‘Lust’ is such a crazy thing isn’t it? You can go from barely being interested in something to a full tilt, full blown desire in what sometimes feels like mere nanoseconds it seems.

Just a few months ago I had absolutely no intention starting up yet another relationship with a Ducati. I was happy married to the 999 and perfectly content with it. Then a few somewhat unrelated things happened and I started to kinda, sorta, maybe start mulling over picking something else up for fun. Enter the 1098 from stage left. And, bang! A few glances at the spec sheet and that was it. I was sold on a motorcycle that I don’t ‘need’, nor originally really wanted, and yet now I find myself in this precarious position where I’m increasingly lusting after something I’ve never even seen in person. When I have a few minutes of free time, I find myself scouring the net looking for some new uncovered fact or some hidden gem of a tidbit about what the bike is going to be like. I constantly find myself day-dreaming at odd times, wondering what will this bike really behave like - How much faster can a rocketship fly? As word begins to slowly disseminates after the Kyalami 1098 Moto-Journalist Intro, I keep finding myself devouring every little piece published text and thus far there’s been some good reads if you’re a Ducatista…

MCN has published a follow up article on the 1098 in their newest edition and has also put up a short post on their website called 1098 Picture Special.

The UK’s Bike Magazine has published a mammoth 32-page spread that goes inside Ducati for the last pre-release 1098 testing session.

Finally, CycleWorld tossed its hat in the ring with a First Ride: 2007 Ducati 1098 on their website

If you can’t find a copy of some of these publications, I’d strongly encourage you to sign up and check out the 1098 Forum. It’s a very worthwhile place to hang out.