Sporty – Test Ducati 848 Evo Corse SE: rough on the track! – 848 Evo Corse: pure and hard. Very hard…

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Ducati 848 Evo Corse SE test: rough from the track !

Sporty - Test Ducati 848 Evo Corse SE: rough on the track! - 848 Evo Corse: pure and hard. Very hard...

Launched in 2008, the Ducati 848 continues its track man by remaining faithful to the fundamentals of the Italian manufacturer. Improved for 2011, it has since been available in an Evo Corse SE version: an uncompromising motorcycle, 100% passion ! Road and track test.

848 Evo Corse: pure and hard. Very hard…

"Hello honey? Don’t wait for me for lunch: I’ll stop by the Ducati dealership to return the 848 Evo Corse SE … – What, you’re already reselling it, but you’ve just finished breaking in? – Yes, I know, but it’s decided: it’s too extreme, too radical, I’m just going through it"…

Exhausted after 150 km of small roads in the rain, his back and wrists crushed by the cadaverous rigidity and the uncompromising ergonomics of the Ducati, this decision seems to impose itself: as desirable and efficient as it is. , this Italian is not for you. Better to get rid of it as soon as possible to try and recover the bulk of your initial bet…

And what a bet: at € 15,690, the 848 Evo Corse SE (for Special Edition) is a whim that comes at a high price! Your wife was right: these racing bikes are no longer your age, it would have been better to invest in a less elite mount. And finish paying the family sedan’s drafts with the difference…

Only, from the first glance, its advantageous plastic made you turn your head: as drawn in one stroke, the line of the 848 has not aged a bit since 2008 (read in particular our). This is probably why the Italians focused on the content and not the container during its !

Overcoming impressive air intakes, her deliciously slender eyes blend seamlessly into an aerodynamic face as possible. And how not to swoon over its superb single-arm, which offers a direct view of the Enkei rim? Or its raised stern under which the silencers are inserted, this characteristic signature from the 916 to the 1198, but that the revolutionary dared to abandon ?

Glued to the 849.4 cc twin cylinder now developing 140 hp (read our Technical Update on the following pages), its fairings almost jealously conceal a mechanism inserted with a shoehorn in the tubular trellis. Blood red, this one echoes the tricolor paintwork of this Evo Corse SE version: "for just 1000 € more than the "standard" 848 Evo, the Evo Corse SE offers an Ohlins shock absorber instead of a Showa, discs measuring 10mm longer, a shifter and traction control", your dealer whispered to you when choosing between the two. Listening to him was almost a gift !

Extremely well finished and crammed with beautiful parts (Brembo calipers, triple clamps cut in the mass, tapered mirrors, etc.), this true work of art on two-wheelers does indeed impose in its "Race" livery. On the forecourt of Reims Cathedral or on the terrace of a cafe, it monopolizes all the attention. The Ducatisti detail it with envy, onlookers turn around in its path, and it is not uncommon to surprise a furtive glance or a seductive smile. !

At this stage, your budding idyll does not suffer from any negative point: your 848 Evo Corse SE is beautiful to die for and offers, as promised, that extraordinarily precise road feel specific to the production of Bologna. Not to mention that character and charisma are also present: hoarse, throaty, the strong sound of the twin Testastretta Evolution is enough to give you goosebumps !

La pazione, yes! Suffering too…

Alive, the twin tickles the buttocks from idle, bangs under 2500 rpm, then propels the 168 kg dry of the bike in a continuous momentum which goes crescendo from 4000 to 9000 rpm. In France, there is no point in "pulling" the 2,500 additional revolutions leading to the switch: it is better to set up a gear to fall back into the maximum torque zone (78 Nm), raised to 7750 rpm on the flanged models.

Especially since the 848 Evo Corse SE suffers from a very long gear reduction: in second at 50 km / h and in sixth at 90 km / h, the readable digital tachometer barely exceeds 3000 rpm. Either exactly the speed where the threshold of flexibility of the twin is located! This results in frequent downshifts to first in built-up areas and fifth on the road to ensure immediate responsiveness and smooth starts….

The air of nothing, this characteristic insidiously erodes the pleasure felt on the handlebars, because it highlights a clutch lever of a wearing firmness and a gearbox designed for performance rather than comfort. The selection is very fast, but it is neither the softest nor the most discreet. And the neutral is difficult to find, especially when cold.

In addition, the use of the shifter is to be avoided in "normal" use: the reports sometimes have difficulty in locking when resorting to its services at low or mid-speed. Admittedly, this device making it possible to increase the gears without disengaging is initially designed to operate "full throttle". But some competing shifters (at BMW, in particular) bend to the needs of everyday life with otherwise more goodwill…

Except that the everyday life, in general, the Ducati 848 Evo Corse SE does not care about it! This results in particular in a total absence of comfort: the suspension tuning is frankly firm, the saddle has the smoothness of an ebony board, the footrests (not adjustable) are high perched and the base strongly. tilted forward puts the wrists to death at low speed.

As for the turning radius, a barge certainly turns shorter than the Ducati! In addition, the fingers get stuck in the fairings once the steering comes to a stop: nothing like it to stick one during a U-turn in town….

In any case, the city is clearly not the area of ​​predilection for the Italian: the trunk struggles to close on a disc lock, the warnings and the tie-down points are absent for subscribers, the mirrors (not enough wide and subject to vibration) are ineffective and strolling under 20 km / h requires clutch service.

Add to that a front brake of incredible sensitivity and bite – which makes you regret the absence of ABS on slippery pavement – as well as the significant releases of heat from the engine and especially the exhausts, and here is the moon of honey starts to turn into a nightmare…

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