Nine-Nine-Next

NINE-NINE-NEXT

SPECIAL SECTION

Many questions, few answers about Ducati’s future Superbike

WHAT DOES DUCATI DO FOR AN encore after the 996? Creator Massimo Tamburini obviously had a few ideas, but he opted to stay with Cagiva and pen the stunning MV Agusta F4 instead. Which leaves current Ducati design chief Pierre Terblanche in a bit of a quandary.

Not that Terblanche lacks the credentials to create a worthy successor to the most successful Superbike in history. His résumé includes such critically acclaimed beauties as the Cagiva Gran Canyon, Ducati Supermono and Hailwood Evoluzione, as well as the new-generation Supersport. It’s just that no one wants to bat after Mark McGuire.

Rumors are rife of a forthcoming 996 replacement, with artist conceptions aplenty, but so far, Ducati itself is mum. And so was Terblanche, when I managed to comer him in the factory’s executive cafeteria recently. Apparently, he’d been called on the carpet for speaking too freely with reporters, and with Ducati PR-types Pier-Francesco Caliari and Gary Schmidt sitting at the same table, he had ample reason to watch his tongue.

“Where did you hear that?” he exclaimed when I brought up a published report that the next-generation Superbike would have alternative front suspension. “I’ve got a Hossacks fork on my Ducati, and it’s sat in the garage for seven years.”

He also dismissed the possibility that the engine would form part of the frame, as on a BMW Boxer. “It’s easy for them because they use Telelever, but it would be hard for us, because our crankshaft is low and far back.”

The notion of an aluminum frame didn’t pass muster, either. “For the moment, steel is still the lightest, stiffest material you can find. Castings are complicated, and it’s hard to get the weight down.”

Terblanche also declined to comment on a report that a focus group of Italian dealers had vetoed his first drafts because the bike looked too old-fashioned to be the firm’s flagship sportbike.

But while Terblanche said little, his expressions and tone of voice spoke volumes. So reading between the lines, I’ll hazard a few guesses. First of all, the new bike is at least a year away. When it does see the light of day, it will likely represent another small-butsignificant step in Ducati’s traditional evolutionary development process. It will be powered by the new 996R engine, and will sport a steel-trellis frame, traditional fork and, if last winter’s World Superbike tests are any indication, perhaps a double-sided swingarm and low pipes.

Styling undoubtedly will be influenced by Terblanche’s infatuation with “interesting old stuff’ from the atomic/streamlining age, as well as the American hot-rod/custom-bike scene. One report held that his first drafts featured a distinctively shaped chrome headlight surround, which could become a company trademark along the lines of the BMW automotive grille that recently popped up on the RI 100S. But one thing is certain: Like all current Ducatis, it will be monochromatic.

“Our bikes have to look good in one color,” Terblanche said. “We can always add graphics if we have to, like the Japanese do.”

In the end, Terblanche knows what he’s up against. “The hardest thing about design is trying to tell what the customer is seeing. Maybe he doesn’t even know what he likes about it.”

Here’s hoping we know when we see it.

Brian Catterson