel and therefore quite heavy rear frame. The tank is 25 mm shorter than on the superbikes, but still holds a liter more fuel. This positions the pilot sitting upright and closer to the handlebar.

He is very comfortably bedded on the Ducati Streetfighter S: The knee angle is much more relaxed compared to the 1198, and the entire posture is much more modern than Ducati’s former top-naked, the Monster S4Rs. The seat cushion now looks like a comfortable couch. So much for ergonomics.

drive


Ducati Streetfighter S


Ducati

The limiting factor when trying to drift with the Ducati Streetfighter S is not the material.

What really turns you on, tears you open and lets you starve to death on your outstretched arm when you no longer have it, is the powerfully pulsating heart between the driver’s thighs, the irresistible Big Twin, the engine of the other, the mighty kind.

It is a mixture of 1098 and 1198 components: the 1198 contributes the engine housing including internals such as the gearbox and crankshaft. Above the housing halves work 1098 parts, i.e. cylinders, pistons, heads, camshafts and injection system. Even the airbox was taken over unchanged, only the intake snorkel was greatly shortened, which costs around 5 hp peak power.

But what can a missing 5 horses make on a 155 hp naked bike: Nothing, nothing at all or nothing at all? Call your phone joker if you want. The storm develops in an inconspicuous way. The pressure on the upper body increases steadily, pulls the arms longer and makes them harder and harder. Instinctively, you lean forward with your head over the handlebars until your chest is almost on the tank.

When the third gear is turned off, the speedometer shows 205 km / h, it goes through the first fast right curve. Upshift, keep the 60s throttle fully open, briefly put in the fifth and with 252 through the second right turn into the braking zone before the tight uphill right.

It is impressive how calmly the Ducati Streetfighter S shows its full power – certainly also because it is translated far too long. It is far from the uncontrollable wheelie beast, can be accelerated vigorously from a deep incline and provides very good feedback from the rear tire. Certainly this strength has to be added to the longer swing arm, which brings the very tightly tuned shock absorber directly taken over from the 1198S to work. The overall tuning of the rear is around 10 percent softer because of the longer swing arm, says Ducati. The driving impression confirms this; and that 10 percent would certainly look good on the superbike.

landing gear


Ducati Streetfighter S


Ducati

The Ducati Streetfighter S no longer knows any opponents on the road. Only victims.

Unfortunately, the fork of the Ducati Streetfighter S is too soft, dips a long way when the poisonous brembos are put on and lacks the feeling for the front wheel. Only corrections to the spring base and damping brought a little more confidence, but could not stop the submergence. Back to the quick right arcs. The speedometer would have shown even larger numbers if it hadn’t been for the gusty wind. Using the full width of the track in Ronda would have been Russian roulette and could have ended up as a Spanish fly.

A positive aspect of the bad wind: The Ducati Streetfighter S was able to prove its inherently good stability. It lies neutrally in an inclined position, takes it willingly, almost playfully, but it is and remains nervous – namely in the respect that it is a very strong, very light motorcycle with wide handlebars. Such a vehicle reacts sensitively, because it is direct, to steering impulses.

Anyone who understands this will be terribly fast on the Ducati Streetfighter S with a smooth driving style and will disenchant many a superbiker on the racetrack. This shouldn’t be a big problem anyway in a well-tended country road battle.

Conclusion: The Ducati Streetfighter S is a) a real streetfighter, b) a real Ducati and c) a real asset to the scene. Its consistency makes it the most potent naked bike on the market and makes the would-be anarchists from Japan look like painted schoolboys: If the Z 1000, CB 1000 R & The Ducatisti unpack slingshots and glass marbles. You have no more opponents – at most victims.

Technical specifications


Ducati Streetfighter S


Ducati

Ducati Streetfighter S.

Ducati Streetfighter S

Drive: Two-cylinder V-engine, 4 valves / cylinder, 114 kW (155 PS) at 9500 / min *, 115 Nm at 9500 / min *, 1099 cm³, bore / stroke: 104.0 / 64.7 mm, compression: 12 , 5: 1, ignition / injection system, 60 mm throttle valves, hydraulically operated multi-plate dry clutch, six-speed gearbox, chain, G-Kat

Landing gear: Steel lattice frame, steering head angle: 64.5 degrees, caster: 114 mm, wheelbase: 1475 mm, inner fork tube diameter: 43 mm, spring travel f./h .: 120/127 mm Wheels and brakes: light metal forged wheels, 3.50 x 17″/6.00 x 17″, Front tires: 120/70 ZR 17, rear: 190/55 ZR 17, 330 mm double disc brakes with four-piston fixed calipers at the front, 245 mm two-piston fixed calipers at the rear

Weight (dry): 167 kg *, tank capacity: 16.5 liters of super

Base price: 18700 Euro (plus ancillary costs)

* Factory specification

Ducati Streetfighter


Ducati Streetfighter S


Ducati

Ducati Streetfighter, the basic model.

In addition to the noble S variant presented here, Ducati offers, as usual, a basic motorcycle: “Street fighter” it says, costs 15045 euros (plus ancillary costs) and is available in red and white, each with black ten-spoke cast wheels. The frame and swing arm of the basic version are also black.

Further differences to the Streetfighter S are the suspension elements – the standard bike carries Showa instead of Ohlins; for the steering damper, however, both variants rely on a Showa model. In addition, some covers are made of carbon on the S version, where the basic model is satisfied with injection-molded plastic. Overall, the Ducati Streetfighter should be only 2 kilograms heavier than its chic S-sister – and cost 3655 euros less.

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