A new Ducati superbike is a rare thing. It’s the motorcycle equivalent of a flower that only blooms every 5 years or so. For our team here, living and breathing in two-wheeled fandom every day, the prospect of a four-cylinder Ducati superbike was (and is) exciting. With each rumor, leaked photo, cell-phone video, and small announcement we chatted and speculated over what the bike would be like to ride. What would it sound like? Would it be faster than a 1299? You might say the obsession grew to a point that we couldn’t stand.
After reminding ourselves of Ducati’s history of superbikes, from 851 to 1299, we boarded a flight to Italy with the intent to ride a V4. We had to know...