First Shots: 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199

In this new age of motorcycle marketing, it’s clear that Italian magazine Motociclismo has been given Bologna’s blessing as its favored child of motorcycle media. Accordingly, the publication has been at the forefront of information and photos of the new 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199, and just recently teased this photo of the Ducati Superbike 1199’s headlight, which we know to be the first LED headlight to come on a production motorcycle.

Obviously having some time with the new Superbike 1199 (or at least having one very gracious friend in the Ducati factory), Motociclismo has a bevy of detail shots of the 1199 (we refuse to buy into the Xtreme naming rumors and hype). In the photos, we not only get a better glimpse at the LED headlights, but also the enlarged gilled air intake that surrounds the headlight unit. Also readily seen is the horizontally mounted rear shock, and near it is what Motociclismo is saying is the plastic-guarded collector pipe for the underslung exhaust, however our sources tell us it connects to a second exhaust which exits out the rear of the tail section, as seen on the Ducati Desmosedici GP12.

Surprisingly the photos give away very little technically about the new Ducati Superbike 1199, which perhaps lends to even more credence that this is a controlled leak by Ducati (more on this in future article). Noticeably absent from the photos is a view of the tail section, stressed-airbox frame structure, and the swingarm and wheels. It’s expected that the 1199 will come with Ducati’s traction control (DTC), data acquisition (DDA), and anti-lock brakes (ABS). We wouldn’t be surprised if the electronics package was also a more advanced version of what’s currently on the 1198, and rivaled what we’ve seen on other superbikes like the Aprilia RSV4 and Kawasaki ZX-10R.

With this “leak” now sprung, it’ll be interesting to see how Ducati continues its hype of the 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199, though the company did a pretty good job of keeping the buzz going on the Multistrada 1200 and Diavel, though multiple photos gave away those bikes’ forms well ahead of their EICMA leak. If you see something we’ve missed, shout it out in the comments section.