Dear friends, I was scrolling through Reddit, searching for piping-hot news to bring to you when I was reminded of a motorcycle I nearly forgot existed. But this motorcycle is no ordinary motorcycle. It was so special, it captivated my teenage imagination and made me desperately want to ride a Ducati more than anything else.
I later did. In fact, I rode its direct ancestor which was both faster, wilder and sounded like Ragnarok: the Panigale V4. And the words I wrote were for Playboy (RIP) and truly unhinged. I hope to bring you similarly unhinged words here soon. But today is not about the Panigale V4.
No, today I want to remind you of one of the coolest Ducatis ever made. I want to remind you of the Ducati Desmosedici RR, a wildly expensive special edition motorcycle that I still really hope I can ride one day.
Just look at it.
The Desmosedici was drippingly cool, as it had its exhausts routed out the pillion seat, at least that's where the pillion seat would be if those outlets wouldn't instantly melt the passenger's buttocks. But who needs a butt, honestly?
The Desmosedici RR began like many of today's modern limited-edition supersports: with an eye for racing. According to the Borgo Panigale brand, "In 2001 Ducati caused a great stir by announcing the beginning of the project that would lead to the début of the Desmosedici in the MotoGP championship in 2003. The bike showed an amazing power, and it was clear that the bike, the brainchild of Filippo Preziosi, had all the elements necessary to launch a winning project. Indeed this intuition became reality when Capirossi won the first historic race at the Catalunya GP in 2003."
However, after that first win, Federico Minoli, the then-CEO announced there would be a limited edition "street version" of the Desmosedici RR. As you can imagine, Ducatista went ape-shit, as did a teenaged Jonathon. Only 1,500 motorcycles were ever produced, and a lot went into collections. But that's sorta what happens when you price a motorcycle at $72,000.
Back in the day, I was actually friends with a local Ducati salesman who told me about a guy who walked in one day and bought two Desmosedicis. One he got to ride and the other to display in his apartment in downtown Chicago.
Nuts. But not Nuts On Clark. Sorry, Chicagoans, I'm team Garrett.
The Desmosedici itself, however, was lust-worthy just from its specs. Powered by a 90-degree desmodromic 989cc V4, the Desmosedici RR produced 197 horsepower and 85 pound-feet of torque. Ohlins suspension blinged out both the front and rear, while forged magnesium wheels wrapped in Bridgestone BT-01 Uno tires kept everything planted.
It also had the aforementioned exhaust routed out where the pillion seat would be, which just was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Seriously, Ducati did what most modern Formula D drivers now do with their exhaust wastegates two decades prior. Ducati was ahead of the times.
Ducati was also ahead of everyone in offering semi-detuned MotoGP bikes to the public. Today, every single manufacturer repped in MotoGP has some hella expensive race replica. It's almost cliche at this point.
Why I really wanted to remind you of the Desmosedici RR, aside from taking a walk down memory lane, was to remind you how pretty this bike was. Seriously, just oggle (respectively) this motorcycle. It's sleek, lithe and looks like a bird of prey ready to swoop down at 200+ miles per hour and snatch an Aprilia. The new Panigale looks great in my opinion, but hot damn is this Desmosedici RR way more spicy even 14 years after its initial launch.
Anyways, that's it. That's the blog. Ducati, let me ride one.
