What else makes the 848 a contender?
The brakes, apparently, are sweet. They better be, bred of racing pedigree. Ducati stuck to their guns using high performance Brembos, the P4-32 calipers, to be precise. I have no idea what that letter/number designation means (4 piston, 32mm each?), I do know these radial mounted babies, when squeezed, bite into 320mm discs.
I suppose the title of this post says it all. Here’s a link to the complete list of US dealers participating in the Ducati 848 premiere December 14th and 15th (a Friday and Saturday). Make a quick telephone call before going, just to make sure.
There’s some impressive stuff going on here.
I was doing a little research about Ducati’s Testtastretta Evoluzione engine, their newest generation of powerplant and engine of the 1098 and 848. In their own words, the Evo “is the crowning achievement of Ducati’s development and perfection of the L-Twin engine.” Clearly, they’re stoked. And why not? Ducati has built an engine lighter but denser, more compact yet more powerful. The goal of any performance engineer realized, smaller yet bigger, less making more.
You will be able to check out the 848 in select dealerships December 14th. Availability to purchase will be limited; no doubt as to why.
This is the deal: select dealerships have signed up to make a to-do about the 848’s arrival. Most of them have ordered at least a few bikes for sale, but like any hot release, you gotta be on a list. The dealerships I phoned are asking for a $500 deposit (which is refundable if you are stupid enough to decide otherwise).
Some of the dealerships in on the release:
European Motorcycles of Pittsburgh
Spectrum Motorsports of Orange County (probably the finest dealership I’ve visited personally)
Pro Italia of Los Angeles (they’ve ordered eight, and plan on having them all towards the end of December)
If anyone knows any other info or any other dealers participating, your comments are welcome. You can read more about the release at Ducati USA.
The color white. Exudes something virginal, pure, delicate. A wedding dress. A blank page. A daisy.
But then, think polar bears, blizzards, thunderclouds and lightning, Yeti, vampire fangs, white heat and blinding light… I suppose none of that’s too intimidating, either.
Why would Ducati choose white as a color option for the 848? Red is a given- it would surely be Pandemonium if it were not made available. But why not yellow, or black, a flat metallic maybe or silver?
Simply put, white is stylish. It’s a timeless color, classic and crisp. More importantly, white is in right now. The iPod and Xbox 360, ceramic watches, Macs, Yankee’s hats. All white kitchens or waiter uniforms are upscale and represent precision. Spotless all white Nikes equal cleanliness, brand newness. You get the idea.
A white vehicle, though? Hell yeah. Think Crockett and Tubbs, or the Autobot Jetfire:
White hasn’t always been reserved for ambulances and work trucks. When it comes to bikes, and I’m talking modern sportbikes, white is mainstream. Several examples come to mind. Ducati’s nastiest Monster, the S4RS Testastretta, has white as an option. The Monster’s English foil- the ultimate hooligan bike- the Triumph Speed Triple, has white available for its ’07.
Tokyo’s down with white, too. Suzuki has a limited edition ‘Busa that’s white. And Honda’s ’07 CBR600rr baddest color option is easily white.
White is hot right now, for fashion, electronics and definitely bikes. It makes sense why Ducati chose white for their middleweight. Clean, sharp, expensive. Definitely not dainty, delicate, virginal. And across the boards and blogs, most agree that the 848 in white is bad #$@%ing ass.
For those that hate whitey, you’ve got good old red.
The diehards aren’t happy.
You’ve got a motorcycle coming out. It looks amazing. The performance numbers are fantastic, very strong. It isn’t outrageously expensive for an Italian, reasonable even. It will fly on the track. It will turn heads. It might get you laid. It may get stolen.
But it has a wet clutch, and that pisses some people off. A sampling:
“the dry clutch is part of the desmo experience…”
“WTF Ducati got to do with wet clutch? I refuse to buy this bike.”
“the dry clutch is simply one of those things that make it a Ducati.”
And, in all fairness, some remain stoked:
“I’ll take a wet clutch over a dry clutch after dealing with them…”
Personally, every bike I have ever owned has had a wet clutch. Smooth, quiet… I’ve ragged my S2R Dark, ridden it harder then any bike deserves, and nary a problem to be had. So I’m biased. But the dry clutch looks and sounds great. Its stylish, which is a large part of what Ducati as a brand is about- style, sound, feel, look. I get that.
You want the dry clutch on your 848? You need it? There are rumors of wet-dry conversion kits becoming available. Hell if I know if its even possible. I mean, we’re talking about the clutch being sealed inside the engine casing. Can a wet to dry clutch conversion be done?
Sure, but not by the faint or weary. I found the following at a Ducati Monster site (the Ducati Monster site, actually- highly recommended). Its a wet-dry clutch conversion on a ’99 Monster 750:
The truly insane part of this bike is Stuart’s dry clutch conversion. I won’t even pretend to understand it, but here’s Stuart’s take on the matter:
“First off, it’s NOT for the timid. I’ve heard of two other people who have done it. No-one recommends it for a back-yard mechanic. It involves 5 custom machined spacers, a custom machined bushing, and a special oil seal from Europe (for some reason, I couldn’t get the right seal here in the US).”
Here’s an idea of what it took:
750 engine converted to a dry clutch
-Primary gears installed from 95 M900
-Right side engine cover installed from 99 ST4
-Custom machined spacers to adapt dry clutch components to wet clutch engine
-Dry clutch basket fitted from 95 M900
-Clutch hub and pressure plate (both modified) from 99 SS750
-Stock flywheel machined down for reduction in rotating mass
-Nichols flywheel lock nuts
Guaranteed pain in the groin. Though doable, it seems like a bitch. As for a wet-dry conversion kit for the 848, or any make or model motorcycle for that matter… all the research I did couldn’t turn one up readily. Maybe my Google is broken.
I’ll continue to revisit this wet-dry clutch topic over the next few months. In the meantime, any suggestions, comments, or general b.s. is always welcome.
I’ve posted some similarities between the 1098 and the 848 at Wikipedia. Have you ever used Wikipedia? It’s great for info, an all around solid idea for a website. I figured if I made a written contribution I would be able to reference my 8four8 site… the bastards weren’t having it (and rightfully so- they don’t like people cross-promoting their own bull#@%$).
So here’s what I gave them (the first chunk I edited and added to, but didn’t write- credit where credit’s due):
With a claimed dry weight of 168 kg (370 lb), the 848 undercuts the larger displacement 1098 by almost 11 lb. It shares more physical and technical design elements with the stronger 1098 than with its predecessor, including:
1) Exhaust system layout
2) Single sided swingarm
3) A single, fully adjustable Showa rear shock
4) Similar oil cooler and cooler radiator
5) Same wheelbase (1430mm); same rake and trail
6) Same valve angles
7) Both engines (Testastretta Evoluzione) have magnesium head covers
The biggest difference between the 1098 and 848, other than the displacement, the one that’s creating the most comment amongst the boards, is the wet clutch only on the 848. Some people are pissed about this. To those familiar, nothing sounds or looks like a dry clutch. There’s something archaic and unrefined, though rythmic and satisfying in the noise a spinning dry clutch makes. And it looks bad ass.
Others, though, are good with a wet clutch. Smoother performance, a longer life span, arguably more rider friendly… I can see both sides of the story. Will an aftermarket dry clutch kit become available for the 848? Will they be expensive? Rumor has it (thanks Tim) that Ducati will offer a dry clutch kit to convert. If that’s true, the cost question is a definitive yes.
I keep reading the same article about the 848, the one from Ducati starting out: “The words ‘agile’ and ‘refined’ aptly describe the 848…”. It doesn’t matter where I look for fresh 848 news on the web, I find the same article. It was even on some guys personal blog about being engaged to “his Jenny”, who wouldn’t understand why he’s upset the 848 isn’t available with a dry clutch… I gotta shake my head (you might too).
It’s a good article, thorough and in depth, though not for the simple man. What I need are the answers to a few easy questions. What exactly will the bike cost? Even more importantly, when will it be available in dealerships..?
As for cost of the bike, Americans are looking to pay just under $13,000. If you buy in Europe, you’re paying 13,500 euros. Down under? Something like 22,500 AUD. The English, I can’t find a bloody thing about what they might pay. My guess is around 9000 quid, which is a rip; the pound sterling kills the dollar two to one. My advice if you’re English: fly to Colorado or Montana, buy the 848 here, ride it hard through some amazing scenery, and have it shipped home with money saved and stories to boot.
Dealership availability… that’s a tough one. You would figure Ducati would have this information out there, and perhaps they do. We all knew the exact day the iPhone was going to be available. Same for the xbox 360. The 848? I’ve read as early as December for dealerships in America. In fact, I’ve come across that information more than once. Its a week into November, however, and with no concrete answers… mmm, don’t really know.
I will say this: the picture above looks promising
8four8.com 