BETTER THAN BEFORE

Is it time that we all admit we were wrong about Pierre Terblanche’s controversial superbike? To be truthful, it is a well overdue apology – after enduring years of scathing comments about its looks, the Ducati 999 is now red-hot property in the used bike market as it rapidly ascends the steps to iconic superbike status. But does it deserve such an accolade? If you look at the stats, it dominated on track in a way that the Panigale V-twin and V-four have failed so miserably to do (which is always a key requirement for any Ducati superbike…) and after a bit of a slow start, showroom sales back in the day weren’t actually that bad, something that is enforced by the relative commonness of the 999 in the used market compared to the 916, 996 or even the 998…

Although is that just down to owners being more inclined to part with the 999…?

So – down to the nitty-gritty.