Like any motorcycle, the engine is one of the most important elements of the D16RR. It’s a liquid-cooled 990cc V-Four-stroke and is essentially the same engine used by the Marlboro Ducati squad in the 2005 MotoGP World Championship, before Dorna (MotoGP series organizing body) reduced engine capacity to its current 800cc.
Press the starter button and the engine roars to life. A fast-idle knob next to the throttle only exacerbates its sharp snarl as do the $8800 Termignoni titanium pipes straight off Ducati’s 2007-spec GP bike and available as a Ducati Accessory. The sound is absolutely intoxicating and is guaranteed to garner attention from any living creature within a 500-foot radius. Attention deprived? The Desmo is the answer.
At lower revs you’ll notice the engine’s docile power delivery. Simply put, you can ride this bike everyday—even through stop-and-go traffic, no problem. The fuel-injection provides precise engine response without hesitation, or conversely any surge. Whack the throttle and the V-Four spins up fast—much faster than Ducati’s 1098 V-Twin. Yet it lacks the outright torque of the aforementioned 1098.
Wrap out the throttle for just a second or two longer, however, and you’ll feel compelled to tuck underneath the windscreen as your body tries to slide backwards. Good thing the seat padding on the upgraded carbon fiber tail section (comes with the accessory exhaust) has plenty of grip. An intense tidal wave of power arrives at 10,000 rpm and rockets you forward as the handlebars wiggle and the front tire tries to creep skyward until the power slowly breaks around 13,000 rpm. The entire way, an orchestra of mechanical melodies blare an honest GP-bike song. When combined with the squirm of the Bridgestone rear tire and intense yet precise shake of the control surfaces, it becomes a sensory experience that no other production motorcycle can reproduce.
