Table of contents

• The Ducati 1299 Superleggera in the horsepower driving report Lots of coal

Ducati

35 pictures

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Ducati 1299 Superleggera.

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Ducati 1299 Superleggera.

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At the zenith of its power, the Superquadro unit with sand-cast housing has lost another 2.1 kilos compared to a 1299 engine and has increased its output by 10 hp

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At 4.2 kilos, the swing arm is the heaviest of the chassis components and still saves 900 grams – despite the huge profiles that provide the necessary rigidity

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Pure high-tech: the monocoque, which weighs 2.6 kilograms, saves 40 percent in weight compared to the standard cast part and is made with high-temperature resin

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The 116 pistons are basically just better piston ring carriers. They have a friction-reducing coating and only two rings. They are designed for minimal tolerances – indispensable for high-performance engines

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Still a tried and tested means for nimble turning: lightweight wheels to reduce gyroscopic forces. The set of carbon rims weighs just 5.5 kilograms. That is 1.4 kilos less than forged wheels

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The rear frame weighs in at just 900 grams. That is 1.3 kilograms less than the aluminum counterpart, the weight of which is more than halved

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Indispensable when looking for more power: camshafts with sharper control times. They have 1.3 mm (inlet) and 0.7 mm (outlet) more valve lift than the basic Panigale

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The cheeks of the forged crankshaft are reduced to a rudimentary rest for maximum turning pleasure and equipped with tungsten plugs to compensate for the masses. It’s 700 grams lighter than a 1299 shaft

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Cracked titanium connecting rods sit on the enlarged crank pins. You save 280 grams, which considerably reduces the oscillating mass

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Ducati 1299 Superleggera.

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Cabaret: great milled fork base with torque specification for the axle clamping

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This is what I stand for with my name: Desmodromic was in good hands

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Aluminum bridge to stiffen the airbox, the suction trumpets of the two cylinders are of different lengths

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Ducati 1299 Superleggera.

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motorcycles

The Ducati 1299 Superleggera in the horsepower driving report

The Ducati 1299 Superleggera in the horsepower driving report
Lots of coal

Content of

Anyone who buys a Ducati Superleggera needs and receives a lot of money. It costs 79,000 euros and follows a special diet: high carbon instead of low carb. PS asked one of the lucky few who was allowed to ride the motorcycle.

Ralf Schneider

06/14/2017

“During the first few laps I felt like a beginner”, said PS tester Andreas Bildl, our man in Mugello, about his short but violent one “Two-turn stand” with the Ducati 1299 Superleggera. “Always turned too early, changed the lean angle too sharply, screwed up the line with too rough a pull on the handlebars.” No wonder – the beauty weighs only 167 kilograms when ready to drive and both the monocoque, a steering head support bolted to the engine, as well as the rear frame, the swing arm and even the wheels are made of carbon laminate. Above all, the low gyroscopic moments of the carbon fiber wheels give the Superleggera a super easy turning behavior that the driver has to adjust to.

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Carbon parts have a reputation for countering loads with an unyielding brittleness, and that raises the question of the feedback that the landing gear gives the pilot, which is often mentioned. “After the acclimatization period, it becomes crystal clear”, raves Bildl. “You can feel exactly how the front tire meshes with the asphalt, how the spring elements respond very sensitively, but dampen abundantly. And you dare more and more. Brake a little later and longer in an inclined position, a little more cornering speed, pull up even earlier and harder. You have to remind yourself to be sensible.” Got it, the Ducati employees, including the boss Claudio Domenicali, would make the statement “Limit found” can hardly be understood as a success message. Fortunately, it is not left to the tester’s senses alone to keep the Superleggera on the track. Electronic driving aids of the newest and best kind help. With two six-channel sensor boxes from Bosch, the movements of the machine in space are precisely recorded; this even enables controlled rear wheel drifts. “I didn’t come until then”, admits the privileged test driver, only to describe in the next moment in an enthusiastic speech full of gestures how he pressed the Superleggera uphill from the Arrabiata 1 and aimed from the apex of the Arrabiata 2 on the outer left edge of the track, which he did not even see behind a knoll could see. “I hit the outer curbs a little further inside, sometimes a bit further out, but the wheelie in an inclined position over the top was always equally nice. You can rely on the wheelie control, and it was set up perfectly for this route.”

Although the noble Ducati entered the driving presentation on the Mugello GP circuit with a loud racing exhaust and the Ducati technicians proudly pointed out that the electronic driving aids are of a higher standard than those of the 1199 Panigale R in the Superbike World Championship, it remains Driving the Superleggera is not limited to the racetrack. With a standard exhaust, mirrors and indicators, it has unlimited approval and, in contrast to the 1299 Panigale / S, it is also homologated to Euro 4. The fact that this even worked with the more powerful 215 hp engine gives reason to hope for the large-scale Panigale. Perhaps a small consolation for all those who could not secure any of the 500 Superleggera built.

Apart from the price and the fact that all copies have already been sold, was there anything else to complain about? Andreas Bildl: “You don’t complain about a motorcycle like this, but I have to say two things: If you pull yourself forward on the handlebars when accelerating out onto the straight, instead of guiding it loosely and pushing yourself forward from the notches, you will provoke pronounced handlebar swaying. The Superleggera reacts to the smallest impulse.”

Still deeply impressed in retrospect, the tester then describes how demanding the Superleggera becomes when the driver tries to exhaust its potential. “In contrast to normal superbikes, you are on the road very quickly, faster than your own power reserves allow. And unfortunately you don’t get the necessary fitness included.”

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