Ducati Desmosedici RR

Only if..........

I've owned motorcycles since the age of sixteen. There is nothing more adrenaline pumping than the psychotic sport bikes of today and little less exhilarating than the freedom of riding a motorcycle.

Heretofore, the fastest motorcycles available to the public have been the Suzuki Hayabusa and the Kawasaki ZX-14. But neither of these bikes are truly capable sport bikes. With massive heft they are basically straight line performance machines. Now comes the mother of all things bad, the Ducati Desmosedici. A $70,000 Grand Prix Superbike reproduction which sold its annual supply within five hours. Not saying much with the limited production but Ducati has a rabid following. The Desmosedici is an engineering marvel and truly a work of mechanical art. Oh, and it has 205 horsepower! OMG this is more than the Corvette of the mid-70s when it was choked down with emissions regulations. This is a bicycle with a motor and it has 205HP.

Without released performance numbers, I would guesstimate zero to sixty miles per hour times of about two seconds and zero to one hundred miles per hour in approximately four seconds. One, two, three, four. That is, if anyone buying one of these monsters could actually keep the bike down under such a massive explosion of power. I might be able to do something like seven seconds or eight seconds but you must be an assassin to do 4 seconds. Superbike racers are incredible athletes with tremendous balance, hand-eye coordination and superb endurance. Flopping a four hundred pound machine around a road course while exceeding two hundred miles per hour and doing it lap after lap requires tremendous natural ability. It also takes nerves of steel. I would imagine professional cyclists would have the psychological profile to be great traders.

While I cannot post the direct link to the Desmosedici, at the top of Ducati's web site is a "click here" link to the Desmosedici and a downloadable MP3 of its raw deafening power.

What relevance does this have to anything? Ducati is an extremely well cultivated brand. They are laser focused on what they do and there is none better. Period. So much so they are a Harvard case study. Also, here and here and here. Globally the Ducati brand probably has more accreted value than anyone except Harley-Davidson. They are steeped in heritage, they deliver tremendous quality, their bikes are works of art and the engineering is superb. They nurture their image through fantastic multi-channel marketing and branding efforts and, hey, they are Italian. And who the hell knows how to make a mechanical work of art better than Italians? Since their target audience is complementary to Harley, they have few challengers sans the occasional Guzzi, BMW, MV Agusta or Japanese sport bike buyer who secretly dreams of owning a Ducati.

In case anyone is feeling generous, I do accept gifts.