When I first rode the Ducati 916 at the Misano track launch, I remember getting off the after the first test session and admitting that I couldn't think of anything negative to say about the bike. It was easy enough to describe which end was the most likely to slide and when and how it felt like movement was beginning. It was also a doddle to compare the delivery of the new long- stroke motor with the shorter- stroke 888 version, though in a sense, I was comparing the cooker of the 916 range with the top of the 888 line-up. But I could still tell that it just began to run out of a puff a bit early.
However, this didn't bother me as judging by past 888 experience, I knew that the SP version would have far more power and it does, clearly. But that wasn't the thing that impressed me most about this hike. Sure, on country lanes pulling the trigger on the exits had the front wheel pawing the air in seconds, and even in third if you rode over a brow on full noise the drive out of the traps is incredible. But the thing that's really world-class about the SP is the suspension. SP888s that we've ridden in the past have sometimes been so badly set-up from stock that they can actually feel like the geometry's wrong. But the 916SP is as dose to perfect as you can get. Load the front up to the limit of your average superbike and this babe's still got masses of leeway. I has quite literally an extraordinary balance be it on the power, the brakes at full lean or just doddling round town and in terms of sheer natural ability the production bike to match the 916SP has yet to built. DAN