News – Streetfighter and 1198: Ducati at the top of its game at home! – Streetfighter and 1198: Ducati at the top of its game at home!

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Streetfighter and 1198: Ducati at the top of its game at home !

News - Streetfighter and 1198: Ducati at the top of its game at home! - Streetfighter and 1198: Ducati at the top of its game at home!

By succeeding in mixing technological refinement and cult racing, Ducati delights fans of motorcycles with salivating performances … Expected firmly at home in Milan, the Reds have not failed with a roadster and an ultimate sports car !

Streetfighter and 1198: Ducati at the top of its game at home !

Rather discreet at the last Intermot show in Germany (read), Ducati had to hit hard for its national edition…

And in front of a crowd entirely devoted to its cause, the Italian firm knew how to create the event in Milan, by presenting nothing less than a 155 hp roadster, a displacement evolution for the brand’s hypersportive and a 1098R "Bayliss Replica"! Presentations.

Ducati Streetfighter: the Reds abandon the monster in favor of a bomb !

After the presentation of the Monster 1100 (read), many of us were waiting for the ultimate evolution of the roadster in Italian sauce: stuffed with horses and overflowing with torque, the S4 series traditionally uses the engines of the brand’s latest sports cars to propel vigorously a radicalized version of "il Mostro"…

The last S4RS relying on the fire twin of the 999 to bring out a technical sheet to make certain sports cars pale (130 hp and 177 kg dry), it was quite legitimate to think that Ducati would not break with tradition and that Milan was going to be the scene of the presentation of an S4 "RR" powered by the L-twin of the 1098. But the Reds decided to push the approach to its climax by presenting a new family of roadsters: the Streetfighter !

Abandoning the name "Monster" for the first time since the appearance of the 900 Mostro in 1993, Ducati takes the public and the observers on the wrong foot by sublimating and modernizing its sulphurous roadster, by offering it a new visual identity. From now on, supercharged Monsters and their healthy handling – but constrained by the intrinsic characteristics of the Mostro – are a thing of the past: the top of the roadster range is now represented by a sporty barely undressed and – better! – hardly calmed down !

A real racing beast with a large handlebar, the Streetfighter is the worthy heir to the Cafe Racer trend initiated in England in the 1960s, during which the owners stripped their sports cars and fitted them with many peripherals intended to increase their handling in the city. and the small neighboring roads. Sublime and bestial, the Ducati does not deny the family genetic heritage, but its more modern design and its stocky and aggressive line gives a blow of old to the S4.

The prominent front headlight incorporates two 1098-style air inlets, while the handlebars perfectly showcase the 43mm Showa fork and radially mounted front monoblock brake calipers, which pinch two semi-floating discs. 330 mm! The tubular chassis is renewed in its functions without further ado and only the fork angle a little more open (25 ° 6 instead of 24 ° 3 on the 1098) and the longer swingarm (+45 mm) differ. of the Ducati hypersport.

Detonating characteristics !

These slightly less radical values ​​should give the Streetfighter increased stability and traction, less pain when you find yourself riding a 155 hp roadster for 167 kg! Because the essence of this novelty lies there: over the half measure between too powerful engine and sometimes outdated chassis: the Streetfighter clearly claims the statue of "bad boy" and its power-to-weight ratio should quickly allow it to rule the law in the streets !

With 5 kg and only 5 horses less than the 1098, the beast of Bologna announces a torque of 11.5 m / kg at 9500 rpm, delivered by the twin Testastretta four valves with Desmodromic return. The injection remains the work of Marelli and the new elliptical butterfly bodies derived from the 2006 MotoGP are also nabbed on the 1098, as is the hydraulically controlled dry clutch. And despite the presence of two lambda sensors and a catalytic converter, the 2-1-2 type exhaust retains a slim look: its height positioning leads directly back to the S4s.

Finished in every detail, the Streetfighter is yet available in an "S" version where carbon will appear on some parts. Fully adjustable Showa suspensions give way to full Ohlins and the ten-spoke rims of the original model are replaced by forged Marchesini elements. Technological refinement until then reserved for the 1098R, the DTC (Ducati Traction Control) and DDA (Ducati Data Analysis) will come to curb the assaults of the impressive cavalry exiting the curve and deliver vital information to the pilot, such as the time when he has dared to keep the throttle 100% open !

Estimated at around € 15,000 for the standard version and € 18,000 for the "S" model, the Streetfighter will be available next spring in pearl white, black and red. It therefore ranks directly in the very closed clan of elitist roadsters. And to think that the S4 – which could well disappear from the catalog – were already cataloged as extreme…

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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