Motorcycle specifications Ducati1199 Panigale S 2012 A performance at every turn

PANIGALE... Yesterday, a name known only to the inhabitants of Bologna. From now on, it will be one of the most feared names in the paddocks. Beneath these few letters lies one of the most exceptional machines that Italy, and perhaps even motorcycle history, has ever created. To renew its sporting spearhead, Ducati started from scratch, innovating in all directions, and while the competition moves on with each new generation, the reds have crossed an ocean. The terror of the racetrack is no longer a motorcycle, it's a technological monster: the Ducati 1199 Panigale.

A new identity

All it takes is one appearance to make you believe in the impossible, and that's almost the case with this 1199. It's hard to imagine that a single motorcycle could contain enough upheaval to give the whole planet a boost! And yet... It all starts with the name. This is the first time that a Bologna sports bike has been given a name. In this case, the name of the district where the factory is located.
Technically, it is so different from previous generations that it needed a stylistic breakthrough to make a clear statement. There was no question of remaining under the thumb of the successful 1198. The 1199 therefore dares, with impertinent audacity, to free itself from the traditional pots under the seat. SCANDAL! Some would say. This appendage fixed under the rider's buttocks has been THE Ducati trademark since the 916. And yet, moving the exhaust under the engine refocuses the masses and increases agility.

Behind its Multistrada-like snout, the 1199 boasts a more voracious silhouette, a more powerful bow, and imposing flanks that are ventralized by a vein of black.the rear end is truncated in RSV4 style, and to our delight, features a superb, unmistakable monobar. The stern is finished off with two LED lights inspired by the 1198's tailpipes. As for the eyes, also LED, their menace is matched only by the gaping holes in the forced-air intake. It's as if the engine needs more air than there is in front of it.

The Superquadro twin: a monster!

Ducati wanted a new-generation engine capable of taking the 1199 Panigale into the stratosphere. The engineers therefore designed a new block with impressive characteristics. The announced power alone is frightening. This twin-cylinder engine produces 195 horsepower...
195 horsepower!!! Figures like these on a twin are only to be seen in World Superbikes. To get to this crazy potato, there 's no secret: you've got to rev. The 1199 gets its maximum power 1,000 rpm later than the 1198. To make the revs bearable (12,000 rpm max), the Superquadro's dimensions are super-square, so much so that they become insane. Bore is 112 mm, stroke 60.8 mm. When you think that the 1198 already impressed with its 106 x 67.9...
More bore means more room for bigger valves. Compared to the 1198 engine, intake valves have increased from 43.5 to 46.8 mm, and exhaust valves from 34.5 to 38.5 mm. To combine strength and lightness, they are made of titanium rather than steel, as on the R models.
The valve train also sounds like a half-revolution. The desmodromic system has obviously been retained (otherwise, this wouldn't be a Ducati), but it is now driven by a mixed chain-and-pinion system. Gone are the belts so emblematic since the Pantahs of the '80s. What's more, the desmo now uses new carbon polymer-treated rockers to reduce wear and friction.

The twin is much more than just the machine's propeller. It also has a virtually integral load-bearing function (more on that later). Engineers first placed it 6° further back than the 1198, setting it at 21° horizontal. It's also set 32 mm further forward in the frame, thereby increasing the weight on the front (52/48 split). Now that it's adjusted, it's time to make it strong and durable to the bitter end. The crankcases are manufactured using the Vacural process, increasing rigidity while saving weight. In the cylinders, the liners are treated directly with Nickasil, while the crankshaft now rests on bearings rather than bushes, a solution tried out on the Desmosedici RR. When you switch it on, all you'll hear is the barking, while the sound of a clattering engine will be missing from the auditory landscape. And why is that? Because the dry clutch is gone. As on the 848, an oil-bath mechanism transmits the cavalry.
The fuel system has also been upgraded. The oval intake ducts have been extended from 63.9 to 67.5 mm. Thirst is quenched by a set of double injectors per cylinder. Throttle control is ride-by-wire, but this is only part of the electronic panoply that has invaded the 1199.

Fighter-plane electronics.

The Panigale is a tracker with chips. A hybrid terminator that thinks for the rider. Oh, of course, it's always the rider who turns the handle. But that's where it all begins. The equipment is over-assisted:
- firstly, the DRM, which lets you choose your injection mapping: 1/full power with a muscular arrival of power, 2/full power still but a more gradual distribution of horsepower, and 3/rain mode with a maximum of 120 hp. Each mode also plays on the more or less pronounced intervention of the other electronic kickstands. And if that's not enough for you, there's a mode that allows you to set everything to your own convenience.
- Then there's a shifter for lightning-quick gear changes
- the new EBS, a parameterizable engine brake management system
- 8-position adjustable DTC traction control
But the biggest arsenal is reserved for the S version. There's electronically adjustable Öhlins suspension, 3-stage ABS (option at 1,000 euros on the satndard) and DDA+, more details of which can be found in the 1199 Panigale S data sheet.
To control all this while enjoying the classic motorcycle data (speed, rpm, temperature, etc.), you need a good dashboard. And Ducati innovates here too. The instrument cluster is a real TFT computer screen (like a phone screen, only bigger). The K 1600 GT is also equipped with this type of unit, but it coexists with traditional dials - the 1199's is full digital. It's classy, it's full of options, it's colorized, it lets you create menus in all directions, and you really feel like you're aboard a Star Wars ship.

The chassis? The new crusade.

With the 1199 Panigale, Ducati's fundamentals have been shaken. We've already seen that the belts, the dry clutch and the pots under the seat have all gone out the window... but more violent than its 195 horsepower pushed by 13.5 mkg, more shocking than a Rossi without his 46, is the abandonment of the trellis frame!
Gone are the red tubes encircling the heart of a Bolognese. The 1199 won't need them, and won't need a frame either. The engine takes care of the essentials, backed up by a cast aluminum shell to house the airbox and support the steering column. The swingarm is anchored directly to the casings, and the rear shock absorber's kinematics are striking. The rocker arm is fixed to the left on a side plate (the one that holds the footrest), and the end of the shock absorber is anchored directly to the engine. Problem: the whole assembly is very exposed in the event of a fall. But this is just one of a host of small weight-saving details, such as the new 500g lighter rims, the same gain for the monobloc brake calipers, plus a lighter rear buckle.magnesium for the fork-head support, cylinder head covers and clutch housing, a lighter fuel tank (albeit with 1.5 liters more) which also serves as an airbox cover (the 916 already used this trick). Mix all this with a miniature monocoque frame and you get a sports bike with a lot less weight. The weight loss is staggering: 10 kg. On the scales, at 164 kg dry and 188 wet, it's almost on a par with a Triumph 675 Daytona. No Japanese hypersport comes close in this respect. Even the forks are outrageous. Like some MV-Agusta models, the steering tubes are an extravagant 50 mm in diameter. You won't find 43 anywhere else.

A sports bike designed by and for competition

All that engineering giving you a headache? Well, let me simplify: an all-new twin with a load-bearing capacity of 195 hp and 13.5 mkg, no longer a trellis frame but an aluminum monocoque structure vaguely akin to that of the Kawasaki ZX-12R and ZZR 1400, a TFT instrument panel, electronic assistance at all the Ducati 1199 Panigale is even more intent than its predecessors on blurring the boundary between track and dealer machines. It boasts a staggering power-to-weight ratio, and its technology is such that it heralds an almost similar upheaval to that seen on certain sports bikes: the R1 in 1998, the CBR 900 in 1992, or the 750 GSX-R in 1985. If anything, it's got what it takes to hit the world even harder than the 916. If Ducati pushed the envelope with a special series featuring a self-supporting carbon saddle, matching exhaust system, carbon fairingcarbon fairing and forged magnesium rims, we'd have a twin-cylinder Superbike boasting over 200 hp for a fully loaded 180 kg. A dream? No, the next step.