The riding experience makes you bow to Pierre Terblanche and his towering achievement.The South African designer succeeded Massimo Tamburini – who penned both the 916 and post-Ducati, the MV Agusta F4 – at Ducati. Terblanche’s job was to design a bike that would surpass the 916-family of Ducatis. A dynasty that was as much of an aesthetic milestone as it was an all-out track demon and wheelie-king. The 916, in a word, was the zenith of Ducati’s history.
The design may be criticised for being too industrial. But the 999 has an inescapable, sharp focus – it is above all a machine?designed to win races. The wind-tunnel sculpted face, for instance, may not look too hip, but the moment the shutter finger presses down, it knows that it is impossible to capture the subtle, attractive curvature in pixels or on film. What is also impossible to capture, this time round because of space constraints, is the minutiae of exquisite detail that abound all over the motorcycle. From the thoughtfully placed matte plastic tank guard to prevent scratches, to the dimples on the two buttons that unlock a host of functions on the speedo – including a lap timer. These dimples repeat on the adjusters for the angular rear-view mirrors so you don’t put paw marks on the glass. The rear-view mirror mounts, on their own are worthy of a book on industrial design. And one is yet to mention the curving beauty of the double-sided swingarm, the angular shape of the tail piece, the five (Y-split) spoke wheels, filigree-light top triple clamp... One can just go on and on.
Where this Ducati is strongly at variance from the 916 is in the fact that the 999 is unashamedly a machine. The 916’s jewel-like quality and details are replaced by machined parts, created to a purpose but by a hand sensitive to aesthetic design. The result is perhaps one of the best looking machines yet.The other significant variation is that the 916 came, pirouetted but refused to let anyone ride. The full-bore aching throb in my forearms refuses to go and now, three hours after I climbed off the Ducati 999, I’m still immersed in it.
Our thanks to Zareer Porbunderwalla for allowing us saddle time on his prized possession. Regular readers will remember Zareer introduced us to his Hayabusa in 1999.
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