2008 Ducati 1098R

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2008 Ducati 1098R test-Ducati launches the R of R’s!

Ducati have waited one full year to be allowed to present us with this R of R’s. That’s the time it took to get the World Superbike regulations changed from litre twins to a full 1200cc. The Ducati 1098R is in fact a 1200 and to control all that mammoth torque Ducati have treated us to the world’s first production adjustable traction control.

Words: Jeremy McWilliams & Tor Sagen (bold)/Photography: Milagro

For a simple man like me, DTC means nothing. So for the good of everyone, we assigned MotoGP star Jeremy McWilliams to do the job for us. Even against a slick-shod Michel Fabrizio, who now rides for the Xerox Ducati team alongside Troy Bayliss in 08, McWill showed his competitive spirit and left everyone for dead at Jerez. And that was on standard Pirelli Corsa Pro’s mind… We can’t stop being amazed at the 43 year old from Belfast and here are his impressions:

Ducati introduced the new bike with a laid back informality, we're treated to an informative technical talk from Andrea Forni, and in a way that explains all that needs telling about some of the innovative goodies that Ducati have justifiably added to what is the very top of the 1098 range.

This motor bored and stroked to 1198cc it's roots are pure racing, runs basically the same motor (more similar than any of the R model road bikes have been before), as it's brother in SBK with only minor differences. Crankcases, titanium con-rods and rocker arms are all the same, quality components with finishes such as Deep Gas Nitrated and Super Polish wouldn’t look out of place in the Tate modern. Differences in the race bike only include slightly lighter single ring pistons, flywheel and crankshaft. The compression is up to 12.8 over 12.5, whilst the inlet and exhaust valve size increases by 2+3mm over 1098 respectively. The gearbox internal ratios are different for obvious reasons.

The 1098R has a massive weight saving over it's predecessors, 16kg lighter than 998R and 6kg slimmer than 1098! The motor (2.2kg lighter alone) uses carbon belt covers, sand-cast crankcases and the remainder weight saving over 1098's motor is in the titanium rods, crankshaft and valves. The R uses only a single seat and the majority of weight saving is in the alloy sub frame support used rather than steel and Titanium silencers.

For my mass, all 70kg’s, front and rear suspension only needed minor tweaks, slightly more support on the front for the very hard braking areas required 1 full turn of preload increase. The rear needed more preload and a click or two of compression to help hold a line when that big torque pulse arrives on the exit but the standard setting as Ducati had it for Jerez was pretty plush. The Chassis feels similar to previous models at this level, a little front heavy and needs to be taken by the horns much like Troy rides his. Brake late, fire it on it’s side and get it onto the fat of the tyre works best. It needs to be steered with commitment, but it’s fun when it does so little wrong anywhere else.

The 1098R comes with a race kit filled with goodies (ECU and Carbon tailpipes) The ECU provides the adjustable DTC (Ducati traction control) and this is the same system used on both Troy’s superbike and Casey’s GP bike, trick! We started with the system on level 4, there are 8 levels with 8 being the most intrusive and would rarely be used unless riding on ice.

To make the bike spin more and cut less I moved from 4 to 2. The levels are easily adjusted when the bike is stationary on the digital dashboard. -Easy to use and I could feel the benefit, I thought the DTC was awesome. If you started on level 4 and crack the throttle mid corner, you get an instant response from the ECU. The torque decreases and cuts drive a bit like you get in your rear wheeled 530i Beemer, only much more subtly, it’s easily audible like a slight misfire as the spark cuts. The system is able to compare wheel spin to the defined target (what the rider wants) so the rider can increase the throttle and request more torque and the system won’t just keep cutting further but let the bike slide a little further before cutting in again. In Ducati tests the rider was able to improve lap times by up to .6/sec. I wasn’t able to tell if DTC was letting me lap any faster but I could feel the benefit if I happened to make a cock up, something I’ve been known to do once or twice in the past. I once adjusted my TC control by 2 clicks too much (off) when lying 5^th at the Japanese GP in Suzuka on a KR3 as I thought I knew better as it was interfering too much. I promptly high sided with about 5 laps to go. You either put your faith in this system or ride conventionally.

The traction control is a very nice add on if you’re into track days or just fussy about not lobbing your pride and joy on some wet roundabout. If you take the 1098R into a full race season then you’ll probably only ever low side or loose the front, comforting but something to consider when spending £££ and this is exclusive to Ducati. The DTC works by comparing front wheel speed to rear and the ECU measures the difference. What amazed me was that I could wheelie the R the length of both straights at Jerez, I could’ve probably wheelied it to Jerez town centre if they’d let me and although the front wheel would’ve stopped, the DTC doesn’t kick in. The bike doesn’t run a potentiometer on the forks to let the brain know that the forks are extended and therefore a wheelie and not spinning, Ducati didn’t elaborate but it’s very clever eh?

As the day went on, confidence, track knowledge and the fact that Ducati had brought Michel Fabrizio along (Troy couldn’t make it after his altercation at Philip Island), had me asking one of the Ducati mechanics what a decent time on Pirelli Super Corsa’s would be. I hadn’t gone there thinking about times but when Michel rolled out on Pirelli slicks and I had treaded Corsa’s and on board camera bolted on, it was time to find out. I followed for about 3 laps and then he noticed me in his mirrors (difficult on a 1098 when you’re spending most of the lap tucked in). He let me pass and I led him for another 3 laps then let him pass me, I was thinking about good footage and the fact that a mid 1 min 50 seconds was the target times from the Masterbike test- run in Jerez every year. I didn’t get a chance to check times on that run but 1.49’s came easily enough when we got the DTC and the suspension nearer to my preferred settings in a later session.

As with all Ducati’s I’ve ever ridden, the 1098R has all the hallmarks of this marques sport bike family. Love or hate twins this has got to be the 2 wheels equivalent to Audi’s 1500ft/lb Le Mans winning Diesel. -It pulls from nothing, literally. It takes time to adjust to a bike that makes 134Nm and 180hp. I kept getting caught out, before I had time to think about changing gear the limiter cut in and all of a sudden warp speed forward was halted abruptly. The limiter is designed to save the valves from bouncing of the pistons so it needs to be effective, the R stops in its tracks if you’re not paying attention.

With 12000 miles between routine servicing the limiter is pretty important here. My riding style and thinking before lunch didn’t take this into account, I went out guns blazing and revving the tits of the poor thing. The result of riding this bike like an amateur is slower lap times, as it hates getting beyond 10500rpm. The first 2 gears are from the current 1098 and my feeling is that they’re a little too short for this motor ( I would’ve chosen to shorten overall gearing, mainly to use 5^th on the straights for Jerez but then 2nd would’ve been unusable in the hairpins). 3^rd-6^th are longer ratios, if I let the RPM wander past 10500 as it has a tendency to do mainly in 2^nd, then it takes a moment to compose itself. I’d select 3^rd and a slight hesitation would let Fabrizio make 10mtrs. He was changing earlier and the drive was visibly better, when I used the 7000-10000RPM range lap times improved by about 1.5 seconds, point proven.

Conclusion:

Is there really a better way of spending £24.000?

Plus points

§         Absurd amount of grunt.

§         Best looking Ducati ever.

§         DTC if you can get the best out of it.

§         Controls, layout, Dashboard and RPM light sequence pure race bike.

Against

§         Gearbox ratios, 1^st and 2^nd could be longer.

§         Price and poor visibility from rear view mirrors.

NEW onboard Bonus film!

So how good were McWilliams' lap times on the 1098R at Jerez? His best time of 1:49.50 is a full three seconds faster than the fastest superbike in the 2007 Masterbike test. So the answer then would be that the 1098R is faster than absolutely everything you can buy as a roadbike.

2008 Ducati 1098R: 1:49.50

Onboard video!

2008 Ducati 1098R launch 2  

"I went out guns blazing and revving the tits of the poor thing." "I hadn’t gone there thinking about times, but when Michel Fabrizio rolled out on Pirelli slicks and I had treaded Corsa’s and on board camera bolted on, it was time to find out." "I didn’t get a chance to check times on that run but 1.49’s came easily enough when we got the DTC and the suspension nearer to my preferred settings." "To make the bike spin more and cut less I moved from 4 to 2." Jezza said... More here

From the world launch in Spain at Jerez. Jezza rides for Raptors & Rockets!

"The 1098R is superb, everything about it is right. The torque pulses are phenomenal and it wheelies everywhere if you want it to. The power delivery is incredible. Open the throttle and it accelerates from anywhere. The Ducati 1098R is particularly strong already from middle throttle. It is very light and feels very predictable."

"Some of the other journalists talks about how they can't feel the traction control yet. It's about controlling your fear of the throttle and the massive torque output. So they are not using the full throttle openings yet. The traction control controls the massive torque for a moment enabling big throttle openings. But even I need a few more laps to get fully to grips with it."

 

1. The Ducati 1098R have enough power-134Nm @ 7750rpm and 180 horsepower.