Superbike heritage

Ducati Superbikes, designed, engineered and built in Bologna, Italy, have always represented the pinnacle of Ducati motorcycle technology and racing success. For Ducati, racing and winning are a way of life and a way of thinking for our designers, engineers and everyone at the factory. Our unique engineering solutions are proven on the race track, where the only way to win is to have technical superiority and dependable performance.

Ducati have dominated World Superbike racing, winning more Riders' and more Manufacturers' World Championship titles and more individual races than any other manufacturer. Add these unequalled performances to the historic achievement of winning the MotoGP World Championship, and the results speak for themselves.

Engineered by the stopwatch

Ducati 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 sportbikes in the world. From race-level engine specifications to World Championship-winning traction control, the results are pure excellence. The Ducati Traction Control (DTC) system further underlines our technology flow from racing to production and demonstrates how solutions developed for the track can be applied to enhance safer performance on the road.

Designed by the race track

Ducati Superbikes are race bikes, pure and simple. Their striking aerodynamic shapes create a natural riding position, confirmed by our development and factory team riders as the optimum for speed and agility. 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.

R philosophy

The 'R' is a race bike, pure and simple. Its competition specification and superior components together with advanced electronics and race-proven chassis technology deliver a level of performance that empowers with confidence and capability. On the road, it distinguishes you as a connoisseur of high-performance motorcycles. On the track it instantly promotes you to a higher level of skill.

The road-going 'R' version is as close as it gets to Ducati's factory race bike. The 1198 R is not a replica – it's the real deal. An incredible 180hp L-Twin Testastretta Evoluzione engine in a race-winning Trellis chassis set-up weighs in at 1kg (2.2lb) less than last year to become an unbelievably light 164kg (361.5lb) and is equipped with Ducati Corse's World Championship-winning traction control system.

Ducati Corse Special Edition

The winning of both the 2009 World Superbike and Superstock Manufacturers’ titles is a fitting stage on which to present two exclusive and exciting special editions built to mark the historic introduction of a new Ducati Corse logo. The 1198 S Corse Special Edition and 1198 R Corse Special Edition are both equipped with factory team-style aluminium fuel tanks, Ducati Traction Control and a special celebratory Ducati Corse livery.

Twin-injectors

The 'R' remains the only road-going Ducati to use twin injectors for each cylinder. The first centrally mounted injector feeds through a 4-hole nozzle while the second offset injector feeds through a 12-hole nozzle ensuring progressive and fluid power delivery throughout the rev-range. With this configuration the system has the capacity to provide much heavier fueling when used in competition.

Titanium components

To underline the 1198 R's race intentions, titanium is used in the valves, connecting rods, and exhaust system to save weight and improve performance.

Crankshaft

Confirming the 1198 R's race specification by minimising weight and increasing performance, the crankshaft connecting rods are made in titanium, achieving a 34% saving over the stock 1198 rods while reducing their reciprocating forces and improving crankshaft acceleration.

Magnesium alloy covers

The weight-saving cam covers in magnesium-alloy are evident by their gold colour.

Slipper clutch

Unique to the 'R' version, the dry, multiplate 'slipper' clutch reduces the destabilising effect of aggressive downshifting and helps provide the fine control required when used under extreme track conditions.

Sand-cast crankcases

The specification of this engine underlines its no-compromise race technology. To help contain the massive 'R' power output, the crankcases have been sand-cast produced, a process that improves the molecular quality of the casting, increasing strength while ensuring that intricate shapes are achieved with absolute accuracy.

Power & torque curves

The 1198 R engine represents the finest twin-cylinder technology in the world. It produces 180hp (132.4kW) @ 9,750rpm and 99.1lb-ft (13.7kgm) of brute torque @ 7,750rpm in standard mode and an astonishing 186hp when using the supplied race kit (intended strictly for track use only).

High-effieciency cooling

Its race-developed fairing design ensures perfect integration with the cooling system by providing efficient flow through the advanced, large surface area coolant radiator, which is assisted by lightweight, high flow electric fan assemblies and oil coolers.

Titanium muffler

Incredibly lightweight, the exhaust system has been engineered with a power-increasing symmetrical 2-1-2 layout that uses 52mm-57mm diameter tubing with a wall thickness of 0.8mm (0.30in). It is equipped with a catalytic converter and two lambda probes for optimum engine mapping and Euro3 conformity. The system terminates with Ducati's trademark twin under-seat mufflers beautifully formed in super lightweight titanium and stainless steel, delivering that unmistakable signature sound of the big bore Desmo 90° L-Twin.

Elliptical throttle bodies

To keep the highly efficient Testastretta cylinder heads breathing to their full potential, the injection system uses MotoGP-derived elliptical throttle bodies with an equivalent diameter of 63.9mm.

Race-derived detail

The 1198 engines all share the same attention to race-derived details.

Race-designed 1198 pistons have a distinctive double-ribbed undercrown to achieve high strength and reduced friction by using minimal piston wall surface area. Using technology developed for the Desmosedici MotoGP project, the design enables reliable operation of the 106mm diameter pistons when performing at high rpm.

Racing-type rocker arms are 'super-finished' for reduced friction and fatigue at high rpm.

The gearbox's carefully calculated specification allows the use of a high ratio 6th gear, fully enabling the speed increase achieved from additional performance modifications (suggested for track use only). Also with performance in mind and because of its high resistance to fatigue, the gears are machined from the same high-strength steel used in Ducati Corse race applications and are subjected to a shot-peening treatment that further ensures their strength.

Desmodromics

The incredible valve performances of our engines are only possible because of Ducati's unique Desmodromic system, where valve closure is activated mechanically.

At high rpm it would be almost impossible for the valve to follow the steep closure profile of the cam lobe if it were relying upon a normal valve spring. With the Desmo system, the valve is closed mechanically with the same accuracy as it is opened, enabling steep cam profiles and radical cam timings.

This system is used on every single Ducati power unit including our world-beating Superbike and Desmosedici MotoGP engines.