DUCATI 999R
They say you should never meet your heroes, but I’d of sooner hit my own hand with a hammer than pass off the chance to ride a Ducati 999R. This was the bike that calcified my lust for racing, that made me dream motorbikes and shave ‘Hodgson’ into my cat’s fur-coat (… that last bit was a lie). I was 16 when the 999 hit the showrooms and it won me over like a pornstar with no panties; I just had to ride one (…or both). It was a dream that had failed to come to fruition, but following a chance conversation with a nice chap called Ian Carson, the offer was there to head to the hills and give his bike a good spanking in the picturesque Peak District. It was an offer I couldn’t resist, and nor could Carl, who cancelled that day’s nail pedicure to chaperone me on this Ducati-themed adventure. Having ridden there on a V4R, the first thing that hit me was the comparable size of this great ancestor; the 999R was petite, but well formed. Its lines were bold, the width of the package narrow, and as for the seat height, even Frodz could get both feet on the floor. It wasn’t high-tech in the slightest, the dash was non-assuming, but to suggest it had weathered 14 years harshly would be nothing short of fibbing. It looked fantastic, and especially so because Ian, who owns performance specialists Speedycom, hadn’t held back in the spec department.
Obviously, the carbon fibre fairings and titanium valves that come as stock with this exotica hadn’t been enough for him, so a Zard titanium race exhaust and an EVR carbon fibre airbox were absolute essentials. They were joined by Bonamici rearsets and lever guards, an MRA screen and Brembo M4 calipers. Every which way I looked, more bits jumped out at me, from the upside-down mounted rear caliper, to the Alth racing brake discs and Domino quick action throttle. Not even the screen was standard (MRA), or the saddle, which had been uprated by a super supple Luimoto gel offering. But for me, the piece de resistance was an über sexy, EVR dry clutch. It’s a sight you seldom see these days and I couldn’t wait to fire this icon into life and remind myself of that slightly concerning metallic jangle of old. It didn’t disappoint, and as for the boom from the race system, its bark would’ve silenced a hungry pack of wolves. The noise of any unchastised v-twin is always quite special, but coupled to a seamless, fast revving engine that’d seen 205 dyno runs to map its Microtech ECU to perfection, the crisp boom emitted was more poetic than Shakespeare.
Being just about at bursting point, the time finally came to hit the road and see whether all the hype was worthwhile. Being truthful, I’ve been down this route before, testing older bikes and being bitterly disappointed for one reason or
THE NOISE OF ANY UNCHASTISED V-TWIN IS ALWAYS QUITE SPECIAL.