Ducati 848 Evo: The Italian Stallion

The Ducati 848 Evo. Hard-core, committed, brutal. Unrelenting. But such a memorable ride...

Back in 2012, I had an opportunity to ride a Ducati 848 Evo and write about it for Man’s World magazine. And not just a short ride either – the Ducati team allowed me to keep the bike with me for 3-4 days, which was just incredible. Apart from its drop-dead gorgeous Italian styling, red paint and single-sided swingarm, the 848 Evo was powered by a 140-horsepower twin-cylinder engine; zero to 60kph came up in just over 3 second and top speed was over 260km/h. Here are some excerpts from the article I wrote for MW.

Even before you begin to experience its incredible performance, the first thing about the 848 Evo that grabs your attention is its styling. No matter how many times you’ve seen the bike in pictures, the first time you see it in the flesh, it’s still stunning – the aggressive stance, the pointy snout with the twin headlamps and their angry glare, the carefully sculpted bodywork and tail section, and that utterly gorgeous single-sided swingarm, which puts the bike’s beautifully-machined Y-spoke alloy rear wheel up on full view on one side, are all deeply lustworthy. Gianandrea Fabbro, the Italian designer responsible for the 1098/848’s styling, really has done an outstanding job with this machine.

Get on the bike, thumb the starter button and you are greeted by the 848 Evo’s gruff, gravelly-sounding ‘Testastretta Evoluzione’ L-twin engine. This liquid-cooled, Desmodromic 8-valve unit produces 140bhp, 98Nm of torque and at full chat, thunderous engine and exhaust noises that strike fear into the hearts of pedestrians and car drivers alike. Mated to a six-speed gearbox, the engine is more flexible than you might expect and if you insist on riding along at a relaxed pace, it will bear with you. But, very clearly, this is a machine that has been designed to go fast and the Desmo-twin is only happy when you’re accelerating hard and going as rapidly as you possibly can. The 848 Evo bellows its happiness out aloud when you open the throttle and blows you down the road at triple-digit speeds in a rush of noise, power and sheer untamed velocity. For sportsbike fans, it’s divine.

Ducati have fitted top-spec running gear to the 848 Evo and that includes fully digital MotoGP-style instrumentation, a light, stiff, steel tube trellis frame, 43mm Showa forks and Showa monoshock (both fully adjustable), single-sided aluminium swingarm, Brembo brakes with twin 320mm discs and four-piston monobloc calipers at the front, and Y-shaped, five-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels by Enkei, shod with sticky, low-profile Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tyres – 120/70 ZR17 at the front and 180/55 ZR17 at the back. For hard-core sportsbike riders and trackday junkies, the 848 Evo is also available with Ducati’s data analyser (DDA) system that records multiple channels of data, including throttle opening, vehicle speed, engine rpm, engine temperature, distance travelled, number of laps, lap times and so on. The truly dedicated can access this information in graphic detail on their laptop, and perhaps work on improving their lap times.

For regular riders like me, what’s more important is things like ergonomics and that’s one area where you need to approach the 848 Evo with some caution. The riding position is quite committed – the low handlebars and relatively tall seat height make you assume that ‘head down low, bum up in the air’ position, which you may take some time to get used to. Superbike fanatics like me will probably like it but if you’re looking for a relaxed, comfortable ride, this is probably not it. And while we’re at it, let me also mention the fact that the clutch requires a fair bit of effort to operate and the underseat exhaust pipes – which look fantastic – generate a lot of heat, which may not be a very pleasant experience at times, especially for pillion riders.

None of the above, however, should be construed as criticism, because it simply isn’t. The Ducati 848 Evo is an Italian ‘superbike’ after all – it’s not built for pottering around in traffic at low speeds. It’s built for Sunday mornings and fast, twisty roads, where it excels. Riding the 848 Evo, especially here in India, is like being a Great White Shark that slices through shoals of humble Trout. Open the throttle, in any gear and at any revs, and the 848 Evo blasts forward with rocket-like intensity, effortlessly ripping past anything – any car, any motocycle – you come across on the street. Corners are dealt with surgeon-like precision and the Evo encourages you to go around bends harder and faster than you’ve ever done before on any other bike. The firm suspension and steel tube trellis frame work in harmony, providing high-speed stability and yet retaining the ability to flick into corners at a second’s notice. And the Brembo brakes offset the engine’s fury, stopping the bike with authority and power, without ever threatening to lock up and with zero tendency to fade even after prolonged hard usage.

As it should be, the 848 Evo is a very involving ride, with the suspension and brakes providing an optimum amount of ‘feel,’ which is so essential when riding a motorcycle at high speeds. The Marelli fuel-injection is also spot-on, providing perfect fueling and throttle response across the engine’s rev range. Like I said earlier, this is a thoroughbred Italian superbike that demands total commitment from its rider. If you are willing to make that commitment, the 848 Evo provides an intense riding experience that would be hard for other machines to match.

At the time when I rode the 848 Evo and wrote this article, the bike was available in India for Rs 16 lakh – certainly very expensive for ‘regular’ folks, but perhaps worth it for committed sportsbike riders and Ducati fans who had to have the Ducati’s unmatched combination of style, power and performance.