My friends and I went to check out the new Duc yesterday at Santa Barbara Ducati (2 SD's, 2 Duc's, and my friend in my WRX). Of course myself and Joe bear made sure to wear out KTM racing t-shirts just to be the arses we are. The official unveil party wasn't until 7pm but we went during the day. They didn't have the bike out yet but we went around the the back and checked it out in the garage, until the mechanic closed the door that is. It was the S model with all the nice bits and they had already swapped out the exhaust for a Termi. Nice bike but it looks like any other Duc.

I really liked the look of it until I saw it in the flesh. Looks better on a screen for some reason. An owner over here with an S model would have been the first on the road in the UK on a Panigale had he not gone on holiday the morning after it arrived in the island.

Long run-in time as well apparently...

+1
And I hear it gets its arse kicked by a Priller RSV4

based on what guys? they have already run the Panigale against both the BMW and the 'Prillia on the track? and it gets trounced?

Yep the mags in the UK have a tester Panigale right now, The RSV4 is kicking the Panigales arse, I expect they wont say in so many words once they go to press but expect some implication

Yeah and the Panigales rear wheel still looks like it was nicked from a piece of farm machinery

Yeah summed it up last year when some guy turned up to the crashfest Cadwell 2 dayer on a desmosedici wearing jeans, nobber.

Note the "Substandard" machines......... guess he really wants to say anything that is not a Ducati, boy would I love to come across this guy when I am out on the old TLs

Ari Henning, a columnist for Motorcyclist magazine and the guy with the dreds in the last cut of the video, posted this on a SV local board. 195 BHP? You decide. http://www.socalsvriders.org/forums/sho ... adid=31763

^^ Seeing as it was unboxed and tested pretty much straight away, would it not be limited (in this case maybe the bhp held back) for the first few hundred miles?

I'm not trying to defend it, as I have no interest in this machine as 1) I'll never be able to afford it and 2) I personally don't think it looks that good, but thought I'd throw the above comment out there.....

Despite shitting a few engines, it was fast enough to go straight to the sharp end of the european superstock championship.

Something KTM couldn't do in a full season.

I saw one in the flesh for the first time yesterday. I't a beautiful bike. Funny enough though it doesn't make me really want to own one. The SD is still my favourite bike and I haven't tired of owning it. But I can appreciate this new Ducati. Actually , I'm following two bikes on EBay now which are making me close to wanting to own them. I'm just torturing myself with the fact that Amy wouldn't let me given our impending house purchase.

What are they?

Both early 1980 Laverda Montjuics. A MK1 and a MK2. In their day these were the most balls out expression of hooligan cafe racers. Not that fast really but I had posters of them all over my walls and they capture what I originally fell in love with biking for. I want one so bad I could cry. Panigale eat your heart out - you don't come close.

Superstock bikes are not exactly straight out of the crate are they