What Makes the Ducati 916 Special - History and Review of a Superbike Icon

[@DonnieDesmo]

The Ducati 998 is 20 years old and has officially never won the world championship, so is it a good track bike? Let's find out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKGxdoyalL9pm7M 😊

[@CornerSpeed]

I had an 888, took it on a track with my friend and his new 916. He let me have a go. Just no comparison, this was a revolution. I improved five seconds per lap immediately and was understandably not pushing it on his price and joy. In its' time the 916 was the boss. Now it is a legend. Thanks for another great video.

[@DonnieDesmo]

Thanks! I hope I'll also get the chance to ride a 888 and compare one day...

[@Freddie206]

Beautiful bike! Thanks for sharing) it’s always cool to see Ducati fans from other parts of world

[@DonnieDesmo]

Thank you and vice versa ;)

[@presstodelete1165]

As someone who works on Italian bikes the big thing is how easy it is to strip, the MV F4 even improved on this. By contrast the Benelli Tornado is one of the most complex bikes I have ever stripped (putting it politely). The 916 and F4 were designed by Massimo Tamourini, the Benelli by Adrian Moreton, sadly for MV the next generation were designed by Moreton.

[@DonnieDesmo]

Why do you think Morton went away from the easy assembly?

[@presstodelete1165]

@@DonnieDesmo It isn't a design objective with any others in the industry, only with Tambourini.

[@ducwolf]

Thx a lot for your engagement , Passion and competent explainations. A very appriciated tribute to this iconic bike that changed the view on Motorcycles for Former decades and future.

[@DonnieDesmo]

Thank you!

[@Pstaines439]

Nice one Donnie. I like the out takes too.

[@DonnieDesmo]

Thank you. Outtakes are always fun to include, it's not so easy to remember all that text everytime :D

[@916Dukedesmo]

Excellent Vids Donnie Desmo, luv 'em all !!!! You have a great sense of humour and fantastic taste mate! Keep 'em coming please! I have a '95 916SP. I still absolutely adore it! I had the same feeling that day, many years ago, when I walked into the show room. The keys were handed over. I fired it up, it sounded like the gates of hell had opened. I rode it 400kms home into the night. A Suzuki RGV with a near litre engine. It was an instant Fatal Attraction... I've ridden it decedents since, the latest too. However, there is definitely something about the 916 series Donny.... Minimalistic? But not absent. Lack of technology? But not dumb. Raw?... But not brutal. Ethereal...

[@DonnieDesmo]

The funny thing is: If one has never ridden a 916 there is no way of telling how different this feels from almost everything else. It took motorcycle riding to a completely different sphere for me. Ethereal indeed...

[@montoya197803]

Great job as always. While watching some MotoGP races from 2003 (Ducati's first year in the series), the commentators indicated that their MotoGP program was significantly influenced by their WSBK success with the 916. This point had never occurred to me before. It is a further indication of just how significant the 916 was and is.

[@DonnieDesmo]

I just wish they would have had more success in MotoGP. Although, Stoner's title and all the runner-up results of Dovizioso are not exactly terrible.

[@montoya197803]

@@DonnieDesmo Agreed. Perhaps Miller and Pecco can deliver next season. I hope so.

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@montoya197803 I'm counting on Miller for some crazy victories. Not sure about Bagnaia, though. Fingers crossed!

[@Pimpertski]

This is a nice Review. I am so glad to own this Icon with my 998s Final Edition!

[@DonnieDesmo]

I had my eyes on a 998S FE too once. My 998 biposto was an eye-opener for me. Nothing like it before or after except that 916 SPS!

[@gregbenn5664]

I have a tatty 916 - wrong forks, crap paint, leaking oil.... But still a 916, love it

[@DonnieDesmo]

These are all things that can be fixed in the end. Sometimes people restore a Ferrari found in a shed. At least yours is working! ;)

[@lukeiamyourfather3511]

916 is perfection.The 999 like everyone else hated it. Now I appreciate the 999 bikes.The newer bikes. I guess their OK.

[@DonnieDesmo]

I had an 899 Panigale. That bike never did it for me as much as the 998. The 999 is very tempting indeed, though...

[@minatormyth]

I owned a 996, wish I had just kept it. But I thought I would never use it again once I bought a Diavel and panigale 1199. I do miss it still🤔 Great video, thankyou 🤗

[@DonnieDesmo]

The same thing happened to me with my 998. Sold it (after two crashes on track) and really regretted that later. Now I’m back with a 916 SPS and finally happy again!

[@7rslender]

IMHO the 916 series is still the best looking Ducati by far. The Panigale does look nice but does not even come close to this icon.

[@DonnieDesmo]

...and it can't match the 916's success either, not even as a V4.

[@7rslender]

@@DonnieDesmo true ... true. And remember Franky Chili and his 998.5 (when he threw the 999 in the bin) that says it all. :-D

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@7rslender Those were the good ol' days... It's just great we can still ride these things more than 20 years later!

[@Edison73100]

916 = ICON

[@f99o46]

Awesome Ducati Ducati 👏

[@vanduc996]

Keep 'em coming Donnie, i like what you have going on with your vids. I think the Panigale near matches the 916 as far as sexiness is concerned, but isn't, and never will be as iconic as the 916. The 916 rocked the motorcycle world like few other bikes ever have, and combined with it's success on the racetrack make for a near incomparable combination. I see you've upgraded the front master cylinder on your SPS. Any other upgrades planned, or upgrades you've done that I can't or haven't noticed?

[@DonnieDesmo]

The main things I would go for is 5-spoke wheels for better handling, an open clutch like I had on the 998 and different footpegs with better grip. Beyond that I've made a list with lots of carbon fibre on it. But there is some very strong appeal to keeping it original...

[@vanduc996]

@@DonnieDesmo I hear what you're saying about keeping it original; that's the only problem with having a real SPS, you feel like you should keep it original since they're rare and special. I got around that by starting with the common base model and adding SPS cams so I don't hesitate to mod at all.. I think you have to change the foot pegs because the stock one's are dangerous slippery and can cause one to crash as a result. If you get a set of five spoke OZ wheels in gold that keeps the period look. I went with five spoke BSTs and the difference in handling over the stock five spoke wheels from my '01 was huge. Remember, anything you change can always be changed back as long as you keep the original parts

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@vanduc996 Good to know you also had that issue with the footpegs! I wasn’t sure if the problem was my old boots because I hadn’t used those for a while... One more thing that comes to mind is that abominable self-folding side-stand. I sweat every time I use it. Maybe I can get a 998 version installed? That one doesn’t fold by itself.

[@vanduc996]

@@DonnieDesmo An "issue" doesn't quite cover it when it comes to the footpegs! They nearly killed me! My foot slipped off the footpeg during a hard transition picking the bike up from full lean to full lean. Nearly went straight off a mountain road at speed! Scared the sh*t out of myself and didn't ride the bike properly again until I had something grippier to stand on. Ended up with Acculign rearsets which I LOVE! I never had the self folding side stand thing, but yeah, that would have to go toute suite! What a crazy idea by the factory to put that on the bike. Must have been their parts department that requested that!

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@vanduc996 Good thing you didn’t crash there! That side-stand shows much of a race-bike the 916 was and how much other stuff was just an afterthought.

[@HedgeCCL]

Just bought a 916 SPS. Shall let you know what I make of it.

[@DonnieDesmo]

Looking forward to that!

[@docsamson2299]

Would never own one (cost and maintenance, mostly) but there is no denying that they are almost always very attractive, both visually and aurally. Thanks for taking the time to make this!

[@DonnieDesmo]

You’re welcome! You’re right, they’re not cheap. Every now and then I have come across a base model for a good price, but then there is still maintenance. Unless you’re a good mechanic and can recognize a good part on ebay...

[@andyoakley7372]

@@DonnieDesmo I bought a 916 SPS because I love Tamburini's designs. I also have an MV F4 750S and a 1090 Brutale. I don't care about the maintenance, the capital gain achieved by investing in proper motorcycle design more than covers the cost of maintenance.

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@andyoakley7372 True, the design is fabulous. On top of that comes the l-twin sound and its racing success based on top tech. Just great all around.

[@rob-od1vm]

the 916 is the queen of super bike and always will be that . the panigale is a nice bike , nothing more ore less and never be the icon the 916 is

[@DonnieDesmo]

As much as I like the Panigale, especially the V2's design, I honestly feel the same. Let's see if at least the V4 can get the WSBK title next year. That could make a difference 🏆

[@ringofthebrave]

On track days in the 90ties the 916 underperformed regarding acceleration compared to the early fireblades and even ZX9R. It was a really sweet bike but not the fastest on the track.

[@DonnieDesmo]

Interesting, do you have numbers on that? I think that in outright performance the initial strada versions of the 916 suffered a bit from a less competitive power to weight ratio than the actual racing superbike. If you take an SPS like the one in this video, things will be different though. Anyhow, the real strength of this bike to me is the incredible chassis and suspension.

[@ringofthebrave]

@@DonnieDesmo SPS did not accelerate as good as a ZX900B as the Kawa had more power which compensated the higher weight. I had the ZX900B at that time and did alot of track training in Oschersleben. To my surprise I could pass every 916 whith ease on the straight sections. It became my habit to pass them on the straights instead on the brakes or in corners. I changed the bikes with a friends 916 for a short ride and found the 916 a very well balanced and sophisticated super Sport bike with a fascinating engine but if it comes to pure power the japanese bikes available in 1997 had more top end power usable on the race track.

[@DonnieDesmo]

I just did some checking and found the ZX900B would have had a dry weight of 215kg, whereas the 1998 SPS weighed 190kg dry. The Kawa had 139hp and the SPS 123. Including 100cc more displacement (996 engine in the 916 SPS) and a twin for the Duc, I'd expect the SPS to produce more torque and accelerate faster. So, the difference was probably top speed - which would fit the overtaking on the straights. But in the end, that's all theory and numbers on paper 😊

[@ringofthebrave]

@@DonnieDesmo I would have expected to have trouble passing a 916 but in real they had no chance. My ZX900B was 100% Stock except an open Termignoni muffler. The max power may have not been increased but the engine performed very powerful from 10500 Up to 12000rpm (Standard muffler caused significant power loss above 10500rpm). This gave me a very wide usable power band with maximum acceleration in every situation. And it was 5kg lighter (or more). Top speed (Sigma bike computer) 242kmh or 4th gear limiter. I finished passing them before I shifted to gear 4. Another interesting thing was that the Fireblades (128hp) had exactly the same acceleration and brake Performance as my ZX900B (both BT56).

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@ringofthebrave Thar’s odd. The SPS goes 270km/h - not factory numbers, but tested by bike magazines. That’s a lot faster.

[@lukapopit1578]

First panigane have no sbk titles...so from that view we can say that bike is unsuccessful, now we wait on V4, but I think they have hard job to beat JR on kawa😀 for me was the best sbk machine 999, and also Bayliss favorite sbk bike💪😋

[@DonnieDesmo]

The 999 also had some great riders on it: Bayliss, Hodgson, Haga... Good times.

[@NudaMan]

I got a 2003 Aprilia RSV Mille, I wish I had the Edwards or Haga edition 😪😪😪

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@NudaMan I once saw the Mille Haga edition on ebay and was very tempted. That one is on my bucket list.

[@BigThunderKennels]

Ducati every time

[@DonnieDesmo]

And everywhere 😁

[@sju9188]

the real successor to a 748/916/996/998 is a F4 MV Agusta I think

[@DonnieDesmo]

That's a good point! Although to me the F4 is too similar to the 916 to stand out in the same way (underseat exhausts, one-sided swingarm, general shape of the fairings).

[@JoeinPNW]

Roseanne to Pam 😂😂😂

[@DonnieDesmo]

Literally 😁

[@desmo1976]

❤️❤🇮🇹

[@DonnieDesmo]

So do I, so do I 😍

[@NudaMan]

Mv agusta is Ferrari,Ducati is Lamborghini and Aprilia is Honda 👌🏾 sorry I work at a Ktm/Aprilia dealership and that’s the right way to describe each company by car manufacturer

[@DonnieDesmo]

I think truthfully speaking any direct comparison is a bit far-fetched. Lamborghini isn't building anything as "entry-level" as Scrambler and Aprilia doesn't have the sales or corporate footprint of Honda, even by Italian bike-maker benchmarks. That "Ferrari on two wheels" which was used for the 916 can be applied, though, in my opinion. It has that ultimate appeal and classic status to me.

[@vanduc996]

Ferrari and Ducati are connected by their on going commitment to top level racing, something that neither MV Agusta or Lamborghini can compare to. Yes I know MV has racing heritage but that stopped decades ago. Ferrrari and Ducati are comparable with each other because they test themselves against the very best at the highest level of competition. MV and Lambo are for those that like to look fast

[@DonnieDesmo]

@@vanduc996 Apparently, KTM's Stefan Pierer himself called Ducati the Ferrari of motorcycles when he was speaking of a potential takeover by his company: www.speedweek.com/motogp/news/172773/Stefan-Pierer-(KTM)-Warum-Ducati-Kauf-nicht-klappte.html