MORE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP-WINNING RACE TECHNOLOGY THAN EVER BEFORE: The new Superbike range presents five models: The lightweight and agile 848, the awesomely powerful new 1198, and for those who demand the ultimate in specification, the 1198 S and 1098 R, both now with race-level Ducati Traction Control systems for the road. To mark his 3rd Superbike World Championship and to celebrate the career of Troy Bayliss, who will now retire from motorcycle racing, Ducati will build a 1098 R Bayliss Limited Edition.


The Ducati Traction Control (DTC) system further underlines Ducati's technology flow from racing to production and demonstrates how solutions developed for the track can be applied to enhance safety on the road.


ENGINEERED BY THE STOPWATCH: The Ducati 848, 1198 and 1098 R Superbikes are the most advanced, most powerful twin-cylinder motorcycles ever built. They are the product of a team of designers and engineers who have combined their Ducati MotoGP and World Superbike technologies to create the finest sport bikes in the world. From race-level engine specifications to world championship-winning traction control, the results are pure excellence.


DESIGNED BY THE RACE TRACK: The look and stance of the Ducati Superbikes are the result of intense race development and Ducati heritage. Their striking aerodynamic shapes create a natural riding position, confirmed by Ducati development and factory team riders as the optimum for speed and agility. Their passion for racing has shaped the Superbike family.


PROVEN BY TROY BAYLISS: The 1198 uses engineering solutions taken directly from the World Championship winning 'R' model of Troy Bayliss. From engine capacity and specification to advanced electronics, many details that helped Troy to the 2008 World Superbike title have been applied to the 2009 road-going 1198. Never before has so much factory rider feedback been put into production.


PURE DUCATI: Ducati Superbikes are race bikes, pure and simple. They are immediately recognisable for their purposeful, no-nonsense attitude. Performance is first and foremost in every detail.


Trademark Ducati features like the high tail section and compact front end combine with twin under-seat silencers and single-sided swingarm to express the sheer engineering beauty of aerodynamics and agility. Add the Testastretta Evoluzione engines as the hearts of the machines and the result is all-out performance Ducati Superbikes that look fast even when parked.


Ducati continue to set the standard in production sports motorcycles. From data acquisition systems integrated as standard equipment, to ingenious dual construction methods for its weight-saving single-sided swingarm, Ducati's innovative trackside solutions continue to flow. Now, elliptical throttle bodies, information-rich instrumentation and earth-stopping Monobloc brakes are complemented by road-going traction control.
HANDLING: The 848 , 1198 and 1098 R chassis and suspension received detailed study and a 'performance-first' priority approach to development. The goal was to achieve considerable weight saving and build-in strength and rigidity to manage the high-powered Testastretta Evoluzione engines. While the 'R' models are purely 'monoposto', Ducati built 'biposto' practicality into the 848 and 1198 with a passenger seat and footpegs. As with the race bikes from which they are derived, each and every component is designed to contribute to achieving superior road holding and stability.

Trellis frame - Developed in cooperation with Ducati Corse, the lightweight Trellis frame features 34mm main section tubes with a material thickness of 1.5mm. The result is an incredibly rigid construction that remains one of Ducati's lightest frame solutions ever. Adding style to performance, the two colour versions for the 848 use frames finished in 'red' and 'racing grey' while both colours for the 1198 use 'racing black' frames and both 1198 S a sophisticated 'bronze' finish. The 1098 R frame is finished in 'red' .

Front suspension - Both the 848 and 1198 feature fully adjustable 43mm Showa forks, with an additional special low friction titanium oxide treatment applied to the sliders of the 1198, while spectacular 43mm Öhlins with low friction titanium nitride-treated sliders are used on the 1198 S and 1098 R. Both front suspension solutions have radial brake caliper mountings providing superior road holding and incredible feedback to give every rider more confidence and control.

Rear suspension - The lightweight Trellis frame and single-sided swingarm have enabled a compact and weight-saving rear suspension linkage system that features separate lower pick-up points for the push-rod and suspension unit. This 'tandem' design effectively reduces stress around the linkage pick-up area of the Trellis frame. Working together with this highly efficient linkage is a fully adjustable Showa single shock for the 848 and 1198, and an incredible Öhlins unit for the 1198 S. The higher specification Öhlins for the rear of the 1098 R uses TTXR twin tube technology and offers totally separate damping adjustment in compression and rebound. It uses experience gained in MotoGP to minimise friction and reduce the risk of cavitation under extreme conditions. The 1198, 1198 S and 1098 R rear suspension system has an adjustable rear ride-height, independent of spring pre-load and other suspension settings - valuable when seeking the perfect set-up for personal riding style or track conditions.

Single-sided swingarm - The dual construction technique used for the single-sided swingarm sees the main operational components use individual aluminium castings so as to ensure strength around the pivot points, wheel hub and suspension links, with fabricated aluminium sections used to complete the construction into a single, beautifully engineered component. The 848 swingarm is colour finished in natural aluminium while both 1198, 1198 S and 1098 R swingarms are in black.


DUCATI TRACTION CONTROL: For the first time ever on a Ducati production motorcycle, a true competition-level traction control system for the road comes integrated into the 1198 S and 1098 R electronics as standard equipment. The Ducati Traction Control (DTC) system further underlines Ducati's technology flow from racing to production and demonstrates how solutions developed for the track can be applied to enhance safety on the road.

DTC uses the same software logic developed and used by Ducati Corse for their world championship winning MotoGP and World Superbike motorcycles and offers a choice of eight settings developed by their professional test riders and racers.

Accessible from the left-hand switchgear and displayed on the digital instrumentation, the system offers a choice of eight profiles. Each one has been programmed with a wheel-spin tolerance matched to progressive riding levels of skill graded from one to eight. While level eight administers a confidence-building, high level of interaction from the system by activating upon the slightest amount of wheel-spin, level one offers a much higher tolerance and so much less intervention for highly competent riders. When the level is selected and DTC activated, the level is displayed on the instrumentation.

When the profile that best suits the combination of road or track conditions and riding style has been selected and the DTC system activated, front and rear wheel sensors compare speed differential to sense when rear traction is being broken (wheel-spin). High speed software then makes instant electronic adjustment to the fuel injection, taking immediate control over power output so as to restore traction at the rear wheel. A warning light is displayed during DTC interaction. As soon as the system recognises the return of equal wheel speeds, it re-establishes normal power delivery. In this way, DTC provides a considerable increase in safety during mid-corner acceleration.


INSTRUMENTATION: This pure racing digital instrumentation originating from Ducati's MotoGP project, has no switches or buttons to compromise its clean, minimalist lines. Instead, information additional to the default read-outs is managed from the left-hand handlebar-mounted switch gear, allowing the rider to scroll through and select from various menus. The display, which now has a bright white LED back lighting, presents rpm and speed, with the former displayed across the screen in a progressive bar graph. Optionally, the rpm and speed can be displayed in numeric values which have now been enlarged. Additionally, it displays lap times, DTC level selected (if activated on 1198 S and 1098 R) time, air temperature, coolant temperature, battery voltage, two trips and a trip that automatically starts as the fuel system goes onto reserve. Warning lights illuminate to signify neutral, turn signals, high-beam, rev-limit, low oil pressure, fuel reserve, DTC intervention (if activated on 1198 S and 1098 R) and scheduled maintenance. The instrument display is also used as the control panels for the DDA and DTC systems as well as listing lap times recorded by using the high-beam flash button as a stopwatch.

Lights and indicators - The horizontal twin headlamps, a signature Ducati style from the iconic 916, have been modernised with the latest lighting technology. Two polyellipsoidal units light the way with a powerful beam while maintaining an aggressive look to the front of the machine in pure Ducati Superbike tradition. The units used on the 1198 and 1098 R now save over 0.5kg (1.2lb) over previous versions, reducing weight from a crucial high frontal area which enhances the overall vehicle handling and all-important 'feel' of the front-end.

The rear light employs a specially designed strip of LEDs enhanced by a high diffusion lens shaped into the sleek lines of the tailpiece. The same LEDs are intensified for brake lights.


A DUCATI LEGEND: Troy Bayliss is a Ducati legend. In celebration of his victory in the 2008 World Superbike Championship aboard the 1098 R, and the end of a career that proudly claims three World Championships aboard three generations of Ducati Superbike, the factory have built a 1098 R Bayliss Limited Edition.


Enjoying exactly the same high specification as the standard 'R' model, the 1098 R Bayliss Limited Edition has a special colour scheme designed by Aldo Drudi and approved by Troy Bayliss himself. The livery, which was used during Troy's final race at Portimao in Portugal, incorporates the key colours of his success. Sporting the famous number '21' on the pearl white nose and side-fairing number plates, the red and white paint scheme uses the dark blue background of the Australian national flag to blend beautifully along the side of the bodywork and into the unpainted carbon fibre stripe along the seat unit. This attention to fine detail is also evident in features like the carbon lower-fairing finished in red, except for aerodynamic recess for the side-stand, which remains natural carbon fibre. A subtle '1098 R Bayliss Limited Edition' graphic on the tail fairing leaves no doubt as to what this magnificent bike is.


The striking design contrasts perfectly against the 5-spoke wheels finished in matte black and additional special features like the carbon fibre heat shield on the exhaust.


The 1098 R Bayliss Limited Edition will be limited to only 500 units and comes with a numbered plaque on the top fork clamp, indicating exactly where in the limited edition the motorcycle was built. The number also corresponds to a numbered commemorative desk-top plaque, beautifully encased for safe keeping and bearing the engraved signatures of Ducati Motor Holding CEO Gabriele Del Torchio and Ducati Corse triple World Superbike Champion, Troy Bayliss.


In addition, the model will be supplied with a full racing exhaust system including 102dB carbon fibre mufflers by Termignoni (strictly for track use only), a dedicated ECU, branded bike cover and rear paddock stand.


What better way to mark the incredible career of Troy Bayliss than by Ducati building the 1098 R Bayliss Limited Edition.


POWER: The 1098 R engine represents the finest twin-cylinder technology in the world. It produces 180hp (132.4kW) at 9,750rpm and 99.1 lb-ft (13.7kgm) of brute torque at 7,750rpm in standard mode and an astonishing 186hp when using the supplied race kit (intended strictly for track use only).


DUCATI DATA ANALYSER (DDA): The Ducati Data Analyzer (DDA) - complete with PC software and USB-ready data retrieval card - evaluates the performance of the bike and its rider by recording numerous channels of data.


Channels include throttle opening, vehicle speed, engine rpm, engine temperature, distance travelled, laps and lap times and automatically calculates engine rpm and vehicle speed to record gear selection. A new channel now records the DTC index, presenting it as a graphic trace indicating the amount of interaction during wheel-spin. After a ride or track session, an upgraded 4mb of data can be downloaded to a PC to analyse the performance of rider and motorcycle.