Most sportbikes were born at the track. Whether it's a 600cc middleweight or a heavy-hitting liter bike, they all feature fancy trickle down race technology. Naturally, there have been compromises made for the street and to keep prices within an acceptable range, but their performance still far exceeds what many of us ever dreamed was possible even a few years ago.
Frequent revisions to the engine and chassis help sportbikes reflect the mods made in the racing world, but some feel the end is near both in tunability and legality. Sooner rather than later there's likely to be legislative measures limiting power to weight ratios and outright performance.
But then the Ducati Desmosedici comes along and flips its big red finger to the man.
This is a machine that only three years ago was the pinnacle of two-wheeled performance; a prototype race machine that only a few privileged racers would ever get to throw a leg over. Yet today you might spot one at a bike night or during a Sunday morning ride.
How's that possible? Ducati decided to make the dream come true and produced 1500 street legal versions of its GP6 MotoGP racer. OK, so the engine isn't tuned to the gills, nor does it come with carbon brakes and slick tires, but otherwise it's the real deal: From the 16-inch Magnesium rear wheel to the 200 horsepower V4 motor, it's all business.
On paper the Desmosedici looks too good to be true: 200 horses at the wheel with a stump pulling 85 ft-lb of torque, 377 pounds and barely enough lights to make it street legal. Just for laughs there's even a three-year service plan that basically covers everything.
Considering those attributes, the price tag might not be so exorbitant after all. To get that sort of power and handling out of a tuned Japanese liter bike would cost nearly the same, lack a warranty and certainly wouldn't compare in terms of exclusivity. So just ride away and enjoy the Desmo like no other, right? Well...sort of.
Admittedly, the first dozen or so miles guiding the red missile was one of the most exhilarating rides of my life. Sure, there are much faster bikes on the road (take your pick of the turboed 'Busas and 14s out there), but it's the instant membership into an ultra exclusive club as well as the very notion of flogging a $75,000 bike that many enthusiasts will never even see in person that gets the blood pumping. And let's not forget the absolutely ridiculous engine tone that emits from the $10,000 accessory race exhaust. That's right-ten thousand bucks for an exhaust.
The thundering, evil grind that drones out of the pipes is nearly enough to shake your fillings loose, and certainly plenty to make onlookers and other motorists question if the red demon that just howled past was of this world.
It's not.
This thing is ridiculous.