Ducati 1198 (2009 - present) review

Fabulous 170bhp V-Twin engine. Brilliant all round package.
Too much for many.

Ducati did a good job keeping this one quiet. Even when launch invitations are sent out without stating the model to be launched you can normally take an educated guess as to what bike it will be. I was told by Urry (who normally gets it right) that I would probably be riding a new 848S so I was pretty confused when the1198 was unveiled at the Milan show.

At the same time I was surprised to hear Ducati were claiming it had the same power output as the 1098R, but was around nine grand cheaper. This bothered me during the weeks leading up to the launch as it appeared Ducati had unfairly squeezed some extra cash from 1098R owners when all along they knew a much cheaper version with the same performance was in the pipeline. Before I even sat on the new bike I was keen to get to the bottom of this and hopefully in the process find Ducati not guilty of stitching anyone up.

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Ducati did a good job keeping this one quiet. Even when launch invitations are sent out without stating the model to be launched you can normally take an educated guess as to what bike it will be. I was told by Urry (who normally gets it right) that I would probably be riding a new 848S so I was pretty confused when the1198 was unveiled at the Milan show.

At the same time I was surprised to hear Ducati were claiming it had the same power output as the 1098R, but was around nine grand cheaper. This bothered me during the weeks leading up to the launch as it appeared Ducati had unfairly squeezed some extra cash from 1098R owners when all along they knew a much cheaper version with the same performance was in the pipeline. Before I even sat on the new bike I was keen to get to the bottom of this and hopefully in the process find Ducati not guilty of stitching anyone up.

Click next to continue

Price £11,950

Front suspension: 43mm, fully adj

Rear suspension: monoshock, fully adj

Front brake: 330mm discs, four piston radial calipers

Rear brake: single 220mm petal disc, single piston caliper

Dry weight: 171kg

Seat height: 820mm

Fuel capacity: 15.5 litres top

Colours: White, Red, Black, Red

Engine: 1198cc, liquid-cooled, 8 valve, V-twin

Power: 170bhp @ 9,750rpm

Torque: 97ft.lb @ 8,000rpm

Speed: 165mph