A Comfortable Sportbike For Full-Figured Wild-Eyed Maniacs
Call them what you will, there is a new breed of bike in town that is causing more riders to stay young and all juiced up on adrenalin. They are stripped down extreme sportbikes like the fantastic machine we are discussing here, the 2009 Ducati Streetfighter.

Some of us cannot fit comfortably on a sportbike, given the available space and the minimum volume we require, so stripping off that pretty but non-essential fairing, raising the handlebar and lowering the pedals make eminent sense to a growing majority of us uncultured thrill seekers.

Not bad looking in black - a two-wheeled Stealth machine for low altitude missions

Along the same vein, the new Ducati Streetfighter keeps that kick-ass 155hp engine and sweet shifting gearbox from the donor 1098 model, as well as the Brembo brakes with Monobloc calipers, and the adjustable front and rear suspensions.

Given that parent, it is hardly surprising that the Streetfighter achieves virtually the same performance levels as the donor bike under a competent rider, while the relaxed ergos make it a machine more suited to most anyone larger than a giant Red Lobster schrimp.

The S version: Öhlins suspensions, traction control and data collection
If your habit and budget justify it, an extra 5 grand get the S version with legendary Öhlins shock and fork, as well as the latest in traction control, the Ducati Traction Control (DTC) system derived from the World Champion 1098 Superbike and Desmocedici MotoGP machine. And Ducati did not forget the incurable bit twiddlers amongst you, as the S also features the Ducati Data Analysis (DDA) system, also off the Superbike and MotoGP machines, that will help collect data and analyse your riding skills, and eventually maybe help you achieve Nirvana: slamming the throttle wide open exiting a corner and hanging on while the DTC keeps you upright and accelerating at an insane rate.

Model availability is August 2009, and MSRP for both models will be announced as we get closer to that date.

Good times ahead for those who take the plunge!


Photo Credit : Ducati