Never before have Superbikes been closer to the streetbikes they are based on than right now. As worldwide racing rules, such as those in the FIM Superbike World Championship, attempt to keep big-budget manufacturers in check, the very bikes that these Superbikes are based on have been taken to a completely new level of sophistication. Ducati’s brand-new 2015 Panigale R is the perfect example. The path to a full-blown racebike has never been so short.
But to facilitate this, Ducati has been forced to offer two engine displacements within its Panigale range, as the Italian manufacturer decided to increase the size of the more street-oriented Panigale engine all the way up to 1285cc and beyond the legal limits for Superbike competition. Ducati isn’t the first company to offer different versions of the same basic model to optimize an iteration for racing, and this isn’t the first time Ducati has offered different displacement options of the same model within the same model year (think 851/888 Superbike, or 916/955). But it is the first time that Ducati’s streetbike offers a larger engine than the Superbike racer.
In recent years, Ducati has stuck to a pretty easy-to-understand formula of standard, S, and R model designations. But for many of the Ducati faithful, the Panigale concept robbed the average street rider of the torquey V-twin power delivery that they desired. The new big-bore 1299 Panigale should clearly address those concerns, while this new Panigale R was unchained and allowed to pursue revs and top-end performance like never before for the sake of racetrack performance.
A lot has changed in the two years since the original 1199 Panigale R was introduced, including those aforementioned World Superbike rule changes. With Ducati’s engineers no longer overly hampered by concerns for a street-oriented power curve, the R version has become even more radical. With strict restraints placed on engine, chassis, and electronics modifications in World Superbike, this homologation special has some pretty trick standard parts.
Key to the engine is its new internals. A lightened crankshaft is balanced with tungsten weights, while titanium Pankl connecting rods and new two-ring pistons with SBK crowns are used. Bore and stroke remain an identical 112 x 60.8mm for an actual 1,198cc. The engine’s compression ratio has been increased to 13.2:1 (from 12.5), while titanium intake and exhaust valves are employed and utilize new cam profiles and timing. Redline has been increased to 12,500 rpm (from 12,000), while peak crankshaft horsepower is now a claimed 205 at 11,500 (up 10), while almost every bit of its 100.5 pound-feet of peak torque is available from 8,500 to 10,500 rpm. Downstream is an all-new Akrapovic exhaust system with 60mm titanium header pipes, and a pair of Ti mufflers capped with carbon-fiber end caps. A unique feature is an ECU-controlled exhaust valve that helps manage the engine-braking strategy that is new to the electronics package.
Equally important is the new chassis, which uses fully mechanical suspension including an Öhlins NIX30 fork and TTX36 shock as opposed to the new 1299 Panigale S’s electronically adjustable, semi-active Öhlins units. Unique to the R is its four-position adjustable swingarm pivot, and 5mm-longer wheelbase; head angle is set at 24 degrees with 3.8 in. of trail. Lightweight forged aluminum wheels (3.5 x 17 front, 6.0 x 17 rear) come standard with Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP rubber. Brembo monobloc EVO M50 four-piston calipers pinch a pair of 330mm discs up front while a 245mm/two-piston setup is out back. Bosch’s new 9.1MP cornering ABS is used.
Unless you’ve been in hibernation for the past five years, you know that electronics are the key to making the modern superbike rideable. Without intervention from these systems, you’d likely be scratching your head in the gravel trap wondering what went wrong. New to the Panigale R are three ride modes including Race (full power, aggressive delivery), Sport (full power, less direct throttle response), and Rain (limiting power output to 120 hp with a much mellower delivery). Also new is Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC), which trickled down from the Superleggera, Engine Braking Control (EBC) that aids the slipper clutch, and the Ducati Quick Shifter (DQS) that now allows clutchless shifts both up and down. The Ducati Safety Pack includes 8-level traction control and ABS that uses the Bosch Inertial Measurement Unit for lean-angle data.
Ducati invited a handful of journalists from around the world for a dream day of riding the Panigale R around the Imola circuit nestled in the city of the same name. We also had a super rare mid-season opportunity to sample one of the factory aruba.it Racing Superbikes normally raced by Chaz Davies or Davide Giugliano. As the lucky guy chosen for the occasion, I was excited to sample both machines and mentally compare them to the 1199 Panigale R, Superleggera, and Carlos Checa’s factory Superbike, all of which I’ve been fortunate enough to ride in the past.
After attending the World Superbike event a few days prior, and walking around the track, I knew it would be tough to master the complicated layout. Sure enough, my first session aboard the R was spent trying to remember which chicane was which, which blind rise led to what corner, all while trying be patient and not get into too much trouble with the throttle. With that said, Imola is incredibly fun and the atmosphere as cool as that of any track in the world. Where else but Italy is a racetrack literally plunked down adjacent to a medieval city with houses built within the confines of the track?
The first half of the track is pretty straightforward with an ultra-fast Turn 1 kink followed by a pair of fast esses that leads you into the tight Tosa hairpin. From here on, the track is complicated with the blind fourth/fifth gear rise before Piratella getting your heart racing before heading down the hill into Acque Minerali. Heading up the hill for the Variante Alta chicane requires that you nail your brake marker because you can’t actually see the chicane until you are right on top of it. From here, you head downhill clicking up through fifth gear before the Rivazza double lefts, then head for the final chicane.
Imola is a handful, but the R was up to the task. I appreciated the bike’s stability both under braking and through the sixth-gear kink at the end of the straight. Perhaps the bike’s strongest suit is its composure entering corners: The combination of a great fork, well set up slipper clutch, EBS (set to 1), and ultra powerful brakes allows late braking followed by a smooth transition down to the apex. With ABS set to level 1, I never felt any intervention at all. The chassis stayed on my intended line with very little fanfare or unwanted movement from the rear end and never stepped out of line.
Hard acceleration required a bit of chassis fine-tuning to get the bike settled on the rear suspension. Almost all of the “straights” are taken with the bike slightly leaned over, which got the rear end pumping under power. The base setup that Ducati uses is a bit soft for my liking, but a rebound adjustment to the shock ultimately solved most of my issues allowing the power to be laid down without the rear end squatting and releasing in a pumping cycle. I left DTC at level 2, which allows a fair amount of spin from the rear tire, giving the chassis and suspension a lot to deal with. Also, the new engine revs like no V-twin ever before. I literally had to ready my left foot to tap the quickshifter in time, as those last couple thousand rpm sweep by in an instant with the shift lights screaming now!
The R’s wheelie control plays a huge role in using the V-twin’s power, too, and the strategy that Ducati has applied to the software feels like an improvement over the system that I first sampled just a year ago on the Superleggera. Climbing out of Acque Minerali, I found the front tire would float about a foot above the tarmac all the way up the hill with the bike acting completely composed and allowing wide-open throttle. Because of the track’s lumpy nature, I left DWC on level 3 and it never felt like it was hampering drive too much.
Imola requires a very compromised setup, as you really want stability for the fast bends, but the esses and two chicanes demand a quick-flicking chassis. You can’t have both, but the new Ducati Panigale R did a good job of splitting the difference, offering good stability in the fast stuff without steering like a truck through the chicanes. It doesn’t hurt a bit that the bike is incredibly light. Ducati’s claimed dry weight for the R is an astounding 357 pounds dry, which is 7 pounds lighter than the previous 1199 R and 10 pounds lighter than the new 1299 S. A lot of carbon fiber, titanium, and aluminum were sacrificed to make this R a featherweight.
If your pockets are sewn by Armani, the R’s $33,995 price tag isn’t that big of a deal. But those same buyers must understand that this machine is far happier on racetracks than in mall parking lots. A poseur it is not. Sampled in its ideal environment, a place like Imola, there is little to fault. It is seriously one of the most potent, technologically amazing, wonderful machines I’ve ever ridden on a track. It’s as close to a real Superbike as any company has ever built.
SPECIFICATIONS
2015 Ducati Panigale R
ENGINE
Liquid-cooled L-twin, 4 valves per cylinder, Desmodromic
DISPLACEMENT
1198cc
BORE x STROKE
112 x 60.8mm
COMPRESSION RATIO
13,2:1
CLAIMED HORSEPOWER
205 hp @ 11,500 rpm
CLAIMED TORQUE
100.5 lb-ft @ 10,250 rpm
GEARBOX
6- speed with Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) up/down Ratio 1=37/15 2=30/16 3=27/18 4=25/20 5=24/22 6=23/24
FINAL DRIVE
Front sprocket 15; rear sprocket 41
CLUTCH
Wet slipper, hydraulic, multiplate
FRAME
Monocoque aluminum
WHEELBASE
56.8 in.
RAKE
24°
TRAIL
3.8 in.
FRONT SUSPENSION
Öhlins NIX30 43mm fully adjustable USD fork with TiN treatment
FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL
4.7 in.
FRONT WHEEL
Forged light alloy 3.5 x 17
FRONT TIRE
120/70ZR-17 Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP
REAR SUSPENSION
Fully adjustable Öhlins TTX36 unit
REAR WHEEL TRAVEL
5.1 in.
REAR WHEEL
Forged light alloy 6.0 x 17
REAR TIRE
200/55ZR-17 Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP
FRONT BRAKE
2 x 330mm semi-floating discs, radially mounted Brembo Monobloc EVO M50 4-piston calipers
REAR BRAKE
245mm disc, 2-piston caliper
FUEL TANK CAPACITY
4.5 gal.
CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT
357 lb.
CLAIMED WET WEIGHT
406 lb.
SEAT HEIGHT
32.7 in.
LENGTH
81.3 in.