2008 Ducati D16RR Desmosedici, Frame no. ZDM1ZDFW88B000894

2008 Ducati D16RR Desmosedici
Frame no. ZDM1ZDFW88B000894
• Street-legal limited-edition race replica, 1 of 1500
• Covered just c.650 miles from new, fresh tires fitted
• Books, manuals, purchase paperwork and service documents provided
• Comes with race kit and street exhausts/ignition modules

In the sportbike world, there are race replicas, then there's the Ducati D16RR Desmosedici. When first announced in 2004, it was promised to be the closest thing to a factory MotoGP racer ever seen, a street-legal version of what team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss were then campaigning on the Grand Prix circuit. Because Ducati's trademark V-twin engine configuration could not produce competitive GP levels of horsepower under the governing rules, company engineers doubled-up on the cylinders to create a 90-degree V-four of 990cc displacement. Production of the RR street version commenced in 2007, with the first of 1,500 units delivered in early 2008. Manufacturer's suggested retail price in the U.S. was $72,500.

Rumor has it that celeb-riders Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Michael Jordon each wanted the first of 300 D16RRs bound for the States, with Cruise ending up as Top Gun and slotting #1 into his garage. What Desmosedici owners found upon delivery was well worth the wait and the price. The engine, redlined at 14,200rpm and producing 200hp at the crankshaft, had sandcast cases and cylinder heads, with cam-drive covers and alternator casing cast in magnesium. Titanium was used for the connecting rods and intake/exhaust valves. The frame was a composite affair, with steel trellis tubing for the main structure, carbon-fiber for the seat mount and aluminum for the swingarm. Bodywork was all carbon-fiber.

Motorcycle magazine journalists can be a cynical lot, test-riding as they do hundreds of motorcycles, but almost to a man they had nothing but good to say about the Desmosedici. The reaction of British writer Roland Brown, with seat time on virtually every important recent streetbike and more than a few factory racers, including the Desmosedici MotoGP bike, was typical.

"The RR's speed, sound and feel are all remarkably close to those of the genuine works racer, so much so that no other production bike can match it, either for excitement or performance," he wrote in Motorcyclist magazine. "Yet an owner can ride it to work, to the shops or even on holiday – preferably accompanied by a very strong lock. Ducati set out to put its MotoGP missile on the street, and it's done just that."

Coming from the later portion of the production run, this Desmosedici is finished in the rarer red/white color scheme that more closely resembles the works MotoGP Ducatis. Showing just c.650 miles the bike presents as new – tires currently fitted have 0 miles – and comes equipped with the factory race kit exhaust system and ignition ECU. Included in the sale are all the original delivery items, including front and rear work stands, bike cover, battery charger, data link, books and manuals, plus signed photographs from Ducati MotoGP riders, purchase/service documents, and the street exhaust and ECU.