I find it interesting that no one seems concerned about how the 1299SL will handle. Using carbon fiber in the two key flex points on the Panigale - the swingarm and the monocoque airbox - is going to change how the bike handles a lot more than switching from aluminum to magnesium.
This could be good or bad. But if you ask Ducati Corse, or especially Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, they're not going to have positive things to say about a carbon fiber frameless bike.
Nonetheless, the Panigale is a beautifully engineered design with elegant solutions to eliminating the frame altogether. It's too bad that it was so uncompetitive, and that it has taken Ducati several years to get the bike to even win a single WSBK race (although they've now definitely gotten the bike sorted out!).
Despite being a Panigale, using carbon fiber in those key points really makes it the closest thing you'll ever get to a GP10 replica, and that's a very cool thing. I'd want to know how the bike handles on a track when pushed, before dropping $65k on one, which would require reports from riders flogging their 1299SLs on tracks.
I doubt many 1299SLs will see much track time however.
