I was going to add that the revs of the 600 at highway speeds are probably 50% more than the Ducati (say 4300 rpm vs 6500 rpm). So the two engines are pumping about the same amount of air.
You would think then that assuming both have similar efficiency they would use the same amount of fuel. This however isn't the case as the smaller bike needs more throttle when any load (such as a hill) is encountered. On the highway the twin is barely breathing and the throttle is just cracked off the stop, the 600 throttle is going to be open more in basically any situation.
For 2009 Buell has published fuel consumption for their bikes. IIRC the air-cooled 1200s are mid-fifties. If I'm just cruising (45-65 mph on back roads), my 999 will get 50 mpg. On the interstate it is more like 44 mpg.
Taken to the extreme, this is also how a Z06 Corvette with 7 liters and over 500 hp, not to mention several times the weight and frontal area of a bike, can achieve high 20's in mpg if driven carefully.
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For 2009, there is only ONE rider in MotoGP who has never won a race in ANY world championship series... can you name him?
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