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STURBRIDGE, MA – Of all the motorcycles at IMOC today, there was one that drew more gawkers than all the others. The reasons were numerous. It’s expensive, rare and, if Ducati’s claims are to be believed, it has the best power-to-weight ratio of any production motorcycle ever built. It’s also gorgeous.
Owner Bill Rauh of Princeton, MA was pleased to chat about his exotic 2014 Ducati 1199 Superleggera, one of only 500 built and of which only 200 were sent to the U.S. “The thing’s sick,” he said. “It’s so light. It’s noticeably different.”
Ducati claims the bike’s dry weight is a mere 366 pounds thanks to a magnesium frame, a carbon-fiber sub-frame and bodywork, magnesium wheels and other parts made of titanium. “It’s an amazing piece of machinery,” said Rauh, who paid $65,000 to obtain the more than 200-horsepower Superleggera.
The 62-year-old Rauh got the Superleggera in early June and has only put about 850 miles on it. “I haven’t even broken it in yet,” he said, declaring the bike to be “my last hurrah.”
While the paint scheme is said to be orange, it looks in the sunshine to be red-orange, and quite different from typical red Ducatis. It is eye-catching when moving and even when standing still. “Not only can they hear you coming, they can see you coming,” Rauh said.
