| Ducati 1098 Specifications
Quite a deliberate double post on my part as the title of the long standing speculation thread is somewhat misleading now, so forgive the duplication but after talking to several others on US forums and the now certain information metered out to the dealers over there, this ought to start circulating here in the UK shortly. Nothing new in terms of the mechanical specs, just a few thoughts on the marketing strategy namely the pricing structure of the new bike. Here is my halfpenny's worth once more:
Ok, as far as the much publicised tech specs go for the 1098, there will it seems now definitely be three variants, the base model, the S and the R (Tri-Colore). There does however appear to be some debate over the pricing structure, as the RRPs released in the US are significantly lower than previous years and much has been made of Ducati addressing the power gap compared to a Japanese inline four of 1000cc to remain competitive, so the theory, it is safe to assume, is that the factory wants to further boost sales by bringing the prices down so as they are closer to those of their competitiors, thereby increasing their market share. Perhaps at the expense of exclusivity but I don't think that is a priority for them now given the poor sales of the 749/999 series following it's launch.
I still (as good a bike as it is) think £20,000 is not a justifiable price for a 999R, given that there are better performing and equally well handling bikes out there for several thousand pounds less. A fact reflected in so many articles in the press, when it comes to summarizing a bikes good and bad point. The usual, "it gets my vote, it is a great bike but it is not worth the extra £5000" is a common sight in model shootouts. Maybe Ducati finally realise the fact. There will always be those prepared to pay the extra regardless. (I am one of them having bought two full RRRP 999S in the past). All I do know as of today is the UK dealer conference is set for a fortnight's time and doubtless they will be privvy to the same info as the US dealers are from the Salt Lake conference. Paper pictures were shown to the attending dealers (retained by Ducati) so as to negate the chances of images ending up on the net. I can't blame Ducati for that, since they naturally do not want their thunder stolen when the new bike is unveiled in November at the Milan show. My dealer is potentially organising a trip to the factory to see the new model, for potential buyers but that will almost certainly be AFTER the launch for disclosure reasons. If the US pricing structure bears any relation to the UK sector (unlikely I know) that would make the S version around £11000, which is the same price as the 999 base model official RRP !! At that rate it would put some previous buyers in the realms of potentially affording the R (Tri-Colore) version. Power figures being touted are 160BHP 80lb torque for the base model (more than the current 999R !!), 170BHP for the S model and 180BHP for the R version, which is only twenty BHP less than the Desmosedici and at least £15,000 less !!
All that remains now is for some credible pictures to hit the world wide web, but Ducati are doing a superb job at keeping these under lock and key. I have a good relationship with my dealer and I don't want to jeopardize that in any way by posting anything up here, so as far as pictures go, looks like we are at the mercy of a stealthy press photographer, since absolutely nothing is leaking out of the factory gates at present. Until then speculation rules, but by all accounts the new bike is gorgeous with a capital G !!  | 
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