Life with a Ducati 1299...

I agree with the bit about prettier than the 675, I want to go back to a 1000c bike next year so going to demo all the bigger bikes. So far tried the 15 s1000rr nice and auto blipper mega but got back on the 675 and had bigger smiles, I think this is going to be the problem with testing all of them.

 

This is just my hunch but i think you'll enjoy the 1299 coming from a Triumph. The thing with all the other litre bikes I rode was they lacked the engine character of the 675r. The Ducatis have tonnes of engine character and I think if you love triples the superquadro may feel better than a four.

 

Think the 1299 might be out of my price range so will try the 959 , only ever had one v twin before and loved the engine braking. Tried the 2014 rsv4 factory amazing bike this is going to be a hard decision but I have till 1st March 17

 

You may be in luck with a slightly used one I'd happily buy anything that has fsh and any warranty work recorded. Prices will be lower as everyone in Italy is excpecting an all new v4 1000cc from Ducati in 2017. 1299 and 959 from what I've read will be the last of the superquadro engines.

 

Do they have a 1299 base on demo? Try it if you get a chance. I think coming from the 675R you will instantly feel more at home. I've ridden the S twice now for a few days each time now and im now 100% certain I prefer the standard suspension over the electronic. Both of the S I rode felt like they had under steer. Something I now understand to be caused by the dynamic suspension changing as I ride through the corners.

I'm quite lucky in that the standard settings arent too far off for me on the base and the way I've started riding since I had the 899, I like the engine braking to help slow and pull me into the corner. On the demo base and mine I felt like I was completing the corner pretty perfectly but the S I always felt like from just before the apex to exit I was fighting under steer. As if the wheel was turning outwards if that makes sense. Definitely like the rebound was coming back too quickly. Turns out this is the dynamic suspension in operation. I've no doubt on track it'll be superb when you can properly hammer into corners but for the road the manual suspension works far better for me. If I ever upgrade the suspension on my 1299 it will be for manual forks.

I'm in the process of sorting out a day on the s1000r and s1000rr for videos so will be keen to see if they are the same with the dynamic suspension. I seem to recall feeling something similar on the s1000r when I had it.

 

They only have the S as a demo, probably to try and sell the £22k bike opposed to the £18k one. I'm back at the same Dealer to try out the new ZX10R in a few weeks as the chap who I was speaking with was desperate to let me check out launch control - I'm totally not turning down that opportunity. I'm also riding the S1000 RR and the new R1 for good measure.

Now I've rear your reply, I do understand what you're talking about regarding the feeling of understeer, I just assumed it was me not being used to the ergonomics and general characteristics.

 

Ask if they have a base demo or used you could try. You will notice the difference straight away. I'm sure there are settings to sort out on the S so it behaves differently but it probably requires switching off the dynamic suspension and switching it to I think it's called event based operation.

I hated the R1 for so many reasons. S1000RR was closest to 1299 in my opinion but I found it so bland compared to the 675R,899 and 1299. Insanely fast but not the riding experience I was looking for.

 

I thought the 1299S was only event based and not "dynamic" at all.

 

Sorry yes you're right I meant switch from event based where it maintains a hard or soft or whatever feeling to where you just select a setting for each parameter. I was confusing it with the dynamic suspension on the s1000rr.

 

Missed the question mark off mine....I wasn't sure

 

I think electric suspension is a step too far for my little brain, I like it set up well and then it to feel the same all the time. I am sure that makes me a bit of a stick-in-the-mud but my 899 already is doing a lot of stuff without my intervention and that's enough. Every now and again I think back to the good old days of GSXR600 K1's and Aprilia RS250's and realise I may be getting old (at 31!!)

 

Exactly that. I don't want the bike to feel different every corner. I like it to feel predictable and I then ride accordingly.