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Cover those two tiny badges, one on the tank and the other on the engine case, and still, the 848 cannot be mistaken for anything but a Ducati! Ducatis have never suffered from an identity crisis, except for the Diavel perhaps, and the 848 is every bit the Ducatisti’s wet dream!
It’s six in the morning and Delhi is still asleep. The sun, unfortunately, isn’t and the air is warm despite the fact that the night has only just passed. At the touch of the starter button, the Testastretta Evoluzione 849cc L-twin motor grunts to life. There are 6 more horses over the older 848’s 134 ponies in this motor, and at idle, they seem quite well behaved and soft spoken.
The first gear slots in with a loud crack, akin to a .306 smooth-bore gun going off,and I wind in the throttle a bit, while releasing the clutch with my other hand.The black tarmac beneath begins to move backward, and the Ducati and me surge ahead, looking for trouble.
A little bit of throttle and the tracking car is overtaken in the blink of an eye. The throttle response of this motorcycle is virtually instantaneous; open up the grip a bit and the engine whips those 140 horses and near 10 kgm of torque immediately. Such is the engine’s willingness to please that the power delivery is almost predictably punctual. There is no wait and watch with the 848 EVO – there is power when you want it, wherever you want it. And then some.
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