With 140 horsepower and 98Nm of torque from its L-Twin Testastretta Evoluzione engine and a chassis/suspension package that’s simply brilliant, the 2011 Ducati 848 Evo is possibly all the superbike anyone can possibly need for the street. Cycle World magazine, which tested the bike for their November 2010 issue, say the 848 Evo accelerates from zero to 96km/h in 3 seconds, from zero to 160km/h in 6.5 seconds, does the quarter-mile (400m) in 10.59 seconds and hits a top speed of 261km/h. Not too bad for a bike that costs US$13,000, eh?

It’s interesting to see what CW’s Features Editor, John Burns has to say about the 848 Evo. ‘The first Ducati I remember riding was the way cool 851, back in 1989. It made about 80 horsepower and weighed 23kg more than the 848. We loved it,’ says Burns. ‘If you’re Michael Fabrizio or Larry Pegram and racing to make money, you need the big engine [1198]. For street use, for the rest of us, I like the smaller, reviver ones just because the noise they make is the best thing about Ducati superbikes,’ he adds.

‘On an 848 Evo, the noise at 10,000rpm is the best racket of all. On an 1198, on the street, you’ll seldom go there. On the 848, you can go there a couple of times a block because that’s where the power is and because the 848 is geared shorter to access it. Not to mention that a mere 118 horses [rear-wheel bhp figure, as measured on the CW dyno] feels like more than enough,’ sums up Burns. Well, that still doesn’t stop us from lusting after the 1198SP – that’s what we want for Sunday mornings. But the 848 Evo just might do for Saturdays... :-)