959 Panigale review

I KNOW what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘what in the world is with that exhaust?!’

I can’t sit here and be an apologist for Ducati but I am sympathetic to their dilemma. Meeting a European emission standard is hardly the most romantic brief for a new motorcycle but the looming Euro 4 regulation is the reason Ducati have had to take the 899 Panigale back to the drawing board.

So the evolution of the 899 to the 959 has been different to the normal process of shaving off a bit of weight and finding a few more horsepower while striving for a better lap time.

Ducati have battled two issues: noise and emissions. Surprisingly, noise being the biggest hurdle. The noise tests measure from the centre of the bike and that includes the sound emanating from the engine internals, so bolting a new exhaust to the existing 899 Panigale wouldn’t have cut the mustard.

Click here for the rest of the review.

I KNOW what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘what in the world is with that exhaust?!’

I can’t sit here and be an apologist for Ducati but I am sympathetic to their dilemma. Meeting a European emission standard is hardly the most romantic brief for a new motorcycle but the looming Euro 4 regulation is the reason Ducati have had to take the 899 Panigale back to the drawing board.

So the evolution of the 899 to the 959 has been different to the normal process of shaving off a bit of weight and finding a few more horsepower while striving for a better lap time.

Ducati have battled two issues: noise and emissions. Surprisingly, noise being the biggest hurdle. The noise tests measure from the centre of the bike and that includes the sound emanating from the engine internals, so bolting a new exhaust to the existing 899 Panigale wouldn’t have cut the mustard.

Click here for the rest of the review.