Back In Black
2011 DUCATI 848 EVO
BACK IN BLACK
CYCLE WORLD TEST
DON CANET
ITALIAN PASSION FOR MOTORSPORT IS SYNONYMOUS with the stunning performance, soul-stirring sound and seductive, liquid-red styling inherent to a long bloodline of championship-winning Ducati sportbikes. Yesterday’s triumph, however, is just that, and the bigger the trophy, the more dust it tends to attract. Ongoing product evolution is what maintains a competitive edge, and the Bologna boys aim to kill in the hotly contested middleweight supersport category with the new 848 EVO recently rolled out as an early-release 2011 model.
The EVO treatment represents a midlife upgrade for the 848, now entering its fourth year of service. While the list of engine and chassis enhancements can fit on a sticky note, the performance gains are intended to benefit racers and street riders alike. This is an important point, because the 848 EVO replaces the current model and becomes the sole 848 offering for ’ll. While periodic updates are to be expected among competition-based machines, the surprise here is that a red 848 EVO carries the same $13,995 MSRP as its predecessor, while the matte-black version here is $1000 less.
Enhancements to the liquid-cooled, 849cc 90-degree V-Twin include new Marelli throttle bodies with larger elliptical bores feeding revised cylinder heads with straighter intake ports and reshaped combustion chambers. This, along with a new piston-crown profile, has delivered a substantial increase in compression ratio, from 12.0:1 to 13.2:1. Intake-valve lift is up from 11.5 to 13.0mm with 4 degrees more duration. The 2-into-l-into-2 exhaust now uses twin lambda O2 sensors said to help achieve mandated emissions levels. Ducati claims a 6-hp increase, bringing output to 140 measured at the crank.
We obtained the very first EVO-spec bike to arrive stateside and promptly put it through our full street and track test regimen. Strapped to CW’s Dynojet dyno, the EVO produced 118.5 rear-wheel hp, a mere 1.5-pony increase over the 848 we tested this past year. While engine performance fell short of what we had anticipated, the EVO still outmuscles its closest middleweight-class rivals by nearly 10 peak horsepower. The tuning alteration has shifted peak output closer to the 11,000-rpm rev limiter while sacrificing a couple of ft.-lb. of torque throughout the middle of the rev range.
Torque builds quickly off idle before easing into a soft spot around 5000 rpm. While the mid-rpm lull is perceptible even at slight throttle settings, fueling remains good, allowing the bike to cruise dead-steady in the lull zone at freeway speeds. The sweet spot for smooth running spans from 4000 to 5000 rpm, yielding an indicated 70 to 87 mph in top gear with only modest engine vibration seeping through the handgrips. Strong power pulses quake the footpegs and frame while chugging along at basement revs or spinning the engine in its upper rpm range. There is little driveline lash, even when casually lugging along at 3500 rpm in a tall gear. The meat of the engine’s power comes online just beyond 7000 rpm with a surge of grunt capable of inducing an effortless low-gear power wheelie when the throttle is held fully open. Keeping revs above 7K sees the 848 leaping out of corners with liter-bike tenacity, all while serving up uncanny tractability. The 848 chassis is essentially the same as that of the 1198 Superbike with minor differences in suspension calibration, front-brake rotor diameter and a narrower (5.5inch) rear rim that’s better suited to the 180/55ZR17 Pirelli radial. Grip and stability at a swift street pace are exceptional, making for one of the more confidence-inspiring bikes you’ll find for backroad burning. Steering is precise and intuitive yet becomes somewhat heavy when working through side-to-side transitions at speeds greater than 75 mph.
Leaving stops fluidly requires a bit of extra throttle and clutch slip to avoid a lean stumble around 2500 rpm. We have experienced similar issues with other recent Ducati models running EPA-certified fuel mapping. The stock 848 fueling is decent down low but could use some massaging.
The street is no place to try to find the limits of a race-bred chassis such as this, so we headed to a track day at Buttonwillow Raceway hosted by Tmckdaz.com. There, we could achieve much higher cornering loads and press the bike hard into and out of corners to put the EVO chassis to the test. As previously stated, changes were few, with the addition of Brembo Monobloc front calipers and a non-adjustable steering stabilizer, both of which were lifted from the 1198 parts bin.
Hard acceleration out of Buttonwillow’s bumpier corners induced enough headshake to get our attention, yet the bike was also quick to regain its composure. The high level of feedback provided by the Showa fork gave a good sense of front grip, thus freeing attention to be focused more on the happenings out back. A few rear slides had us looking to slow the seemingly quick rebound at the back, but access to the Showa shock’s rebounddamping screw through a small hole in the swingarm proved ridiculously difficult as the hole is not centered over the screw!
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The radial-mount calipers work as nicely as they look and proved to be a very good match for the 320mm rotors. The combo offers all the stopping power and consistency we could ask for along with excellent sensitivity through a quality radial-pump Brembo master cylinder with an adjustable lever.
Race-derived instrumentation is a feature-packed visual treat, but the allLCD display’s bar-graph tachometer
can be strangely difficult to read in certain lighting conditions, particularly on a bright day with the readout shadowed. Saving grace is its quartet of shift-indicator lights that illuminate sequentially beginning 800 rpm before redline and flash when the limiter is reached.
Our $13K flat-black budget EVO lists for 2-3 grand more than its middleweight European and Japanese competition—bikes that represent some of the best performance-per-dollar values on the market. In purely clinical terms, what’s offered here is additional power from the Ducati’s displacement advantage and better brakes. Less concrete but still tangible to the sportbike enthusiast are the distinct differences in the sound and riding experience, particularly the taut, racer-like chassis.
Does this Due’s dark and menacing dress depict the sporting passion and Italian flair that enthusiasts have come to associate with Ducati? Perhaps not, but we like the raw look and generous cost savings it has afforded. And if racing is truly in your blood, think of the 848 EVO as the perfect primer palate for the graphics of your choice. □
EDITORS' NOTES
The first thing to spring to mind when I saw this shady 848 “Evil” with its blackedout logos and all was a favorite metal masterpiece: The Black Album by Metallica. While it’s not a Ducati first, the very idea of a dark superbike still feels defiantly counterculture. Everyone associates the storied marque with fire-engine red, and even my bewildered six-year-old asked if I was planning to paint the bike parked in the garage.
Not such an absurd approach, really, with its primer appearance offering creative inspiration to those looking to customize. Enter Sandman and let the painter take it from there! Bordering on blasphemy, perhaps? At least for the more Holler Than Thou Ducatisti, but even The Unforgiven can have a lime-green 848 while retaining all the performance goodness this EVO model delivers.
Sad But True, we are in the midst of tough economic times, so if bucking tradition saves a grand, then Nothing Else Matters.
—Don Canet, Road Test Editor
Listen, 849cc and 118 horses are plenty.
The first Ducati I remember riding was the way cool 851, back in ’89. It made almost 80 horsepower, weighed almost 50 pounds more than this 848, sold for around $12K and we loved it. Anyway, I’ll say it again: If you’re Michel Fabrizio or Larry Pegram and racing to make money, you need the big engine. For street use, for the rest of us, I like the smaller, revvier ones just because the noise they make is the best thing about Ducati Superbikes—and the noise at like
Superbikes—and 10,000 rpm is the best racket of all. On an 1198 on the street, you’ll seldom go there. On the 848, you can go there a couple times a block because that’s where the power is, and because the 848 is geared shorter to access it. (I’d go another tooth bigger on back if this one were mine.) WHUBBBITA! Not to mention that a mere 118 horses still feels like more than enough. Shame about the no dry clutch. —John Burns, Feature Editor
Dammit! Don stole my idea for an editor’s note. Actually, it was his and I didn’t steal it from him soon enough. So, no more Black Album references. I’ve never hidden my affection for Ducatis (superbikes in particular), but the 848 is an amazing motorcycle.
If you can’t afford the price of admission into the top-tier-1198 world, the 848 is an option that you won’t regret buying. I love this engine; despite the fact that Ducati shoved the power away from the midrange and toward the top end, it is a fantastic mo-
and toward the top end, it is a fantastic motor for the street. The combination of an oil-bath clutch and good midrange power makes launches easy, while that new beefier upper-rev range pulls very hard. I was also pleasantly surprised that the fuel-injection issues we’ve had on recent Ducatis were almost non-existent, almost. The chassis offers rock-solid stability on the street at the price of a touch of nimbleness. Black on black is all the rage and $1000 cheaper than Duc Red is cool, too. —Blake Conner, Senior Editor
DUCATI 848 EVO
$12,995
