Panigale 300!?

shakazulu12 · Oct 23, 2015

My guess is it's closer to SV/Fz-07 type displacement if that's what they do.

I just pulled that out of my ass though and it's probably more wishful thinking than anything. I'm just basing that on what engines they already have developed and the costs that would be involved to make a new platform.

cristhian702 · Oct 23, 2015

How about a small displacement bike under another sub-brand? Something similar to how they market the Scrambler.

jarelj · Oct 23, 2015

JCAV8R said:
What about the Boxter/Cayman? It's not a "Miata competitor" but it certainly is the toned down entry model.

If the 959 is their smallest sport bike now, they ONLY make liter bikes? I've got to believe they will come out with a new small or mid-displacement.

Yes, if you consider a $60k+ car to be an "entry model" then that's a good analogy to what Ducati would consider an "entry model". My point was that Porsche would not make a 160HP Miata "competitor", they have no intention of watering down their brand by being in that market. Regardless, this thread was about a 300cc Panigale to compete against the RC390/R3/Ninja300, etc. not a "middleweight" sport bike, which Ducati has made several of in the past, starting with the 748. And when they did make a "middleweight" bike it was not a cheap price competitor against the Japanese middleweights, it was a premium model and larger displacement than the I-4's due to it being a twin.

ManofManyGTs · Oct 23, 2015

jarelj said:
Yes, if you consider a $60k+ car to be an "entry model" then that's a good analogy to what Ducati would consider an "entry model". My point was that Porsche would not make a 160HP Miata "competitor", they have no intention of watering down their brand by being in that market. Regardless, this thread was about a 300cc Panigale to compete against the RC390/R3/Ninja300, etc. not a "middleweight" sport bike, which Ducati has made several of in the past, starting with the 748. And when they did make a "middleweight" bike it was not a cheap price competitor against the Japanese middleweights, it was a premium model and larger displacement than the I-4's due to it being a twin.

Completely agree, but.... I never thought Porsche would come out with an suv, or a 4 door sedan. Never under estimate a company's desire to make money by expanding into markets its previously never been a part of. Even BMW are coming out with a series of small displacement bikes. Other countries have stepped licensing systems that make small displacement bikes huge markets. If they do come out with a light weight, or a "beginner" bike it absolutely will be premium and more expensive the the closest rivals.

jarelj · Oct 23, 2015

ManofManyGTs said:
Completely agree, but.... I never thought Porsche would come out with an suv, or a 4 door sedan. Never under estimate a company's desire to make money by expanding into markets its previously never been a part of. Even BMW are coming out with a series of small displacement bikes. Other countries have stepped licensing systems that make small displacement bikes huge markets. If they do come out with a light weight, or a "beginner" bike it absolutely will be premium and more expensive the the closest rivals.

I think that's a different point completely, a company branching out into other markets to support growth IS something that applies to Ducati as well as Porsche, but neither company has done it by trying to build small/cheap entry level vehicles that compete in volume markets. When Porsche built the Cayenne they built the most bad-ass SUV they could, they didn't try to compete with the Ford Explorer. Ducati is the same, they're a premium manufacturer. When they've built any new bike to go into a new segment, they've always entered on the premium end of things. The 300cc sportbike market does not have a "premium" end above the RC390, and Ducati is absolutely not going to make a $5500 bike or anything close to that. And if you look at what it would take to make a 300cc Superquadro Panigale, it would have to be a $12k+ bike. There would be NO market aside from the one I would buy.....

JCAV8R · Oct 23, 2015

jarelj said:
I think that's a different point completely, a company branching out into other markets to support growth IS something that applies to Ducati as well as Porsche, but neither company has done it by trying to build small/cheap entry level vehicles that compete in volume markets. When Porsche built the Cayenne they built the most bad-ass SUV they could, they didn't try to compete with the Ford Explorer. Ducati is the same, they're a premium manufacturer. When they've built any new bike to go into a new segment, they've always entered on the premium end of things. The 300cc sportbike market does not have a "premium" end above the RC390, and Ducati is absolutely not going to make a $5500 bike or anything close to that. And if you look at what it would take to make a 300cc Superquadro Panigale, it would have to be a $12k+ bike. There would be NO market aside from the one I would buy.....

Lots of good speculation on both sides. We'll all know soon enough!

shakazulu12 · Oct 23, 2015

Well..........ummmm

400cc Scrambler leaked?

CFRP King · Oct 24, 2015

The smaller scrambler makes sense to me. Even if they introduce a smaller panigale I doubt it would look very similar to the 899 (or new 9xx) and the 1299. The RC390 was significantly different looking than the old RC8

Charliem90 · Oct 24, 2015

But the Scrambler is already a "small" bike. They've marketed it as their low(er) end bike for the masses.
What they don't have is a small displacement Sport Bike which the market would seem to indicate is in demand atm.
I'm hoping they're paying attention to the success some other manufacturers have been doing (like the KTM RC390) and make a serious one. Small displacement =\= (necessarily) a "beginner" bike - just ask anyone who's ever raced a TZ250.

Panigale 300!?

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