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899R ever coming?

3K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  chadboothe 
There will be no 899R. What would be the point? Ducati's R models are made for one group of people only. Ducati Corse. They are made for no other reason than the homologation rules require that a certain number of bikes are sold to the public before they can be raced.
There is simply no need to go to the expense of making an R model for a bike that will never be raced in anything but a one-bike/manufacturer series. And that expense is far greater than you might at first consider. They have to create a world series capable bike that suits the race team then make it legal and affordable for the street.

The R models were never made for you. The fact that you could buy one was simply a side-effect of the racing rulebook. Most manufacturers would rather not make homologation specials. It's expensive, time-consuming and gives your opponents the opportunity to interrogate your bike. That's just the nature of production bike racing at the highest level.

You will see new models. You will have the opportunity to purchase a bike of higher spec than the standard models to date. They will however be the usual parts-bin specials and bear no resemblance to what many would consider an R model. Like the 848 before it an homologation bike has no need to exist.
If Ducati wanted to sell R models to the public based on perceived demand then there would be 10000 a year made as opposed to the absolute minimum required.

If you need a race-spec 899 then buy an S and have it built by the many capable specialists out there. A Ducati R is not like a trophy wife you just pick up and show off.

For all of the above reasons you won't see a 1299R either. You will see smaller displacement bikes and you will see Ducati to continue their usual roadmap in sport bike development although it's now a little different given that the 899 was a year later than that previous roadmap would have suggested.

That's first-hand company knowledge. Not guesswork and self-aggrandizing bullshit.
 
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