Ducati 999

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and beautiful
Review: Whether or not you're a fan of Ducati, its chief designer Pierre Terblanche, or authors Alan Cathcart and Marc Cook, you can't ignore this beautiful, brilliant book. It's an absorbing account of a motorcycle's evolution, at unprecedented levels of detailed reportage. The still and action photos--the latter by Kevin Wing particularly pleasing--are exquisite, detailed and informative.
Most enthuasiasts know Ducati's remarkable race history over the last half century, from the great bevel-gear machines whose valve acuation evolved into today's signature desmodromic technology, up to its amazing 2003 MotoGP bike (podiums in its first year!). The V-twin Pantah, suitably bored, stroked and beefed up, eventually using water instead of air to cool, begat the 851, 900S, 888, 916, 996, 998 and now the 999. The book's depth and detail are riveting. Ducati's people, originals to the core, create the focus. No worthwhile vehicle--no designed object of any significance--can be created without committed individuals who believe in what they are doing, into the bones.
David Gross, Ducati's creative director, wrote a candid foreword, revealing Terblanche as interesting and controversial. A bit like BMW Cars's Chris Bangle, Terblanche comes across as an egotist--not always right but never in doubt--who despises his critics.
This is not a perfect book despite its brilliance and production quality. We needed to see dyno comparisons of the various progenitors to the 999, reference to the WSB 999s vs. the production bikes, and 999/R/S spec comparisons that explain the significant cost differentials.
Also, note that this is not investigative reporting. Ducati wouldn't have let Cathcart or Cook into the joint if there had been any suspicion of deviation from an unsullied portrait. And Cathcart's relentless egotism jars--we get yet another opinion or picture of him on a Ducati, neglecting many of the great champions mentioned but not pictured, such as Hailwood, Polen and others. This facet alone removes a star from my review.
Nitpicking aside, this is a remarkable and magnificent book written, photographed and produced by genuine enthusiasts who have given us an unprecedented look into the development of a great motorcycle. It stands alongside some of the best of its kind, up there with the Guggenheim's "Art of the Motorcycle" and Nick Ienatsch's SPORT RIDING TECHNIQUES (a David Bull book), both reviewed by me for Amazon. David Bull is publishing at the pinnacle of the motorcycling world.