Ducati Desmosedici RR

For one reason or another I always like to think of Ducati as the Ferrari of the motorcycle world. Is it the : red “rosso GP” color ? Is it the fact that both race in their motorsport type's top league with great success? Is it because they're both Italian? I couldn't actually put my finger on why I feel this way.

Ducati has always been somewhat of a purebred racehorse for me. To this very day there's something special for me in seeing one on the road, and I always envy the rider who rides it.

Ever since the beginning of the 2006 motoGP season I watched out for Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi and rooted for Ducati every race of the way.

For me to hear that something like the Desmosedici GP6 ( their 2006 motoGP bike) would be released for street use was not one bit short of sensational. Besides thinking: 'boy would I love to have one of these babies' I also figured the news were probably bogus, as the probability of something like this happening seemed meager.

Despite the fact that the news got confirmed, there's still a catch. There's only going to be around 400 such bikes made, so the possibility of a mere mortal like myself ever getting one one of these Ferraris on two wheels, is probably close to nothing.

Apparently as years go by the time, between a technological novelty making waves on the circuit and it hitting the street, gets shorter and shorter.

This marvel of modern engineering represents a first in matter of innovation, and, as Ducati officials have said it is meant to be a technological point of reference for production motorcycles in the future. After all it's more than 200 Horsepowers packaged in a system of exclusive high tech components and high quality materials, all augmented by state of the art aerodynamics straight off the racing circuit.

The engine features Ducati's desmodromic distribution - designed by Fabio Taglioni -, with four cylinders laid out in L, each of them with a titanium valve, working in assimetrical twin pulse configuration.The using of rockers to open and close the valves, secures a precise functioning at any rpm. The perfection of this complicated setup makes it something of a swiss clock of motorcycle engineering.

The gear shifter is also race-replica, the six speed casette type device together with the clutch also being a small wonder of engineering itself. Everything about the engine is high-tech. The sand cast crankcase, titanium connecting rods, the Magneti Marelli ECU, everything screams MotoGP and Ducati all the way.

The exhaust is also almost straight off the circuit. Each of the 4 cylinders getting it's own breather. The 4 exhausts then converge into two that converge into one to give the bike a street-regulation exhaust. Amazingly enough for a bike that generates this much power, by virtue of its catalytic oxygen sensor exhaust it is fully compliant with Euro 3 regulations.

The frame of the motorcycle is basically the same s it’s motoGP cousin’s namely a welded tubular steel trellis hybrid frame. The fairing is made out of high temperature resin type carbon fiber that offers great rigidity and an exceptionally light weight.

The design of the bike and its aerodynamics were done by Alan Jenkins, the engineer who also designed the Desmosedici GP06.

The dashboard on the bike is also executed with weight in mind, being the same one that will be used on next year’s racing machine.

The Desmosedici RR will be available in two types of basic design:
- The Desmosedici RR Rosso GP
- The Desmosedici RR “Team version” with the exact broad white stripe on the fairing Gibernau and Capirossi’s racebikes sport.

Being the result of a long evolutionary process the Desmosedici RR is every bit of a track racer machine, and if nothing else it only comes to confirm the fact that Ducati is, and will remain a Ferrari on two wheels for a long time to come.