The Ducati Quick Shift system works cleanly and precisely, with none of the irritating over-sensitivity the feature fitted to some race bikes suffers from, even though it feels awkward at first hitting the lever upwards to change gear rather than using a more track-friendly race-pattern shift. It also shifts wide open between first and second gears without any stutter or outright balking as it passed through neutraland again, several systems won’t let you do that.
Another first for Ducati is the slipper clutch and the way the 1198SP stopped for any of the Imola chicanesespecially downhill into the Rivazza double leftwas really confidence-inspiring, with the reassurance of the trademark click on the clutch lever when you downshift to remind you that it’s there. Now, there’s no big deal about miscounting your gearchanges or aiming for too much engine braking on the overrun, and you no longer need to be quick on the draw with your clutch hand to avoid chattering the rear wheel into the kitty litter.
The Öhlins fork and Marchesini...
The Öhlins fork and Marchesini forged aluminum wheel are carried over from the S and R models, while the outstanding Brembo monobloc brakes are shared with all versions of the 1198.
The SP’s four-piston radial-mount monobloc calipers gripping meaty 330mm Brembo front discs deliver what is surely today’s benchmark braking on bikes, combining impressive sensitivity with ideal control. The 370-pound dry weight claimed by Ducati for the 1198SP seems barely credible for a big twin, but those brakes certainly stop it well from high speed, such as into the Tosa hairpin or the walking-pace first-gear Variante Bassa chicane in front of the pits. Even lifting the rear wheel slightly under really hard braking, as I repeatedly did downhill into Rivazza, didn’t result in any real instability, even though the soft stock setup for the fully adjustable 43mm Ohlins fork, which Ducati hadn’t had a chance to dial in for Imola because of heavy rain the previous day, meant a lot of front-end dive when hard on the brakes.
The SBK/MotoGP-derived Öhlins...
The SBK/MotoGP-derived Öhlins TTX shock is standard, and features twin-tube technology aimed at minimizing friction and reducing the risk of cavitation, as well as a ride-enhancing top-out spring.
Ducati has had a bit of practice...
Ducati has had a bit of practice getting quick shifters right as it was the first team in World Superbike to fit such a system to Carl Fogarty’s factory 916 back in the mid-1990s. It’s surprising that, while you can switch the SP’s system off if you want, you can’t convert it to a race-pattern shifter.
Recalling the original fuel...
Recalling the original fuel tanks of Paul Smart’s Imola-winner and its 750SS replicas, which had a clear stripe of unpainted fiberglass to serve as a quick gauge of how much gas was left inside, the SP’s alloy tank is partly unpainted, the bare metal just clear-coated in part to show what it’s made of.
The 1198SP’s Testastretta Evoluzione engine still has the same muscular, meaty torque as the 1198S motor it’s basically identical to, which makes it eager to wave the front wheel in the air in a second-gear power wheelie when you accelerate hard out of any of Imola’s quartet of chicanes, using the TC to lay the power down to the max. With what feels like every bit the massive hit of torque the numbers promise (a claimed 97 ft-lb peaking at 8000 rpm, most of which is already on tap a couple of grand lower down the rev band, and 170 horsepower delivered at 9750 rpm), the new Ducati has a brutal but addictive build of power out of a turn, especially those four second-gear chicanes at Imola. Just as well the dual-compound rear Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP warms up quickly and has a harder tear-resistant center section that does its job in laying the power to the ground. Still, I remembered to make a point of lifting it upright exiting a turn before pressing the trigger, to be sure to use the fat section of the rubber to absorb all that meaty grunt. Plus, you must force yourself to use a gear higher than often seems appropriate at first, because of the hefty low-down punch that will see the front wheel lazily lofting above the ground even in third gear. There’s no sign of an anti-wheelie program on the 1198SP as its Aprilia rival has, and this is a pity as the big twin with all its torque really could do with it. Still, the way the Ducati drove out of corners was truly impressive, coming on strong as low as 3000 rpm before building easily and eagerly to 7000 rpm. From there, it really takes off toward the 10,000 rpm mark, when the first of the three shifter lights on the dash flashes to remind you to hit a higher gear, before the arrival of the relatively harsh 10,800 rpm rev limiter heralded by a bright red light.