There’s little wrong with the standard 959’s fully adjustable Showa Big Piston Forks and Sachs shock, but we all know top drawer suspension is always an improvement. But as cool as they look, the Corse’s Öhlins forks and shock aren’t an obvious step forward, which just goes to show how well set-up the base model is.
Ride-quality is slightly improved, but you’d need to ride the Corse back-to-back with the stock 959 to really feel the difference and fit stickier tyres to work the suspension harder. But on track it’s easier to dial the Öhlins to suit the rider and feel the changes a few clicks of damping makes.
The Corse also has an adjustable Öhlins steering damper, but the Ducati is so unflappable it’s not needed.
The 955cc, 148bhp 8v Superquadro motor remains unchanged in Corse guise, but it comes with Euro4-friendly titanium Akrapovic cans. They don’t make any extra power, but they’re trackday friendly, recording just 97db at 5000rpm.
There have been no reports of major issues with the 959, so don’t expect any nightmares from this uprated new model.
You’ve got to really want this special version of Ducati’s baby Panigale. It might come dripping with mouth-watering goodies, but the Corse is superbike money and you can have a lot more power and technology for the same price, or less.
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The new Corse edition comes with a host of goodies, including fully-adjustable Ohlins suspension and steering damper, a 2.5kg lighter lithium-ion battery, Akrapovic titanium cans and a lumo-orange MotoGP inspired paintjob.