Of course, what every 998 owner really wants to know is whether they have to sell their bike immediately and get another loan for a new 999. Or are they - infact - better off with their undoubted modern classic?
An aesthetic and performance revolution in its day, the 916 series has guaranteed iconic status for Bologna's blood-red bullets for time immemorial. But are those stories of Desmodromic histrionics all true?
Every year, the maddest drivers with the fastest cars race across foreign contintents at highly illegal speeds. It's the Gumball 3000 Rally. This time, three blokes on Ducati 998s joined them for the 3,500 mile trip