Here we go, bringing you some sweet photos and high-resolution videos of two new Ducati pieces of technology, the all-new bored-out 1299 Panigale and 1299 Panigale S beasts. We encountered them at EICMA 2014 in Milan, but had to wait a bit until we got official photos and the two sizzling hot videos. However, the wait is now over and you have one more incentive to think about going red next year.
First a rumor with marginal credibility but later a confirmed reality, the bigger Panigale is Ducati’s response to the high displacement trend which seems to affect the entire industry as far as the big-bore bikes are concerned. So the 1198cc L-twin power plant was re-bored to 1285cc, while the machine on which the World Superbike units are based, the R-suffixed one maintained the displacement.
Bigger, but not more powerful (than theR)
Funny or not, Ducati doesn’t seem too eager to gain more power from the extra 87cc. Both the 1299 and the 1199 Panigale R have the same 205 hp peak power, even if the 1299 reaches it at 10,500 rpm, whereas the Panigale R needs 1,000 rpm more.
On the torque side, the 1299 machines are doing significantly better. Not only they have the upper hand when it comes to the peak torque, but the revs needed to attain these figures are much different. The Panigale R reaches 100.5 lb-ft (136.2 Nm) at 10,250 rpm, while the 1299 engine only needs to go as high as 8,750 rpm for an 106.7 lb-ft (144.6 Nm) torque.
The base version 1299 Panigale is equipped with Marzocchi and Sachs suspensions for the front and rear ends, respectively, whereas its S and R siblings are endowed with Öhlins units. Brembo brakes are standard across the three models, and the Bosch cornering ABS is on the house for all of them.
In the additional equipment department, the 2015 Ducati 1299 Panigale comes “auxiliary adjustment buttons-ready, DDA+ with GPS-ready,” while the 1200 Panigale S offers “full LED lighting, Öhlins Smart EC with semi-active steering damper, Auxiliary adjustment buttons, and is DDA+ with GPS-ready”. Panigale R has everything above plus ”titanium connecting rods and valves, balanced crankshaft, a lithium-ion battery and auxiliary adjustment buttons”.
Prices and availability to follow soon, but like anything Panigale, don’t expect these bikes to come in cheap.
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