Ducati’s sport bikes are raw. I haven’t yet ridden one that didn’t immediately communicate that it preferred me dead. 999R, 1198S, doesn’t matter which one they all have a hellacious midrange and just when you thought the excitement was over they punch you in the face with ridiculous peak horsepower that doesn’t seem possible from a V-twin.
The Panigale is no exception. While it’s no 999 or 1198, it still makes plenty of power and is all Ducati. That means an aggressive riding position, rock hard seat, and some fun tech to go with it. Much like modern performance cars the Panigale has standard, sport, and race modes with gear indicator, lap timer, and shift light included.
Like most peaky sport bikes the 899 doesn’t get exciting until you’re past 6,000 rpm but with a redline of nearly 11,000 there’s plenty of room to burn through the gears. With the engine in the go-range it sounds celestial. And the stock exhaust is decently loud as is. Brembo brakes are standard up front and in the rear. Tons of feel and more than enough stopping power.
Overall it’s a track-day weapon and an around-town jaw-dropper. One thing the Italians always seem to get right is looks and they’ve done marvelously with this bike. One advantage over the 999 and older Duc’s is your butt doesn’t get slow-roasted by the exhaust. The lowering of the center of gravity by placing the exhaust down low I’m sure helps shave off a hundredth of a second on the track, but practically speaking it’s just nice not to get burned. Both the passenger’s legs and your rear end.
At $15,500 it’s not exactly cheap but the Italians have never shipped bright red sex appeal to the US at a bargain.
“Prego, I prefer you morti ragazzo.” That one would have to be a pure track day bike for me. Sure liked the Scrambler however.