ROAD NEWS
DUCATI HONOURS BAYLISS
The number 21 has had a bit of magic to it for Ducati ever since Troy Bayliss sculpted it with his victories in motorcycling history . Now in 2021 , 20 years after winning the 2001 Superbike World Championship , Ducati is paying homage to the legendary career of the Aussie rider by dedicating a run of special edition Panigales in his honour . Dubbed the Ducati Panigale V2 Bayliss 1st Championship 20th Anniversary ( say that 21 times at high speed !), the special is characterised by its unique livery , but it isn ’ t just a stickered up Panigale V2 . The graphics are inspired by the bikes Bayliss rode to his first world title in 2001 – the 996 R – with the
scheme revisiting the same colours and cuts . Ducati didn ’ t just add cool graphics and call it a day , however . Befitting a bike honouring a race champion , the V2 Bayliss sports upgraded Öhlins suspension . Up front is a NX30 front fork while a TTX36 rear shock absorber handles the rear . According to Ducati , the Öhlins components guarantee maximum smoothness and are designed to achieve the best performance on the circuit . Just as a racer ’ s bike should perform . Compared to the standard version , the V2 Bayliss is also 3kg lighter , thanks to the adoption of a lithium-ion battery and by the choice to go with the single-seat configuration to further link the special edition bike to
KIWI RIDER 23