FEATURE WINNING AT TWINNING
Ever since Johnny came back all pumped up from testing the SP version back in the spring, I've been meaning to give one of these a go... if for no other reason than to shut him up. I swear, Ducati must have been handing out gold bars on that test event because he came back preaching like a good ‘un about how epic the thing was, loaded with torque, tech and head-turning looks. I'll admit, seeing the thing in the flesh, it didn't look too shabby, being a whole lot easier on the eye thancomposed with great lines and an air of quality to its finish. Aesthetically, I was on board, but would it really live up to Johnny's hype, line and verse? I didn't expect it to. The main reason being that I was set to ride the base model, while he'd been tossing the day off on the über-trick SP version. My bike had no Termi stacked silencers, fancy Öhlins suspension or sexy paintjob to lure my eyes. But that wasn't all bad, because for its lack of bling, it also lacked in cost. The base model weighs in at more than £1 1k, so it's about three grand less than the SP. More to the point, not knowing how good the added bits made the flagship's riding experience, I was open to judging this bike for its merits without preconceptions.
