Ducati 959 Panigale Corse
Ducati 959 Panigale
Corse
The new 959
Panigale Corse is a device that turns average riders into experts. But there is a catch…
IT BRISTLES WITH electronics hangs the suspension off
the engine and revs like no twin is supposed to. But in essence the new
Panigale 959 Corse is exactly the same idea as the 900SS of the 1970s, famously
described by Bike as ‘a tool for going very, very fast very, very
precisely.’
Like that rangy greyhound of a bike the 959 Corse is achingly beautiful. Also like the old 900, it is out on a limb as an everyday ride. Am I
being harsh? Well, I guess you could ride it every day, if you lived in the scrutinizing bay at Cadwell.
The first 959 Panigale came along in 2016 as a way to replace the old 899 with a bike that conformed to the (then) new Euro 4 emission rules. The extra 60cc helped mask the performance hit of running a bigger catalytic
converter. It was a pure, beautiful thing to ride fast on smooth roads, but had mapping glitches at town speeds. Now comes the new-for-2018 Corse version, with a MotoGP paint job, high spec Öhlins suspension and steering damper, a lithium battery, and a very fancy Akrapovic exhaust.
Power and weight are pretty much as the standard model: a claimed 148bhp at 10,500rpm and 175.5kg dry.
For all the extra goodies you need an extra £1900, so that’s £15,895 altogether sir.
For this you get two bikes in one. The first is a delicious, supportive, intimidating track day weapon – fast, but controllable for someone who doesn’t ride every day. The big change over pre-Panigale Ducatis is the way that power arrives. It needs to be spinning at 8000 to get a move on. On a track this is usually fine, mainly because the electronics take nearly all the strain of riding away from your brain. Corner exits? Just open the throttle full at the apex. Gear changes up and down? No drama.
Like that rangy greyhound of a bike the 959 Corse is achingly beautiful. Also like the old 900, it is out on a limb as an everyday ride. Am I
being harsh? Well, I guess you could ride it every day, if you lived in the scrutinizing bay at Cadwell.
The first 959 Panigale came along in 2016 as a way to replace the old 899 with a bike that conformed to the (then) new Euro 4 emission rules. The extra 60cc helped mask the performance hit of running a bigger catalytic
converter. It was a pure, beautiful thing to ride fast on smooth roads, but had mapping glitches at town speeds. Now comes the new-for-2018 Corse version, with a MotoGP paint job, high spec Öhlins suspension and steering damper, a lithium battery, and a very fancy Akrapovic exhaust.
Power and weight are pretty much as the standard model: a claimed 148bhp at 10,500rpm and 175.5kg dry.
For all the extra goodies you need an extra £1900, so that’s £15,895 altogether sir.
For this you get two bikes in one. The first is a delicious, supportive, intimidating track day weapon – fast, but controllable for someone who doesn’t ride every day. The big change over pre-Panigale Ducatis is the way that power arrives. It needs to be spinning at 8000 to get a move on. On a track this is usually fine, mainly because the electronics take nearly all the strain of riding away from your brain. Corner exits? Just open the throttle full at the apex. Gear changes up and down? No drama.
Braking? Grab the lever ten metres later than you
would normally. You still have to turn at the right point, and hit the apex,
but hell, you need something to do.
After a while the Sport mode settings are too conservative and you switch
to Race, which makes the braking scarier and it will wheelie a bit. Now and then a cack-handed combination of throttle and gear leads to a ‘computer says no’ jerk before the bike recomposes itself. But basically you end up amazed at your own speed and this is, I reckon, the bike’s ace card.
It’s like a sex robot that urges you to do things you have never even secretly dreamed were possible and provides you with the necessary stamina and imagination to accomplish them. I’ve certainly never ridden that fast on track before.
And then there are these things called roads. I rode the 959 180 miles to Norfolk and back on a sunny day and felt like I’d been beaten up. That
trick suspension gives you an inch of smoothly-damped ripple absorption, then bang!
The firmness kicks in. On track you need that firmness for nutty corner speed. On bumpy roads it just smashes you in the goolies – no longer
a sex robot; more a violent, punishing dominatrix.
The digital engine irritates too, getting angrily hot
in town, where it’s
unable to hold a steady 30mph without hunting, and occasionally jerking when you roll off gently. It’s also a bit limp low down.
I imagine most right-minded bike buyers would prefer the way the old belt drive Ducatis made their power. But they would also prefer how this newer Ducati turns and provides its electronic comfort blanket.
And you can’t have both.
unable to hold a steady 30mph without hunting, and occasionally jerking when you roll off gently. It’s also a bit limp low down.
I imagine most right-minded bike buyers would prefer the way the old belt drive Ducatis made their power. But they would also prefer how this newer Ducati turns and provides its electronic comfort blanket.
And you can’t have both.
By Rupert Paul Photography Joe Dick and Jason Critchell
Source:bike
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