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.

S philosophy

The 'S' version Superbike creates a dream package by taking everything that the 1198 model has and adding top-of-the-range suspension, lightweight chassis components and Ducati's impressive DTC traction control system.

The 'S' sets the standard for lightweight performance. On any sport or race bike, the most effective area to reduce weight is its 'unsprung weight'. These are components like tyres, brakes and wheels. Lighter wheels have a lower 'moment of inertia' that is beneficial with every direction change and application of the brakes. The 1198 S addresses this important area by mounting forged and machined wheels. Both front and rear are super lightweight and their benefit is immediately apparent. The weight saving is further enhanced with the application of a carbon fibre front fender.

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.

Magnesium alloy covers

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

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.

Exhaust system

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 silencers, delivering that unmistakable signature sound of the big bore Desmo 90° L-Twin.

1198 Testastretta Evoluzione

The Testastretta Evoluzione engine is the crowning glory of our development and the perfection of the L-Twin engine. World Superbike dominance for almost two decades is the result of continual commitment to our twin-cylinder configuration. We now share the reward for that commitment with World Championship-winning technology constantly flowing from the factory race team into our production engines.

Volumetric efficiency through the four valves per cylinder is optimised with valve diameters at 43.5mm for the inlet and 35.5mm for the exhaust.

Vacural® crankcases

The 1198 Testastretta Evoluzione engines are the lightest ever used in Ducati Superbikes, thanks to Vacural® technology, a crankcase vacuum die-cast manufacturing process yielding weight reductions of 3kg (6.5lbs) compared to the 1098 Superbike cases. The process ensures consistent and precise wall thickness and increased strength from absolute material purity.

Power & torque curves

The 1198 engine produces 170hp (125kW) @ 9,750rpm and a class-beating 97lb-ft (13.4kgm) of torque @ 8,000rpm.

Crankshaft

The 1198 capacity is achieved using exactly the same 106mm x 67.9mm bore and stroke as the factory race bike.

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.