Now if it was a 2 stroke that would be worth selling my last remaining kidney for. Orbital in Oz kangaroo land were going to do something years ago then it all went quiet. Emissions were sorted etc etc. May be a car giant bought the patents then sat on them; like they do. Oooo I like conspiracies me, I do.
Well has anyone actually got any true evidence that this is going to happen? No smoke, mirrors, cunning web site xyz's, pictures with no dates on, secret wispers about factory visits that the dealer is making in October.....just like they always do in October! You need to understand im not saying this wont happen, im saying there is no clear official evidence as yet to say it is! However i will say if it does it doesnt suit me, will be a wannabe lookalikey with cheap std parts on just like the 848 and the first thing a new owner will do is buy after market forks shock carbon dry clutches adjustability stuff above and beyond the modding stuff a regular ducati owner does......
Change the DSSA to something along the lines of the Honda/Yamaha one, give it some half-decent wheels and as Glidd has suggested perhaps redesign the front (a little/lot??) and it's hot to trot. Easy said from here. I like the idea of this bike and if it is a newly designed 900 chain driven engine you can bet your bottom dollar that derivatives of it are going to end up in other models sooner or later, (900 Mutley) This bike is potentially more important than the 1199 for Ducati - it could give them volume sales in abundance across a range of models - (can it be sleeved down?) Bet it can. Good thread this -
'sleeving down' the 1199 may be more difficult than it seems, so then you're into different crank cases to utilise the same airbox /frame spec as the panigale then youre into cost......it doesnt appear as simple as putting a 848 engine in to an 1198 frame (which does sound ridiculous when you say im thinking of doing it that way:wink
Sorry Andy, think you missed my point a little. If the new 899 engine exists Ducati must be thinking of using it in other models at some point. The 1199 lump is just that, an 1199 lump designed for one thing in general. A new 899 lump might/should have the potential to be downsized built in - granted this is wishful thinking but they would've been bloody fools not to have considered the options. Hypothetically, like
Have we already seen the engine? The Hyperstrada's 821cc engine is brand new, and it's unlikely a small company like Ducati can afford to knock out more than one similarly-sized engine at the same time. Obviously there would be differences, but I'd imagine you'll find a lot of the 821 engine in the minipan.
The DSSA at least looks cooler than the one originally fitted to the 999 (which looked pretty awful) and the upgraded 999 one (which looks nothing special at all). Banana DSSAs look quite cool in my opinion, though they look better in shiny aluminium. Black tends to make them look a bit like something out of a blacksmith's forge.
Fully understand, be interesting to see how they go about this .... in the same way it is watching paint dry but you know what I mean - curiously impatient
I sent a tweet to spalders showing him the bike. He said it looks good but he would change a few bits. Waiting on a reply re: the mass above the pivot
Probably the most interesting thread on here for ages tbh. I hope they do a yellow or white or matt black version as I don't want red