Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > New night pics of 1098

[ali]

Surprise, surprise it looks exactly like the three way love child of a 916, 999 & a 'Sedici.....

Looks like they've played it safe by taking something iconic from the 916 (swingarm), something most liked about the sedici (fairing shape, seat unit shape) and everything else from the 999. Lob a 1098 in there and away you go, a 999 replacement that won't set the world on fire but will result in a incremental increase in sales.

Design by committee methinks. Ho hum.

[Rod]

Originally Posted by ali

Surprise, surprise it looks exactly like the three way love child of a 916, 999 & a 'Sedici.....

Looks like they've played it safe by taking something iconic from the 916 (swingarm), something most liked about the sedici (fairing shape, seat unit shape) and everything else from the 999. Lob a 1098 in there and away you go, a 999 replacement that won't set the world on fire but will result in a incremental increase in sales.

Design by committee methinks. Ho hum.

Well I see (hope) the new bike as a refinement and amalgamation of past well received designs (evolution as Ducati would perceive it) with some more contemporary elements included. Given the much publicized poor sales of the 999, I don't think Ducati have the luxury of producing something so far removed from the norm as the 999 was, so I would have to agree they may well be playing it safe but for good reason. The more I see of the bike, the less confident I am that the bodywork bears any resemblance to what will be lurking under the covers at Milan in November, but there are at least certain features which are visible, that allude to how it will look, without all the cloak and dagger gaffer tape and foam stuck all over it, that shroud it's true form. Namely the lights, twin air inlets, swingarm, rear light position, rear vents, number plate hangar, mirrors. Small points though these maybe, they at least feed the starved imagination of those waiting eagerly to see the finished article.

[crust]

As has been said above you're kidding yourself if you think those pictures mean anything.

I spent a while living in Germany and used to ride Hondas with Kawasaki fairings and wheels on them.

They used to arrive like that from Japan.

As the launch time got nearer various styles of seat/tank would be tried.

The finished results did not look much like anything we tested in the pre-launch stages.

Crust

[Dave G]

Looks like an MV agusta tail on that.
I'll wait until I see the final one,I actually like the 999's looks though its seat unit is a bit clumsy.
If those are the actual headlights then it'll look like all the other UJM's and that will be a bad thing. Come to think of it that nose does look like an R1 unit.

[Rod]

Originally Posted by crust

As has been said above you're kidding yourself if you think those pictures mean anything.

I spent a while living in Germany and used to ride Hondas with Kawasaki fairings and wheels on them.

They used to arrive like that from Japan.

As the launch time got nearer various styles of seat/tank would be tried.

The finished results did not look much like anything we tested in the pre-launch stages.

Crust

Well coming from one who has tested bikes Crust, I would tend to agree with you, since you have first hand experience of the lengths bike manufacturers go to inorder to fool our image hungry minds. In spite of this and in the meantime, we can but speculate which is about the only thing available at present. Apparently the bike is being tested at Nardo ring in Italy this week, so maybe some enterprising soul will find a camera with a resolution better than a box brownie this time and loose off a few shots. Then again!