Ducati 1199 Panigale arriving

The bikes are starting to arrive in Australia but already about half the country's supply of bikes have been sold. That's despite the fact that the bike starts at $26,990 for the standard model with ABS, $33,990 for the S model and $39,990 for the S Tricolore.

That compares with a BMW S 1000RR at $24,490 and MV Agusta F4 at $24,300. However, it's the same price structure as the previous Ducati 1198 model prices. 

And it's a bang-for-your-buck bargain when you consider it has almost the same power as the Desmosedici, a limited edition modified street version of the MotoGP bike which fetched more than $100,000 in 2008. 

Add to that the fact that major services have been extended from 20,000 to 24,000km and it's almost worth using as a daily commuter, albeit one that will rocket past even a $1m Bugatti Veyron with a 0-100km/h time of just 2.2 seconds beating the Veyron by 0.26s.

Panigale also comes packed with technological wizardry and acronyms - ride modes, power modes, RbW, ABS, DES, DTC,  EBC, DQS and DDA+/GPS - to keep it out the front of the pack on the track.

Ducati Australia marketing manager Alison Fraser says a customer placing an order today could "realistically expect to take delivery around late August/September". "It's about meeting the demand as quickly as possible and also based on a very sound and optimistic sales expectation due to the calibre of the Panigale," she says.

"Based on current customer orders, the trend is pretty much as we've anticipated and predicted; 45 per cent 1199 S ABS version, 30 per cent 1199 Tricolore ABS and 25 per cent 1199 ABS." This is Ducati's first superbike with a name. 

Borogo Panigale (pronounced "Pan-ee-gah-lee") is the location of the Ducati factory in northern Italy, known as Motor Valley, home to other great motoring marques such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani and the famous Imola race track.

It is also the first Ducati superbike with a quiet wet clutch, rather than the noisy dry clutch, and the six-speed box has a quickshift for faster cog swaps and a slipper function to prevent lock-ups on down shifts. Another Ducati first is the use of LED headlights.

Figures tell the big story of the Panigale with power up from 127kW in the 1198 to 145kW and dry weight down by 10kg to 164kg. Weight reduction is aided by the diminutive aluminium monocoque frame attached only at the front of the engine.

Ducati has moved away from the underseat exhaust that started with the legendary 916 in 1994 to a low-slung exhaust with a beautifully curved header pipe visible in the massive gap between the seat and back wheel.

That gap, unfortunately, is bound to be "uglied up" by the ADR requirements for mudguard, taillight and number plate. Panigale project director Ernesto Marinelli says the wheelbase is 7mm longer for more high-speed stability, yet the rider sits 30mm closer to the handlebars. 

Together with a weight bias of 52 per cent to the front it provides more front grip for sharper cornering and improved acceleration. The down side is it should make the bike more suitable for shorter riders. There are three basic rider modes - Wet, Sport and Race - which vary systems such as ABS, traction control, suspension damping and engine braking.

It arrives with factory settings for each mode which can be tailored to suit the rider. The multi-colour instrument screen uses thin film transistor technology like a mobile phone screen that varies with ambient light. It also has a self-preservation mode that lowers the red rev limit line when the engine is new, or when starting off on cold mornings. 

In race mode, the lower end of the rev counter scale closes up and the important higher rev end spreads out so you can see it more clearly, while the rest of the layout changes to give lap timing priority over speed. Panigale comes shod with new Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tyres.

Ducati 1199 Panigale

Prices: ABS $26,990, S ABS $33,990, S Tricolore ABS $39,990
Engine: Superquadro L-Twin 4-valve per cylinder, Desmodromic 1198cc 145kW
Transmission: 6-speed slipper, wet clutch
Suspension: Marzocchi 50mm fully adjustable USD fork, Sachs fully adjustable rear shock
Dimensions: 1435mm (WB), 822MM (Seat)
Tank: 17litres
Wet weight: 188kg