Ducati unveils the 1098 - the fastest Ducati ever

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Ducati unveils the 1098 - the fastest Ducati ever

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With a Superbike as capable as the 1098, superior stopping power is fundamental. The 1098 is the first production street bike to use Brembo’s Monobloc caliper racing technology. The M4 caliper uses four 34mm pistons and two large surface pads for maximum stopping power. Calipers are machined from a single piece of alloy, vs. the bolt-together construction of conventional calipers. The Monobloc design has much higher rigidity and resistance to distortion during extreme braking, and therefore gives a much more precise feel at the brake lever. The 1098 also introduces for the first time on a Ducati, big 330mm discs which, when matched to the Monobloc calipers, achieve spectacular braking power. Despite the larger diameter, their weight has not increased due to the use of racing-style narrow braking surfaces. The use of Monobloc technology combined with the legendary stability of Ducati’s Trellis frame and the 1098’s overall weight savings has made world championship level brake performance available for the road.

Super lightweight wheels

The weight saving of 250gr achieved on the front wheel substantially reduces the moment of inertia and enhances the 1098’s change of direction and braking performance. The rear wheel is just as impressive with a complete redesign for its single-sided swingarm application that has resulted in a reduction of over 1kg compared with traditional Ducati single-sided swingarm fitments. Both the 1098 and 1098 S benefit from the lightweight Marchesini Y-shaped spoke wheels, but the ‘S’ goes even further by using machine finished forged-aluminium, a special process normally reserved for the production of race wheels. Another first for Ducati is the mounting of 190/55 rear tyres, our widest ever, and the new standard for traction and control.

Aerodynamic bodywork

Carefully designed not only for aerodynamic efficiency but also to hug the sleek lines of the chassis, the 1098 enables the rider to blend effortlessly into the race-oriented riding position. Great care has been taken in the design of the air supply ducts so to ensure efficient air-flow through radiator and oil coolers as well as provide ample air delivery to the airbox feeding the powerful new Testastretta Evoluzione engine. Moulded in lightweight Terblend, the bodywork’s form becomes a considerable contributing factor to the overall performance of the machine by helping reduce weight even further while allowing the rider to effortlessly ‘tuck in’ from the wind stream and turbulence to achieve maximum straight-line track speed.

Instrumentation

Desmosedici-style digital instrumentation is taken from Ducati’s MotoGP GP7 project. This pure racing, minimalist solution by Digitek has no switches or buttons to compromise its clean lines. Instead, information additional to the default read-outs is managed by handlebar-mounted switch gear, allowing the rider to scroll through and select from various menus. The default read-out presents rpm and speed, with the former displayed across the screen in a progressive bar graph. Optionally, the rpm and speed can be displayed in numeric values. The instrument display also doubles as a control panel for the activation of the data acquisition system as well as listing lap times recorded by using the high-beam flash button as a stopwatch.

Data acquisition

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