The Bikes of Superbike 2000

EASports' Superbike 2000 is only a week away from releasing to stores nationwide, and in preparation, we'll be detailing one of the Superbikes from the game's six manufacturers - Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Aprilia - each day until the game hits store shelves.

Like 1998's Superbike World Championship, Superbike 2000 features licensed factory bikes and riders from the SBK Superbike World Championship season. Each day we'll take a look at one of these factory rides and give our impressions on how well each handles in the game. Today, we're placing the spotlight on Ducati's factory bike, the 996 SPS.

Based on Ducati's street-legal 916, the SPS's 996cc four-stroke V-twin engine outputs 163 horses to the ground. The 996 SPS's torque peaks at a relatively low 11,500RPM, making it one of the quickest accelerators of all the bikes in the SBK circuit, and the only bike to consider when players are racing windy tracks like Laguna Seca. But the Ducati also has one of the longest wheelbases of the bunch, which makes it exceptionally stable at the long straights of Hockenheim or Monza.

The 996 neither is the most powerful bike on the SBK circuit, nor is it the lightest. But its ability to corner quickly, its predictability in tight situations, and its great visibility are what allowed Carl Foggarty to take home the 1999 World Superbike championship last year, and make it one of the best set of wheels in the game. Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the Suzuki Alstare factory bike. In the meantime, take a look at the attached screenshots showing off the Ducati in action.