Review: Ducati 899 Panigale

Ridden an 1199 Panigale? It's the fastest superbike going and, even as a professional motorcycle reviewer who regularly rides very fast bikes as fast as they'll go, I don't mind admitting it's too much bike for me.

Enter the 899. Same futuristic style, same ultra-light "frameless" chassis, same "Superquadro" motor, just with smaller cylinders sitting on the same crankcase.

Thankfully, the 899 also has the same ABS and other electronic rider aids like traction control and engine brake control too. Riding it at a very wet Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari – "Imola" to plebes like you and me — in northern Italy was as great a test of control as it was of speed.

Aided by a set of Pirelli wet racing tires – heavily siped to clear standing water, and so soft they'd overheat instantly in the dry – the 899 was positively friendly in conditions so bad that the water was visibly flowing across the track in places. So friendly, in fact, that it was able to make up for shortcomings in its design.

Slippery footpegs have been a problematic hallmark of Ducatis for at least the last decade, and the 899 is no different. Entering Acqua Minerale – Imola's defining corner – I slipped off the pegs while braking. Falling off the side of the bike jerked my arm, inadvertently causing me to temporarily apply the front brake fully while leaned over. Without ABS, that absolutely would have caused a crash. With ABS? I pulled myself back on top of the 899 and carried on.

Following Ayrton Senna's death here in 1994, chicanes were added to Imola, eliminating what short straights it once had. What's left is a tight, technical circuit that rewards agility and precision. And that's precisely what the 899 has to offer over its more powerful sibling. Because there's less power to deal with, the 899 is free to sharpen its rake by half a degree, its wheelbase by 11mm, and its rear tire is now a taller, narrower 180-section item, rather than the 1199's wider 200-section. Those changes sharpen the speed and response of the steering, making the 899 more willing to change direction and quicker to do so.

That newfound agility is accentuated by the 899's smoother power delivery. At 148 horsepower, the smaller Ducati splits the difference between mega-powerful superbikes and the lighter, more responsive (and traditionally less powerful) supersport class. While this eliminates its eligibility for international racing, it hopefully creates a new sweet spot for road riders. Superbike power with supersport agility, goes the thinking.

During the first two sessions of the day, I took advantage of the 899's ride-by-wire throttle and switchable riding modes to keep things in "wet," dialing power back to 100 horsepower and maximizing intervention levels for the ABS and TC. Engine braking was backed off to minimum, a setting achieved by opening the throttle plates under deceleration. That allows air to flow out of the cylinders under compression, reducing back torque and making corner entry smoother, free of the rear tire's tendency to break traction. Getting an idea of how sophisticated and nuanced the electronics on this thing are?

Later in the day, I found the confidence to play with the settings in order to find some more speed. Operating the LCD dash – a cost cut replacement for the 1199's Thin Film Transistor item – I was able to up outright power to max while retaining maximum traction control and ABS. Where the 1199's motor explodes like a stick of dynamite on even a whiff of throttle, the 899's delivery is smooth and progressive. So on those settings, I was able to achieve impressive drive out of corners, rarely activating traction control, and impressively fast corner entry speeds. The highest speed for that day? I saw 149 mph, while leaned way over, approaching the chicane that replaces the corner where Senna's fatal crash took place.

That's a good deal slower than the 202 mph I hit while testing the 1199 R at Austin, Texas' Circuit of the America's earlier this year, but I achieved it on a tighter track, in much worse conditions and, despite both factors, in much more confidence than I ever managed on the larger bike. The 899 may be slower on paper than the 1199, but thanks to sharper handling, quicker steering, and a more manageable power delivery, the smaller bike manages to be much better to ride.

Photos by Milagro