Ducati unveils the 1098 - the fastest Ducati ever

The Superbike is available in two versions: the awesome 1098, and for those who demand the ultimate in performance with the very best suspension, lightweight wheels and components, the 1098 S.

Ducati Superbikes, designed, engineered and built in Borgo Panigale, Italy factory, have always represented the pinnacle of Ducati motorcycle technology and racing success. For Ducati, racing and winning are a way of life and a way of thinking for its designers, engineers and everyone at the factory. The unique engineering solutions they embrace are proven on the race track, where the only way to the winner's circle is with technical superiority and dependable performance.

Motorcycles are the only thing that Ducati designs, develops and manufactures – they are its single motivation – the new 1098 and 1098 S Superbikes crystallise the essence of Ducati. They are in form and function the culture and product of a company dedicated to engineering excellence and winning performance.

Simply claiming superior performance and technical innovation is not enough. Ducati backs it up with results. Ducati has dominated World Superbike racing, winning 12 of the last 16 World Championships and taking the Manufacturers’ Trophy 14 times since 1990. Furthermore, Ducati has won more individual World Superbike races than all other manufacturers combined. The results speak for themselves.

The new Testastretta Evoluzione engine

The Testastretta Evoluzione engine is the crowning glory of Ducati’s development and perfection of the L-Twin engine. World Superbike dominance for the last 15 years is the result of continual commitment to twin-cylinder technology and the 1098 Testastretta Evoluzione, the most powerful twin-cylinder production engine in history, is a fitting reward to our engineers’ continued ingenuity.

The 1098 engine is immediately recognisable by its completely new compact cylinders and cylinder heads. Other 1098 innovations and revisions are less obvious as they reside inside the Evoluzione’s engine cases, but whether external or internal, every new development was conceived to create a lighter, more efficient, more powerful and ultra-compact engine for the new generation of Ducati Superbikes.

The 1098 capacity is a result of a significant increase in the bore and stroke of the Evoluzione motor. Highly ‘over-square’, it now sports a big 104mm bore and a relatively short 64.7mm stroke. To optimise the benefits of the new, big Ducati Twin, the cylinder heads have been completely redesigned and, when combined with advanced MotoGP induction technology, enable even the standard specification 1098 to produce more power than the previous extreme Testastretta ‘R’ engine.

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