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Dream bike election 2014: 2nd place

Ducati 916

The Ducati 916 is a sportswoman with body and soul. But also a goddess on wheels. It sharpens the senses, beguiles and delights, transforms the driver. Because charm is beauty in motion.

An encounter with the Ducati 916 in the 1990s will be forever unforgettable: a drive from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart at top speed over the winding hills of the A 8 (at that time it had not yet mutated from permanent construction sites and southern German traffic blackouts into a crawl lane). How the Ducati 916 telepathically followed the targeted line, as if your own eyes were milling rails on the asphalt. What an inspiring steering precision! Two significantly stronger Japanese super athletes followed at a suitable distance.

Ducati 916

Dream bike election 2014: 2nd place

Ducati 916 from the last year of construction 1998 stoically pulls its course in fast, long curves. As a smaller driver, you literally merge with the petite Italian Signora. Feel her sensual, narrow 17 liter tank between your thighs, feel the hump behind you, well-fitting like a made-to-measure suit.

Man and machine mutate into one. It is a kind of dialogue, inner immersion. Surfing with the Ducati 916 on lonely country roads in the evening light is one of the most intense on two wheels. Happiness through movement, motion creates emotion.

Effortless, but not explosive either

The Desmo-V2 pulsates underneath you, vibrates noticeably, but never annoyingly. Its 109 hp from 916 cubic meters won’t tear your arms off when you accelerate. Even if the look of Ducati’s dominant Superbike racers from the 90s says hello.

The water-cooled 90-degree L hangs tightly on the gas. The V-Twin storms through the speed range effortlessly, but also not explosively. It is only when you shift down that you really get going with the long translation. From 5000 tours it appears more liberated, revs up more freely. He spoils with a smooth idle. Injection was already a good form on the Ducati 916 when it debuted in 1994.

Here an animating intake noise meets a sharp exhaust sound. There is a muffled rumble, but not loud, from the seductively raised silencers in the rear. The transmission is hard but warm, with short distances; the hydraulically operated, loudly rattling dry clutch needs power.

The Michelin Pilot Sport harmonize perfectly with the Ducati 916, even if Pirellis would be more stylish. Adhesive (except as has been proven on race tracks), neutral in an inclined position and blessed with a low set-up moment. It’s back in no time, "the legendary ground-effect feeling down to the greatest inclines" (MOTORRAD 21/1998). Of course you don’t really need a 190 rear tire with this performance. But Angelina Jolie wears high heels because of her foot health?

"I had more stubborn memories of handling"

The milled upper triple clamp by Ducati Pope Ronald March promotes the handling of this neat specimen. It places the handlebar halves on top of the fork tubes. This results in a longer lever arm with great front wheel control. So you have the Signora better under control with the everyday, not quite so submissively bent seat position. Because I remembered the handling of the Ducati 916 more stubbornly. The retrofitted monoposto rear, including the removal of the standard passenger pegs, creates a sporty aura. The hump looks extremely important and noble in white and red, thanks to golden decorative stripes and Italian tricolor in green, white and red on it.

The golden brembos can be put on sensitively, they do not brake brutally, but powerfully. Fully adjustable spring elements from Showa (upside-down fork and single-sided swing arm in the 1990s!) Scan the asphalt relief with almost seismographic sensitivity. The shock absorber in particular works quite tightly. Hard but hearty. Comfort can be found elsewhere. All of this is no longer high-end in 2014, but it is absolutely emotional even without transfiguration.

Nothing comes from anything: Back then the Ducati 916 was extremely expensive, over 30,000 marks! From 1994 onwards it perfectly embodied the dream of the petite, slim two-cylinder athlete. 218 kilograms of pure seduction – with only 109 hp a full 260 km / h.

Ducati 916 cost over 30,000 marks

All these characteristic details: very filigree and yet stable. As little as possible, as much as necessary. For example the thin steel tubes of the tubular space frame. The three-spoke cast wheels, shimmering in the same golden bronze shade, are actually quite heavy. In the successor 996 they gave way to lighter, less neat five-spoke rims. The Ducati 916 is a wiry, sinewy wedge, an arrow, a myth on wheels. Real garage happiness. Being able to clean them is almost a meditative act. Immerse yourself in this total work of art, to grasp and grasp all of its fine eye-candy details. It’s like caressing a very beautiful woman’s body. A motorcycle is aesthetic when all parts and assemblies fit together harmoniously. Ideally applies to the iconic Ducati 916.

Without this milestone there would have been no Ducati 1098 and no Panigale, not even a hapless, because less beautiful 999. In times of exploding performance, the Ducati 916 remains what it always was: a fascinating driving machine. "A successful composition of aesthetics and technical finesse" wrote Jorg Schuller in MOTORRAD 21/1998. Right.

It’s love, as always. Our readers find it too. They prove this with second place in their choice. Congratulations and Mille Grazie, Ducati 916!

Technical data Ducati 916

Jahn

Ducati 916.

Water-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke 90-degree V-engine, transversely installed, two overhead, belt-driven camshafts each, four desmodromic valves per cylinder, bore / stroke 94/66 mm, 916 cm³, 109 hp at 9000 / min, 92 Nm at 6600 rpm, wet sump lubrication, injection, Ø 50 mm, alternator 350 W, battery 12 V / 16 Ah, hydraulically operated multi-plate dry clutch, six-speed gearbox, tubular steel 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, front double disc brake, Ø 320 mm, four-piston fixed caliper, rear disc brake, Ø 220 mm, two-piston fixed caliper. Wheelbase 1410 mm, steering head angle 66.5 degrees, caster 97 mm, spring travel v./h. 120/130 mm, cast aluminum wheels 3.50 x 17; 5.50 x 17, tires 120/70 ZR 17; 190/50 ZR 17; Seat height 790 mm, weight with a full tank of 218 kg, load 182 kg, tank capacity / reserve 17/4 liters. Top speed 260 km / h, price 30,490 marks (1998, including utilities).

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