Soul of a Superbike – Attitude of a fighter

Ducati's 'S' treatment of the Streetfighter takes its sophistication way off the scale

Superbike spec Öhlins suspension front and rear with lightweight forged and machined Marchesini wheels add extra street credibility when in town and that all-important 'feel' when exploring the Streetfighter's sports soul.

Add street-going Ducati Traction Control (DTC) and Ducati Data Analysis (DDA) as standard equipment and you'll understand that the Streetfighter S is not just muscle - it's intelligent too.

The Streetfighter’s Superbike soul combines fighter attitude and naked sophistication to create a machine of pure adrenaline.

Stripped to the bare essentials, its combination of state-of-the-art race technology, exposed styling and cultured design takes Ducati’s big naked concept to the very top of the fighter food chain.

With 155hp of awesome Ducati L-Twin muscle harnessed in a stripped-down, super-light bike that packs more punch for its weight than any other contender, this fighter is gloves-off and ready for action.

Whether laying down the miles on open roads or ripping up the urban asphalt, no other bike in town will roll with the same stylish fire-power. The Streetfighter is the ultimate naked.

DTC for the road - 1

As introduced on the 1198 S Superbike, Ducati's competition level traction control system for the road will also come integrated into the Streetfighter S electronics as standard equipment. The Ducati Traction control (DTC) system underlines Ducati's technology flow from racing to production and demonstrates how solutions developed for the track can be applied to enhance safety on the road.

DTC uses the same software logic developed and used by Ducati Corse for their World Championship-winning MotoGP and World Superbike motorcycles and offers a choice of eight settings developed by their professional test riders and racers.

DTC for the road - 2

Accessible from the left-hand switchgear and displayed on the digital instrumentation, the system offers a choice of eight profiles. Each one has been programmed with a wheel-spin tolerance matched to progressive riding levels of skill graded from one to eight

While level eight administers a confidence-building, high level of interaction from the system by activating upon the lightest amount of wheel-spin, level one offers a much higher tolerance and so much less intervention for highly competent riders.

When the level is selected and DTC activated, both are displayed on the instrumentation.

DTC for the road - 3

When the profile that best suits the combination of road or track conditions and riding style has been selected and the DTC system activated, front and rear wheel sensors compare speed differential to sense when rear traction is being broken (wheel spin).

High speed software then makes instant electronic adjustment to the fuel injection via the ECU, taking immediate control over power output so as to restore traction at the rear wheel.

As soon as the system recognises the return of equal wheel speeds, it re-establishes normal power delivery

in this was, DTC provides an increase in safety during mid-corner acceleration.

Culture

The Streetfighter culture was born on the back streets of Northern Europe during the late 70s and 80s. If the Café racer movement had taken traditional bikes and transformed them to establish out-and-out sport bikes, then Streetfighters were definitely anti-establishment. They evolved by removing the fairings from sport bikes, fitting higher bars and customising to create high-performance, over-the-top nakeds. Now, Ducati have taken that concept and applied their own Italian sophistication to a stunning, factory-prepared Streetfighter.

Lifestyle

Ducati’s Streetfighter project was inevitable. The passion to build the most successful Superbikes ever, mixed with the desire to create iconic, naked motorcycles was a cocktail of adrenaline just waiting to happen. Who else would create a bike for out-and-out purists to celebrate naked power in all its forms? A bike with muscle-engine performance, aggressive chassis engineering and intelligent electronics all laid bare to appreciate, respect and enjoy. Ducati build bikes for connoisseurs - for bikers who appreciate the details that come together to make an awesome bike, for perfectionists who instantly recognise excellence when they see it.

Ducati motorcycles aren’t just a means of transport, they’re a lifestyle that set the rider aside from the rest of the world. They are an extension of character and the ultimate personal statement. The Streetfighter is built with pure Ducati sophistication and it’s ready to impress. Riding downtown? Arrive in style. Out of town carving a line through the turns? Do it with naked passion. Do it all on a Ducati Streetfighter and it will own the road with complete and utter Desmo domination.

Streetfighter

The Ducati Streetfighter is equipped with everything that made the Superbike a legend: Awesome L-Twin muscle with brutal, big-bore torque, thoroughbred chassis technology featuring Ducati’s famous Trellis frame, beautiful single-sided swingarm and planet-stopping Monobloc brakes.

While the tank and seat shapes leave no doubt as to the Streetfighter’s roots, it is the upright and commanding riding position that really starts to shape the character of this ultimate naked. New, minimalistic controls, instrumentation and headlight design leave the front looking clean and mean, while twin-stacked right-side mufflers at the rear leave the tail-end high and sharp. No other Ducati has ever achieved such an aggressive stance while providing a comfortable, empowering and controllable ride.

Born to fight

The purpose-built Trellis frame with 25.6° of rake (compared to the 1098's 24.5°), huge fork clamps, and single-sided swingarm, (35mm longer than that of the Superbike) creates a chassis geometry specially made for the Streetfighter. Its revised steering angles and longer wheelbase provide rock-solid handling, even under the extreme acceleration of Ducati’s incredible L-Twin torque.

Streetfighter Switchgear

New switchgear designed to give a clean and minimalistic feel to the Streetfighter.

The specialist design features a weapon-like 'trigger catch' that slides down to cover the starter button at the same time as activating the kill-switch.

Streetfighter Instrumentation

Instrumentation has no switches or buttons to compromise its clean, minimalist lines. Instead, information additional to the default read-outs is managed from the left-hand handlebar-mounted switch gear, allowing the rider to scroll through and select from various menus. The display presents rpm and speed, with the former displayed across the screen in a progressive bar graph.

Additionally, it displays lap times, DTC level selected (if activated on the S model) time, air temperature, coolant temperature, battery voltage, two trips and a trip that automatically starts as the fuel system goes onto reserve.

Warning lights illuminate to signify neutral, turn signals, high-beam, rev-limit, low oil pressure, fuel reserve.

Streetfighter Monoloc Brakes

The Streetfighter and the Streetfighter S uses the same powerful Brembo Monobloc caliper racing technology as the Superbike.

Machined from a single piece of alloy, the calipers achieve a higher rigidity and resistance to distortion during extreme braking.

The resulting increase in hydraulic efficiency not only delivers incredible braking power, but also provides an enhanced and precise 'feel' at the brake lever.

The twin Monobloc calipers each have quadruple 34mm pistons that grip huge 330mm discs to help achieve spectacular brake performance.

Streetfighter Wheels

The Streetfighter S uses the Y-shaped 5-spoke, lightweight forged and machined aluminium wheels finished in bronze.

Pirelli Diable Corsa III tyres:
Front: 120/70 ZR17.
Rear: 190/55 ZR17.

Power house

Producing a ballistic 155hp and 85lb-ft (11.7kgm) of torque, the Streetfighter's awesome 1098 power house will have no fear of the sports naked competition.

The L-Twin, 4 valves per cylinder, Desmo, Testastretta Evoluzione engine is fuel injected by Marelli and exhausts through massive diameter pipes and into twin mufflers to sound as mean as it looks.

New features include enhanced detailing on the cam belt covers and dry clutch cover design, while structural changes introduce the same crankcase manufacturing technology used for the new 1198.

The vacuum die-cast process ensures consistent and precise wall thickness and increased strength from absolute material purity while reducing weight by 3kg (6.5lbs) compared to those of the 1098 Superbike.

Streetfighter Sound

The massive Streetfighter exhaust system uses 1mm thickness tubing from 58mm to 63mm diameter.

It employs 2 lambda probes for precise fuel mapping and an electronic valve to achieve an optimum spread of power.

The cylindrical mufflers sport the same finishes as the Superbike family:
Brushed steel for the Streetfighter and black for the Steetfighter S.

The colour of adrenaline

While the Streetfighter looks stunning in either red or sophisticated pearl white set against a black frame and subtle graphite grey 10-spoke wheels, the Streetfighter S positively seduces in red and menaces in midnight black with carbon fibre front fender and cambelt covers contrasting superbly against the sophisticated bronze finish of frame and 5 y-shape spoke wheels.

The Ducati Streetfighter will be ripping-up the asphalt from Spring 2009.