• The ultimate Ducati sportbike, #165 of 1,500 built • One owner, regularly maintained • Performance exhaust, new rear tire fitted • Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes, carbon fairing It is surely every sportbike super-fan's dream to own a genuine Grand Prix motorcycle, though in reality only a handful of the most wealthy and well-connected would ever have that chance. Until the arrival of the Ducati D16RR Desmosedici, that is. Yes, it listed for a whopping $72,500, and sure, it could be argued that being road legal, the RR was not quite the real racing deal, but that did not stop the 1,500-unit production run from selling out in 2008. At the Misano circuit in 2004, Ducati had astonished the motorcycling world by announcing that it intended to offer for public sale a low-volume, street -legal replica of its MotoGP racer. Two years later, in June 2006, Ducati unveiled the D16RR Desmosedici at the Mugello Grand Prix weekend. Ducati cut remarkably few corners in creating its racer-for-the-road, which used basically the same 90-degree 990cc V-four as the works GP6 race bike. As delivered, the RR came with a catalytic converter, was emissions compliant, and had 188hp on tap, though when the supplied race pipe was fitted this climbed to 200hp. The RR's engine was carried in a truncated trellis frame, just like the GP6's, with the aluminum swingarm pivoting directly in the crankcase and the seat formed by a structural carbon-fiber subframe – a first for a road bike. There was Öhlins suspension at both ends, offering a mind-boggling range of adjustability, with brakes supplied by Brembo, the fronts featuring radial monoblock calipers. Wheels were lightweight magnesium Marchesinis, manufactured by the forging process – another streetike first. Carbon-fiber was used for the bodywork while the fuel tank was aluminum; the result of all this weight savings enabling the RR to tip the scales at just 376lb. At Mugello the motorcycling press at last got its hands on the production Desmosedici. Bike magazine's Mike Armitage was suitably overwhelmed: "Driving urgently and cleanly from low revs to the 14,200rpm limit, the snarling V-four is a masterpiece of internal combustion," he wrote. "It shoots the digital tacho round the clock in a quick-fire frenzy, building revs with unrivaled velocity, picking up the front wheel in third gear, and blurring the edges of your vision. It's dominating, intoxicating, beautiful." With the tachometer showing 13,900 revs in top gear, Armitage saw 301kph registered on the speedometer, which equates to a real-world 182mph. Had maximum revs been reached, the Desmosedici would have been doing 193mph! This D16RR has been owned by the same mature gentleman from new and has covered less than 3,000 miles. Upgrades include a flashed CPU and performance exhaust system. It has been meticulously looked after by the same Ducati technician since purchase, with all service work carried out even when the bike wasn't being regularly ridden. Recently a new rear tire was installed.
• The ultimate Ducati sportbike, #165 of 1,500 built • One owner, regularly maintained • Performance exhaust, new rear tire fitted • Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes, carbon fairing It is surely every sportbike super-fan's dream to own a genuine Grand Prix motorcycle, though in reality only a handful of the most wealthy and well-connected would ever have that chance. Until the arrival of the Ducati D16RR Desmosedici, that is. Yes, it listed for a whopping $72,500, and sure, it could be argued that being road legal, the RR was not quite the real racing deal, but that did not stop the 1,500-unit production run from selling out in 2008. At the Misano circuit in 2004, Ducati had astonished the motorcycling world by announcing that it intended to offer for public sale a low-volume, street -legal replica of its MotoGP racer. Two years later, in June 2006, Ducati unveiled the D16RR Desmosedici at the Mugello Grand Prix weekend. Ducati cut remarkably few corners in creating its racer-for-the-road, which used basically the same 90-degree 990cc V-four as the works GP6 race bike. As delivered, the RR came with a catalytic converter, was emissions compliant, and had 188hp on tap, though when the supplied race pipe was fitted this climbed to 200hp. The RR's engine was carried in a truncated trellis frame, just like the GP6's, with the aluminum swingarm pivoting directly in the crankcase and the seat formed by a structural carbon-fiber subframe – a first for a road bike. There was Öhlins suspension at both ends, offering a mind-boggling range of adjustability, with brakes supplied by Brembo, the fronts featuring radial monoblock calipers. Wheels were lightweight magnesium Marchesinis, manufactured by the forging process – another streetike first. Carbon-fiber was used for the bodywork while the fuel tank was aluminum; the result of all this weight savings enabling the RR to tip the scales at just 376lb. At Mugello the motorcycling press at last got its hands on the production Desmosedici. Bike magazine's Mike Armitage was suitably overwhelmed: "Driving urgently and cleanly from low revs to the 14,200rpm limit, the snarling V-four is a masterpiece of internal combustion," he wrote. "It shoots the digital tacho round the clock in a quick-fire frenzy, building revs with unrivaled velocity, picking up the front wheel in third gear, and blurring the edges of your vision. It's dominating, intoxicating, beautiful." With the tachometer showing 13,900 revs in top gear, Armitage saw 301kph registered on the speedometer, which equates to a real-world 182mph. Had maximum revs been reached, the Desmosedici would have been doing 193mph! This D16RR has been owned by the same mature gentleman from new and has covered less than 3,000 miles. Upgrades include a flashed CPU and performance exhaust system. It has been meticulously looked after by the same Ducati technician since purchase, with all service work carried out even when the bike wasn't being regularly ridden. Recently a new rear tire was installed.
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