17 years ago the Ducati 916 burst onto the motorcycle scene. With jaw dropping styling unlike anything that had come before, together with performance that moved on from the 888, the new model was destined to become an instant classic. MCN was the lucky magazine that penned the first ever review.
Kevin Ash has obtained permission to reproduce that original 1994 article on his site and it makes for interesting reading today. Of course there is the gushing about the bikes styling but also a reminder of how much performance motorcycles have moved on when you see 114bhp referred to as “astonishing”.
“With an astonishing 114bhp (just eight short of the Honda’s quoted output) to propel it, it’s no surprise the bike charges out of corners so blisteringly fast – and its massive mid-range torque should be enough to see off the Japanese machine. It’s easy to forget the 916 is “only” a twin.”
The handling was equally worthy of praise, the combination of the racy ergonomics, stiff trellis frame and V-twin traction making for a stunning package down a twisty road.
“It feels as if you can charge up to a bend, lay the bike flat on its side (ground clearance is enormous) spin it round the turn then stand it up straight just by twisting the throttle. The superbly suspended rear end digs in hard and gives as much grip as you’ll ever need on the roads, with more feedback than a Jimi Hendrix gig.”
Remember, this was 1994 when the hottest thing you could buy if you were a squillionaire was a Honda RC45. A far more likely sporting mount was Honda’s CBR900RR Fireblade. The Ducati 916 was a sales success and went on through 2004 essentially unchanged from a styling perspective, even though the testastretta powered 998FE was a much improved motorcycle. Along the way it became intrinsically linked with the World Superbike Championship as King Carl Fogarty racked up victory after victory.
The radically different replacement model, the 999, was such a commercial failure that the Ducati 1098 was hurriedly introduced in 2007 and reincorporated many of the styling traits of the 916 that had been left behind. Now we are on the eve of the next iteration of the Ducati Superbike, the 1199 Panigale, which promises to be more radical than anything we have seen before. Only time will tell whether it too will be considered a modern classic.
You can read the full Ducati 916 Review at Ash On Bikes.
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