"The Ferrari on two wheels"- Ducati has unveiled its most powerful Road legal twin cylinder bike in the form of 1299 Panigale Superleggera. What makes this bike so special is that, it's almost same as the bike ridden by Chaz Davies in the WSBK Championship. Ducati claims this to be the most technologically advanced production Superbike, thanks to the WSBK Homologation regulations. Only 500 of it will be ever produced and Ducati India has officially launched the motorcycle here, which will be built on orderly basis. The motorcycle retails at a sky high Rs. 1.12 crore (ex showroom) in India. Design & Bodywork:
Though the bike resembles almost similar to the 1299 Panigale except the exclusive Red-White livery and WSBK style Akropovic exhaust canisters, what all matters is the internal components it is made of. The 1299 Superleggera has a high strength Carbon fibre monocoque frame and swingarm making it almost 4 kgs lighter in weight compared to the standard 1299 Panigale. The carbon fibre chassis and swingarm has about 7075 aluminium inserts which is co-laminated as a single piece structure. Even the complete bodywork, sub frame and alloys of the bike has been constructed using high tensile carbon fibre. The Braking duties are taken care of by two 320mm semi floating discs and radially mounted Brembo monobloc EVO M50 4 piston calipers up front and a 245mm disc with 2 piston calipers at the rear.Engine:
The Superleggera has a completely reworked 1285cc engine with 116 x 60.8mm bore and stroke measurements. The compression ratio is increased from 12.6:1 to 13.0:1, thanks to aluminium cylinder liners and titanium valves. The Desmodromic valves too get special treatments, as both intake and exhaust valves are larger (48mm intake and 39.5mm exhaust). The camshafts have better profiles and the lift is increased for smooth working. The cylinder and head is almost 4 kgs lighter than the normal Panigale 1299S.The bottom portion of the engine has a slip/assist clutch made up of aluminium, for better riding ability. The Superleggera has a super light tungsten balanced crankshaft, titanium connecting rods and a lighter fly wheel. Putting everything together the Superleggera is 23 pounds lighter than the 1299 Panigale, and produces an astounding 215 hp at 11,000 rpm. The motorcycle tips the scale at just 156 kgs dry.
Electronic Package:
Controlling all the power is a host of Electronics developed by Ducati. It has a 6 axis Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to gather all the data and the electronic features include multi level Ducati Traction Control, Ducati Power Launch, Ducati Slide Control, Ducati Wheelie Control, Ducati Engine brake control, up/down Ducati Quickshifter, Ducati Data analyzer with GPS and a Bosch cornering sensitive ABS. The Bosch Cornering ABS has been recalibrated for the 1299 Superleggera with new operating logics. The Ducati Slide control and Power Launch are the two new features in the Superleggera. The Slide control has been developed with Ducati Corse WSBK and also controls the torque using the slide angle. By: Aravind Rb
