Ducati's red-blooded superbike
The Ducati 848 Evo replaces the current 848 model, and its launch is "a moment I've been dreaming about since I rode the original Ducati 848 at its launch in 2007", says Michael Neeves in Motorcycle News. At just £10,695 (or £9,995 for the matt black 'Dark Stealth' version), it's "the cheapest way to experience the ultimate in cornering kicks from a true red-blooded Ducati superbike".
It has more power and better brakes than its predecessor too. The engine is a tuned Testrastretta Evoluzione V-twin, delivering a claimed 140bhp; and the stopping power comes from Brembo's Monoblocs. The extra power is not a "massive step up" from the 848, but the engine is "usefully revvier", says Neeves.
The bike is also far easier to ride than the 1,198 model, although every bit as quick as that bigger machine on the road – you'd have to get onto a fast racetrack before the bigger bike "could start to stretch out an advantage". Add in the useful saving you'll make over the 1198, and the fact that every other superbike "now crowds the £10k bracket", and the 848 Evo looks a very tempting proposition indeed. It is "simply an exquisite machine", and "hard to imagine how you could possibly have more fun" on any rival.
It's a pretty machine, says Alan Dowds in Superbike, and could make very good sense if you can't afford "the big 'un'".