I have always had a soft spot for Ducati’s middleweight machines. I’ll happily admit I’ve never been able to use the full potential of big superbike on the road and as such always enjoyed the smoother, less aggressive power characteristics of the smaller capacity inline fours, triples and V-twin sportsbikes – Ducati’s V-twin offerings being one of them.

Going as far back as Ducati’s 748, the engine of the smaller Desmo twins has always delivered torque lower in the rev range than supersports and superbikes making them easier to ride on the road. It may have been at the expense of outright power, but the road is where that doesn’t matter.

Open up the throttle hard and a big V-twin superbike will punch away to licence-losing speeds in a heartbeat. The smaller V-twins are no slouch, and a lot friendlier and a lot less intimidating to ride at the same time. You still get those big bike thrills of course, but at a more manageable turn of speed.

Over the years the 748 grew to the 749, then left any aspirations for Supersport racing behind with the release of the 848 and then 899 Panigale. When you look at how many supersport machines are raced versus how many there are on the road, it makes sense to build outside racing capacity-limits. Deliver supersport handling characteristics with more power and torque and the machine is bound to be a winner.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

With the jump up to the 899, Ducati seemingly took the ‘mid-sized’ superbike to the cusp of superbike territory. Sure it was only 100cc short of a superbike, but it lost none of the smaller twin’s great torque, sharp handling and useable engine characteristics on the road. You just got a lot more power, which was best utilised on the track.

The 959 takes things a step further again. To meet challenging Euro4 emissions controls Ducati’s Superquadro engine – as used in both 959 and 1299 Panigales – has been stroked out 3mm to 60.8mm to give it greater capacity and, at the same time, also more power and torque.

In making this possible it was necessary to change some of the engine’s architecture that is borrowed from the 1299 Panigale. The crankshaft assembly, crankcase, servo-assisted slipper clutch and gearbox are all 1299-derived, while changes to the combustion chamber and fuelling have improved volumetric efficiency.

We tested the Panigale 959 on CycleOnline at the world launch at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain, in January this year. On the track it didn’t have the brutality of a litre bike – and that was a good thing as the 959 was a much easier machine to ride and enjoy on the racetrack.

So with much the same chassis, the question remained whether the mid-sized superbike’s more powerful engine would still allow the baby Panigale to display the kind of characteristics on the road that the 899 had done before it. In short, the answer is yes.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Just like we found on the track launch, the 959 doesn’t ride like a superbike. In a lot of respects its characteristics are, even with that stronger engine, a lot more like a supersport – strong, less-intimidating power delivery, easier to hold higher corner speeds and a delight on fast direction changes and rolling quickly into corners.

A highlight of the handling is the superb stability under brakes and especially on corner turn-in. Stability at speed was excellent – as you’d expect – at any road speed, and the suspension package was barley disrupted when riding at speed on the roughest roads I could find.

Handling-wise, the main change is a 4mm lower swingarm pivot point to get better rear-end traction. While it’s the kind of change that would be noticeable on the track, I couldn’t say it’s a chassis tweak I could feel the effects of! Another aspect not to feel any change is the brakes – the extra power has done nothing to influence the superb Brembo Monoblocs.

This engine – compared to V-twin sportsbikes of old – is testament to Ducati’s long-time refinement of the Desmodromic eight-valver. It is smooth in its delivery from idle and will rip away from the line, or just as easily take off at slower speeds effortlessly with no snatchiness at low rpm.

The 959 rushes through the rev range with the turn of speed you expect from a big, powerful V-twin and gear changes come quickly and easily with the up-change only quickshifter that is fitted. The mid-range is where it is at its strongest and it will power through to, and well beyond, any legal road speed. In our launch report, it’s proved its worth as a potent package on the track.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Like the 899 before it, the 959 is tame when you need to be and potent when you want to be. Thing is, in both respects, the 959 is noticeably better as more torque makes it more useable at lower speed and it’s got more power to use at high-speed. Bigger is better!

The electronics suite includes Race, Sport and Wet riding modes, ABS, traction control, up-change only quick-shifter, and engine brake control. There’s also a quick-shifter that makes gear changes effortless and precise every time.

The mode selector gives quite noticeable changes between each of the modes, and with no rain or racetrack to play on I’m confident assuming Ducati has the parameters dialed in to suit each condition as well as they have on every other model in the range.

The seating position is as sporty as you’d expect on a sportsbike, and on the road is more comfortable than Ducatis have been in the past. The seat is deep and you can easily set yourself back off the narrow tank and bodywork. Aluminium billet machined footrests not only look better, but are grippier than previous pegs.

The 959, despite its capacity, is no superbike or supersport, but does have a lot of favourable traits from each. With strong power and sharp handling, the 959 has the added benefit of a controllable, punchy and potent V-twin that is going to please road and track day riders alike. As far as having useable sports performance on the road and a bike that will excite on the track goes, the 959 Panigale is a hard machine to look past.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

Specifications

Engine type: Superquadro L-twin cylinder, four-valve per cylinder, Desmodromic, liquid-cooled
Capacity: 955cc
Bore x stroke: 100 x 60.8mm
Compression ratio: 12.5:1
Claimed power: 115.5kW @ 10,500rpm
Claimed torque: 107.4Nm @ 9000rpm
Dry weight: 176kg
Seat height: 830mm
Wheelbase: 1431mm
Fuel tank capacity: 17L
Colours: Arctic White or Ducati Red
Price: $20,490 +ORC (white); $19,990 + ORC (red)
Detailed specs: www.ducati.com.au