2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale Preview

[Administrator]

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2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale Preview

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[schizuki]

Please circulate an editorial memo to forbid the use of the term "game changer" in perpetuity. As annoying neo-cliches go, it's up there with "at the end of the day."

[12er]

Did MCN buy out MO?

[Buzglyd]

Originally Posted by schizuki

Please circulate an editorial memo to forbid the use of the term "game changer" in perpetuity. As annoying neo-cliches go, it's up there with "at the end of the day."

I find those both "horrific."

[The Spaceman]

Originally Posted by Buzglyd

I find those both "horrific."

Having said that, let's turn the conversation to the bike.

First, isn't Ducati and/or Rossi's mechanic team frantically trying to put a frame back ON their version of this bike?

As for the appearance, it's dope. It looks like the future. But I can't help but think it looks like something good old "Unlucky Pierre" Terblanche would have penned. "Designed by Wind Tunnel Studios" kind of takes some of the personality out of a bike. I like having a person's name to put on a design, not a committee's.

And last but not least: how much does it weigh, and will it fit in an overhead compartment?

[schizuki]

Originally Posted by The Spaceman

As for the appearance, it's dope. It looks like the future.

It's also conjectural. Those aren't Ducati images, those are MO drawings based on some spy photos and data.

But I can't help but think it looks like something good old "Unlucky Pierre" Terblanche would have penned.

Nah, it's not ugly. I'd say it's a cross between a Yamaha and a Suzuki. "Panigale" must be Italian for "YZGSX-1198RR".

Maybe they can airbrush a trellis frame on it somewhere.

[trenttheuncatchable]

I'm glad they keep designing and building new bikes. But, for me, the biggest question would be: "How much will it cost?" And I already know the answer will be: "It's out of your price range."

[mlynch001]

What I am trying to figure out, is how a company that sells so few motorcycles worldwide, can spend the amount of money that is required to develop and manufacture these exotic machines! The cost of US DOT and EPA certification alone for such small US sales numbers is huge. Kudos to them for doing it, I just would like to see that P & L.

Winning races is fine and good, It does sell machines to some people. However, Ducati has been a niche player for many years, for every person who can AFFORD and WANTS a Ducati, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) buying H-D. I am not saying they are smart doing so, just that they are doing it in droves. You must admit that H-D "Research and Development" costs are not very high! It takes very little $ to reach into the parts bin, change a paint color or two and a tank emblem here and there. There is not much "cutting edge" going on at H-D.

The cost for all the "countless hours" of wind tunnel testing alone must be outrageous! Not to mention all those new parts that need to be designed, tested, manufactured and assembled into such an impressive (on paper) design. All for a few hundred or couple of thousand or so bikes? Sorry, but I have spent several decades watching and reading about supposed "game changing" designs that flopped like a carp on the riverbank! It all looks good, sounds good and some of the "right" people are Tweeting about it. What else is Bayliss GOING to say? Is he going to come out and air any flaws in the design? Not if he wants to keep the flow of euros coming into his bank account! I have seen MANY of these digital designs that had real world problems that could not be overcome economically. Tell me in two or three years if this really is a game changer, or just another engineering exercise, rehashing "old" concepts into new designs.

[schizuki]

Originally Posted by mlynch001

However, Ducati has been a niche player for many years, for every person who can AFFORD and WANTS a Ducati, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) buying H-D.

I'm not having an easy time finding the info, but Harley shipped a little over 50,000 bikes worldwide in the first quarter of 2010. Ducati sold about 3,500 bikes in North America in the first two quarters of that year. So it's hardly hundreds to one, much less thousands. I'd extrapolate it to maybe 10-to-1.

Can the good folks at MO shed some light here?

[The Spaceman]

"Panigale" huh?

Let's see, we'll pronounce it "pan-a-gail."

The Italians will probably pronounce it "pan-i-gaw-lee" or "pan-a-gaw-lay."

It doesn't really roll off the tongue like "Ninja," does it?