The Ducati 1199 Panigale is surely going to be the bike of 2012. Not because the flagship Ducati packs a 195hp Superquadro motor into a wet 414 lbs bulk (thought that certainly helps in the sport bike genre), but because the Panigale brings so many revolutionary technical and design aspects to the business of production motorcycles. Electronically adjustable suspension, LED headlights, GPS assisted DDA+ data acquisition, traction control, ABS, engine braking control…the Ducati 1199 Panigle’s feature-set is like reading the wish list of any superbike enthusiast. However what makes the 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale truly special is its revolutionary monocoque frame.
The gamble has bit the Italian company in the ass in MotoGP, but on the production-side of the equation, the Ducati 1199 Panigale could very well prove the gamble was worth taking. We here at Asphalt & Rubber have been reserving our judgment on Ducati’s new frame design until we can get the Panigale in our hands and on a track, but when that day finally comes, we really hope what we get to swing a leg over is a Ducati 1199 Panigale in Superstock trim with Ducati Performance pieces.
If you’re a track day enthusiast with some Italian leanings, you may not want to click past this point — at the very least, take precautions by hiding your wallet. With all the two-wheeld porno after the jump, get ready to be uncomfortable while sitting down. And just remember, “baseball, baseball, baseball.”
Photos: Jensen Beeler / Asphalt & Rubber – Creative Commons – Attribution 3.0
Comments
23 Comments
WOOF!
That’s the future right there!
Now all the haters can take back all the dumb statements about the styling.
Looks like a bike worthy of getting rid of the 999s for! The 1098/1198 certainly wasn’t.
I’ll reserve my judgment till I see it on the dealer floor, get my hands on it, may be even get a get test ride… now excuse me while i go change my t-shirt wet from all the drool….
I didn’t like it at first, but wow…that is awesome!
idkkkk guys I dont know if Im feelin it yet.. Theres just so much going on with the bike.. Maybe since its such a radical change.. Ill have to see it in person..
Like a fungus, it’s growing on me.
Even uglier. Cool, awesome in its rawness, but awkward, unthoughtout Angeles ugly.
No electronic suspension on the Superstock version? Note the lack of the wiring tubes on the fork tops.
Now that’s worth getting rid of my 999R for… Daddy needs a new track bike or should I convert the RSV4 into the track bike??? :/ really glad to see Ducati pushing boundries cause the 10976 was just to plain for me nice bike but no game changer….
@ Fazer6. Unthoughtout? Really!? You know you’re saying this about a Ducati correct? All the Italians do is “thinkout”… LOL
Sorry… 10976 should have been 1098…..
Thank you ducati for being relevant. Thank you for not being Honda.
I guess this is what the new face of world domination looks like?
AWESOME (and I don’t use that word often)
Is this version going to be offered for sale or is this how the Superbike\Supersport teams will get it?
No doubt it is technically awesome for a superbike, but none of this tech is so revolutionary EXCEPT the frame. Electronic suspension, traction control, data aquisition have all been around for a while. All on a production superbike at the same time? No. So if that’s why you’re so excited Jensen, that’s justifiable.
She’s still not a beauty.
Indeed part of my excitement is the total package element here with the different technology pieces, but the larger piece of my praise is the chassis design. Give it 10 years, this will replace twin-spar frame designs throughout the industry.
Jensen Beeler says:
November 14, 2011 at 8:25 AM
Indeed part of my excitement is the total package element here with the different technology pieces, but the larger piece of my praise is the chassis design. Give it 10 years, this will replace twin-spar frame designs throughout the industry.
just a guess, but less than 10 years
How can you be so sure that twin spar will be gone??? People have said that about front forks for decades, yet still nothing works better than UDS.
The only time it will replace something is if it’s found to work better. So far it has not on the racing level. Perhaps if it makes the bike significantly less expensive I can see how on the street it would not matter, but then this bike is supoosed to end up in WSBK, right?
Maybe on the sport twins…but…on the I-4, yeah, i would grab popcorn, sit and let them amaze me with some “unseen wild shit tech” arrangement.
I too would love to see what they have up their sleeves when it comes to the I-4 and dumping the Twin Spars Frame.
You,d think at that price they could have painted the tank?Looks a bit unfinished like my old TT500 with the alloy tank
@mxs: They have found better alternatives. Hub center works brilliantly, but when it comes to racing, the riders are all used to the feedback and feeling from USD forks. Most racers start very young, all through their learning years they are riding on bikes using the “traditional” technologys which then seems to set them in their ways of feeling with they bike.
You would have to get someone riding hub centered bikes from the start of their career to have an equal comparison between the two. Till then forks will stay, as noone will invest that much into smaller league racing…
In terms of the frames, just look back 50 years or so, see how the layouts of bikes have changed. It’ll happen someday again…
way to show off that sick termignoni exhaust, ducati. unfortunately, no belly pan = no fluid catch = illegal to most every racing sanctioning body there is.
otherwise, omfg