Prior to July 2007, motorcycle fans across the globe had never seen anything like the Ducati Desmosedici RR, the first true MotoGP race bike replica available to buy for anyone with enough money (£40k to be exact) and which could be ridden on the road. The final prototype was launched on the eve of the 2006 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello to affirm its MotoGP and Italian routes to the world’s motorcycling press.

The RR’s jaw dropping wealth of performance and technology came directly from Ducati’s experience in MotoGP. It was the result of the Ducati Corse Grand Prix racing Desmosedici GP6, the same bike in which Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau competed with in the 2006 MotoGP World Championship.

The body design and the aerodynamics completely reflected the full fat Desmosedici GP6. The colour scheme, the materials, and even the fittings used in its construction as well as the technical features of the powerful four-cylinder desmodromic engine built by the engineers at the Borgo Panigale factory were all MotoGP spec, nothing was half-baked.

Ducati’s CEO at the time of the Desmosedici launch, Federico Minoli, hailed the RR as truly representing everything ‘Ducati’. He said, “It will be the ultimate Ducati experience, one that best exemplifies the passion and the ingenuity for which we are famous.” And it delivered.

Engine and chassis

The Desmosedici RR’s 989cc ‘long bang’ engine mirrored that of its MotoGP sibling, and no expense was spared just because it was a road bike. The V4 had the same 82mm bore and 42.56mm stroke as the GP bike, as well as the same twin-pulse firing order and desmo drive system with gear driven cams.

Inside the sand-cast cases and cylinders were a whole host of titanium parts and it was all finished with magnesium engine covers and sump. The overall result? A fire-breathing 200bhp, which wouldn’t look too out of place against today’s litre sports bike spec sheets. So, you can imagine the excitement 14 years ago in 2006!

Another innovative piece of engineering was its exhaust. The ‘four-into-two-into-one’ system was finished off with a vertical exit silencer, hidden in the rear tail cover behind the rider’s seat. It even had to use F1-developed technology to stop the heat from melting the seat unit.

The bike’s technological advancements didn’t stop at the engine components, the chassis was equally as sophisticated and exclusive. A signature tubular trellis hybrid frame incorporated the engine as a stressed member and it had a self-supporting carbon subframe, with the rear wheel connected via a huge swingarm. The RR was complimented with lightweight wheels and the first gas-pressurised forks on a production bike (Ohlins of course) to encourage nimble and precise handling.

Overall, the cutting-edge materials and technology used in the Desmosedici’s engine and chassis were a feat of precision and world-leading engineering.

Summary

Of course, the Desmosedici RR wasn’t the first Grand Prix replica, Suzuki’s RG500 Gamma could probably make that claim, but it was the first time a road bike had been made available for sale to the general public.

With the Grand Prix regulations moving from 990cc to 800cc from 2007, Ducati was quite happy to put its 990 technology out in the public domain to its most loyal and well heeled Ducatisti.

And it wasn’t just another litre bike. The difference between the RR and mainstream sports bikes of the era was that where a GSX-R1000 or equivalent flattered most riders with their compliant chassis and softer engine nature, the Ducati had no such compromise. It has been hailed as one of the best handling road motorcycles ever, but you needed to be a World Championship regular to really appreciate it.

So, unless you have the ability to push the Desmosedici as hard as a MotoGP rider can, it wouldn’t be possible to get the best out of it on track. And that’s testament to how Ducati stuck to their guns and built a true MotoGP bike that was road legal. It was simply a track bike with lights and mirrors.

How about exclusivity? Well Ducati sold all 1,500 RRs, and as a result prices started to dip when the hype died down. As the recession hit in 2008 too, prices tumbled further and you could pick up a used one for under £30,000. In reality, the limited edition Ducati 1098R is more exclusive as just 500 models were made.

But thanks to the resurgence of Ducati in the MotoGP championship in recent years and the launch of Honda’s RC213V-S GP replica, prices are surpassing the £50,000 mark for the Desmosedici and will likely only continue to rise.

Did you know?

Two versions of the Desmosedici RR were available to customers, one painted in the ‘Rosso GP’ scheme with a white tail section, and the Desmosedici RR ‘Team Version’, painted in the ‘Rosso GP’ scheme and as with the factory Ducati Corse bikes of the time, included a broad white stripe on the fairing. Team sponsor decal kits were also provided with each bike, and there was even a special race kit that included a 102 decibel racing exhaust, Ducati bike cover, tyre warmers and paddock stand.

Brand new, the RR cost £40,000. That’s a lot of money for a motorcycle, but the Italian factory could have sold it for a lot more than that and it would still have been worth the money. Imagine how much a car equivalent of the RR would cost…