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Ducati 1098R (2008) - Review - Test By, Trevor Hedge |
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Ducati 1098R (2008) - Review - Test By, Trevor Hedge |
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| Ducati 1098R Page / 1 - Intro / By, Trevor Hedge Helping transfer all those wild stampeding horses to the ground is a sophisticated traction control system developed in MotoGP. Much has been made in the press of MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner’s marvellous ability to harness the capabilities of Ducati’s awesome new traction control systems. Some put down Stoner’s success to the brilliance of the Ducati traction control system but that is unfair to the obvious talent that Stoner displays every time he steps astride his awe inspiring MotoGP machine. If it made his job easy surely we would see other Ducati MotoGP riders running at the front with Stoner but that simply doesn’t happen. Many predicted that the arrival of hungry young Italian talent Marco Melandri in the Ducati squad alongside Stoner this season would shake up the pecking order in the Ducati camp. But Melandri, a proven race winner on what most deemed to be a machine far below the capability of the Ducati he now rides, has thus far failed to get to grips with the Ducati and qualified 1.5 seconds slower than Stoner at the Qatar season opener and finished the race 45 seconds behind the Aussie. While the system is no doubt a great help to a rider and every MotoGP team employs various traction control devices, the DTC system alone won’t turn you into someone that can ride as fast as Casey. This technology is now available to the common man with the arrival of the Ducati 1098R. And while it won’t allow us to ride like Casey and Troy it can certainly help us meagre mortals twist the throttle harder than we might otherwise dare. Eight profiles are available on the Ducati Traction Control system with 1 being the least obtrusive and 8 the most interfering. I first rode the 1098R at Phillip Island with the DTC set on level 6. The DTC made its presence felt when initially getting on the gas out of slower turns as a somewhat precautionary delay to the drive being fully delivered to the rear wheel. It offered a pre-emptive strike against the likelihood of a sudden breakaway that would prove a wonderful asset in slippery conditions, but on a fine Phillip Island day, yes they do have some occasionally, it was perhaps more of a hindrance than a help. Reducing the electronic interference to level 3 allowed me to really explore the limits of my testicular fortitude before the DTC made itself felt. Only when being overly aggressive on the throttle on the fast change of direction between Siberia and the Hayshed with all 186 horsepower trying to destroy a fat 190mm Pirelli Supercorsa did it intervene. And I was quite happy with that. On this level the 1098R still allowed for black lines to be painted on the Phillip Island tarmac. It also provided that little bit of safety margin should things go pear shaped in a big way. Some riders braver than I dared to just bang the throttle to the stop on the exit of second gear corners. While I might eventually have got to that stage of trust, with just under an hour on the bike I hadn’t really trusted it that far with my life. Given more time no doubt I would work up the courage to try it, but as it was I struggled to cope with the acceleration of the 1098R when nailed in third. To do so in first or second I would need a huge pad behind the seat to hold me forward enough on the bike! I feel that level 3 or 4 would probably be where I and most A or B group track-day punters would feel happy with the DTC. The system can also be completely deactivated. Even World Superstock Champion Niccola Canepe can lap the track faster with it on, so odds are that unless you are a yet to be discovered World Champion in the making, you can leave it on too. In wet conditions the traction control system would really come into its own. To be frank, the thought of riding a bike like the 1098R in the wet without traction control is downright scary. Only when the race mufflers and ECU are installed however is the traction control system available. The system works by retarding and cutting spark to reduce the power output and on the lower control settings is quite subtle in the way it operates. Continue to Page 5... |
Ducati 1098R (2008) - Review - Test
By, Trevor Hedge
Page / 1 - Intro
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