2009 Ducati Streetfighter Review - Ducati.ms

**admin** · Mar 26th, 2009, 10:23 am

"Spanish bombs in Andalucía, oh mi corazon." – The Clash, Spanish Bombs

With apologies to one of the greatest bands ever, this time around in Andalucía it was an Italian bombshell that was stealing hearts. Ducati's new Superbike-based Streetfighter truly is the bomb.

Unlike nearly every naked bike we can think of, Ducati has created a stripped-down, super-sporting roadster without excuses – no tuning for torque, and no dumbed-down suspension.

The Streetfighter's engine is ripped nearly unchanged from the 1098 sportbike, differing only in shorter intake tracts that knock off a scant 5 hp. The result is a claimed 155 hp at 9500 rpm, aided by a midrange-inducing exhaust valve. The use of the 1198's Vacural cast-aluminum crankcase shaves nearly 7 pounds from the engine.

"It's like 100 liters of adrenaline," Giulio Malagoli, the Streetfighter's project leader, told Motorcycle.com about his latest creation. Malagoli is also the inspired mind behind the recently launched Monster 696 and 1100 air-cooled models. The new Streetfighter is now the most radical of Ducati's naked bikes, replacing the discontinued Monster S4RS that measures up 25 hp short of the SF's 1099cc Testastretta Evoluzione powerplant.

More: 2009 Ducati Streetfighter Review on Motorcycle.com

MadRiverRider · Mar 26th, 2009, 8:29 pm

I want to love it. But I really don't like the way it looks. Looks like a left over prop from the Transformers movie.

scot · Mar 27th, 2009, 10:00 am

Generally i would agree. I don't like the look of it. But I have to say (like some other bikes, and I don't know why this is so) it looks much better in person. When you see one up close you get a much better feel for what the thing looks like and it is not bad. I still don't like it, but that is what makes the world go around.