Today in motorcycle history, November 6, 2007
In Borgo Panigale, the men weep, the women faint, as Ducati introduces the 848 to the world.
When you think of hallowed Italian marque of Ducati, several glorious models come to mind, such as 750 Supersport, the iconic 916, the successful line of Monsters, and the exciting 1098 superbike and Hypermotard wild thing.
But not many revere the 749, a middleweight V-Twin based on the platform of the little-loved 999, whose styling failed to ignite the passions of even the Ducatisti. While a fairly competent machine, the 749 weighed nearly as much as the 999 and wasn’t on anyone’s list of prettiest bikes.
All that changed with the introduction of the 848. It not only shared the sexy shape of the ridiculously successful 1098, it also shames the legendary 916 in terms of horsepower output with a tested 115.6 hp at the rear wheel. You have to remember that the revered Ducati 916 had a hard time cracking the 100-hp barrier, and the beefier 998 barely topped 110 rear-wheel horsepower while weighing considerably more than the Weight-Watchers 848.
The 848 motor used a new vacuum die-casting method called Vacural which results in an engine that weighs about 7 lbs less than the old 749. The “Testastretta Evoluzione” motor uses a 94.0 x 61.2mm bore and stroke to yield 849cc. No, that’s not a typo - this continues Ducati’s disregard for its nomenclature matching the engine’s displacement: the old 749 displaced 748cc; the standard 999 was 998cc; and the 1098 has a 1099cc engine.
The svelte 848 is nestled in a trellis frame developed in cooperation with Ducati Corse. The frame uses a simplified tube layout from the Ducati 749 featuring main section tubes that are enlarged in diameter from 28 mm to 34 mm, while being reduced in thickness from 2 mm to 1.5 mm. The result is a 14% increase in rigidity and a weight saving of 3.3 lb helping the 848 weigh in 44 pounds less than the 749.
The bottom-line is the Ducati 848 had a liver-quivering top-speed of 159 mph.
