2016 Ducati 959 Panigale Red

2016 Ducati 959 Panigale Red

Fitted with a new, more powerful engine with slipper clutch, ready to unbridle a racing attitude. Built on an improved chassis integrating a monocoque frame, together with fully adjustable suspension. Poised between road and track, between pure performance, technology and effortless handling, the 959 Panigale sports a breathtaking design. The ideal adrenaline-booster in the form of a Ducati superbike.

The engine has been designed as a structural element of the frame. As such, its architecture has been completely reviewed to ensure the best design in terms of structure, weight distribution and robustness.

The cylinders, at a 90° angle to each other, are mounted on the crankcase to produce a 21° angle between the front cylinder and the horizontal plane. This allows the engine to sit forward, optimizing the distribution of weight between the front and rear ends and achieving the perfect position of the fastening points of the cylinder heads into the monocoque chassis of the 959 Panigale.

During the Superquadro's development the need to control large valves with the extremely precise Desmodromic system prompted engineers to replace the belt drive of previous Superbikes, mounted on the first Ducati Pantah in 1979, with a configuration mixing both chain and gears. This chain drive efficiently synchronizes the crankshaft and camshaft, and thanks to an automatic tensioner, ensures constant reliability and a reduction in routine maintenance costs.

The Superquadro is the most potent twin-cylinder engine on the planet, and in the 959 Panigale it produces a fantastic 157 hp@10,500 rpm, and 107.4 N-m of torque @9,000 rpm. And thanks to the sweet nature of the L-twin, and Riding Mode options, the rider is able to easily modulate this tremendous power and tailor it to his riding style and road conditions.

The 959 Panigale features an advanced six-speed transmission with large diameter gears for superior strength. Perfectly controlling the power put to the ground is a hydraulically actuated multi-plate wet clutch, which has back-torque limiting "slipper" functionality to prevent hopping of the rear wheel during aggressive downshifts. With smooth engagement, superb feel, and light effort at the lever, the 959's clutch helps keep the bike in perfect balance on the street and the track.

The opening and closing of the throttle bodies on the Superquadro are controlled electronically in a system called Ride by Wire. The absence of a mechanical connection between the twistgrip and the throttle bodies allows the engine ECU to regulate the power delivery by acting upon the throttle's opening angle; Ride by Wire makes it possible to have different power and delivery based on the selected Riding Mode (Power Modes), and also to manage engine braking (EBC), as well as allowing the implementation of traction control (DTC).