The gloves are off with Ducati’s 2010 Streetfighter S

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Ducati is unstoppable. The Italian manufacturer was the only major motorcycle brand to see its sales hold steady throughout 2008, despite the economy’s race toward the wall. And further sealing its success, its new Streetfighter S, an ‘extreme naked’ version of its 1098 superbike, the Streetfighter, is both aggressive and excessive.

Here’s the score with the new Streetfighter. It’s Mike Tyson. Everything else on the road is Evander Holyfield’s ear. The 1099cc Desmodromic L-twin goes for the jugular on takeoff and delivers a swift sucker punch on its way toward maximizing its 155 horsepower. Even at idle, its stacked dual exhaust thuds like the heartbeat of a boxer who’s just bludgeoned his opponent and is looking for fresh meat.

Riding Ducati’s latest, it’s sometimes difficult to tell if the bike is friend or foe. It seems just as happy to make you the fool as it is to have you abuse it. But that’s the sort of dysfunction in which Ducati trades.

The Streetfighter is the kind of bike that makes idiots out of seasoned riders as they try to get a handle on its unbridled, pugilist tendencies. It’s also the kind of bike that inspires unprovoked and spontaneous duels with young, sedan-driving men who are traveling in triple digits on the freeway.

Foolish cars.

The Streetfighter is most in its element when running wild and straight. Compared with its progenitor, the mincemeat isn’t quite as fine in the canyons. The wheelbase on the Streetfighter is slightly longer, the handlebars are a bit wider-set and, of course, there is no fairing. But a Monster it is not.

It’s a beast.

2010 Ducati Streetfighter S
Base price: $18,995
Powertrain: fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, Desmodromic L-twin, 4 valves per cylinder, 6 speed
Displacement: 1099cc
Maximum horsepower: 155 @ 9,500 rpm
Maximum torque: 85 lb.-ft. @ 9,500 rpm
Dry weight: 369 lbs.
Road test MPG: 37 (based on 250 miles traveled)

-- Susan Carpenter

Photo: Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times