Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati has started testing the replacement for the 959 Panigale. There were speculations that the bike will be a V4 engine but looking at the spy shots the bike appears to be a V-Twin. The motorcycle will be kept under the 1,000cc mark and the engine will have slight changes on the inside. However, the engine covers on the outside remain similar to the old 959 Panigale.
The bike has updated bodywork and is seen with a single-sided swingarm, other body components like the belly pan, tank and the rear cowling appear to remain similar. The photographed motorcycle was missing an end-can on the exhaust and a much larger catalytic converter is seen. It remains to be seen if the weight of the bike has increased due to the massive catalytic converter. The engine is expected to be Euro 5 compliant and to get a small boost in power, about 10 HP is expected.
The 959 Panigale in India is powered by the 955cc, Superquadro, L-twin cylinder, liquid-cooled, 4-valve per cylinder, Desmodromic engine that produces 155 HP of power and 102 Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed gearbox with Ducati Quick Shifter (DQS) and a hydraulically controlled slipper assist clutch.
The 959 Panigale sports an aluminium monocoque chassis and rides on 43mm upside down Showa BPF fork on the front and a fully adjustable Sachs monoshock on the rear connected through a single-sided aluminium swingarm. The brakes are twin 320mm rotors on the front with radially mounted Brembo 4-piston calipers and a single 245mm disc with a 2-piston caliper on the rear wheel. The bike comes equipped with a dual-channel Bosch ABS as standard. The current 959 Panigale has Traction control and the electronic package on the new bike is expected to be updated with new advanced electronics, like an Inertia Measuring Unit.
Ducati doesn’t have a litre class twin-cylinder competitor and high spec trims are also likely to be seen. The bike is expected to be showcased at the EICMA show in November 2019 and will be put up for sale in the next year.
The Ducati 959 Panigale currently costs INR 15.30 lakh in India and the new bike will be priced around this range, or a little higher.