Ducati unleashes the Streetfighter

Ducati was on hand to liven things up a tad in Milan with an old school press presentation involving catwalk, smoke, bombastic music and increasingly excited presenting from passionate factory staff. Ducati kept the best of its 2009 line-up for its home turf – the star of the show being without doubt the brand new Streetfighter 1098. In best streetfighter tradition, this new Ducati is a superbike stripped to its bare essentials, putting all that race technology on display and giving it an edgy look. The engine and chassis are almost identical to the 1098 superbike: Peak power is only slightly less at 157PS (compared to 160PS for the 1098), and torque is down to 115Nm compared to the 1098’s 122Nm.ft. But the rest stays the same: the steel trellis frame, high quality Showa suspension, Brembo monobloc callipers and the little bodywork it boasts all come straight off the 1098. There’s also a more expensive S version that gets even higher quality Ohlins suspension and the Ducati Traction Control, the ultimate in race technology for the road. This system uses sensors to monitor front and rear wheel speeds to detect rear wheelspin under acceleration, electronically reducing engine power to restore traction. Ducati’s new Streetfighter and Streetfighter S will be available in Spring 2009 to take on the performance naked bike category. Ducati also showed off the new 1198 and limited edition 1098R Bayliss replica. While the new 1198 looks similar to the 1098, Ducati says it’s a totally new bike that punts out 172PS from its Testastretta Evoluzione engine, and has a dry weight of just 171kg. It retains all the state-of-the-art racetrack goodies including Ducati’s data logging system, and the Ducati Traction Control.Ducati will be using the 1198 to compete in the 2009 World Superbike championship (WSB), the increase in capacity bringing it up to the maximum allowed for a V-twin in WSB. It’ll be taking over from the 1098 on which WSB champion Troy Bayliss won the 2008 title in the bike’s debut year, giving Ducati its 15th WSB championship win. Now that should provide Ducati with some consolation for losing the MotoGP crown to Yamaha this year.