One is a scalpel, the other is a sculpture — and we all know which one we’d want around on our good days, right? Even the smallest glimpse of a Panigale exudes more purpose and capability than your average Olympic Village. But we don’t care, especially when there’s a 916 looking right at us. The Panigale was built for lap times, the 916 was born for dreams. Heck, that newer bike’s winglet-accompanied beak could belong on any of Ducati’s world-beating motorcycles; in fact, we’re still wondering why they haven’t appeared on the Multistrada yet. But there’s no mistaking a 916… or any of the other motorcycles that shared its iconic face. Forget ships — that’s the face that still launches a thousand sips of whichever mind-elevating liquid you prefer, and then dive headlong into the poet Keats’s immortal line — ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’. It doesn’t matter when or where the 916 is from. No other motorcycle looks like it was always the love of your life.
