1199 1199s To Buy Or Not To Buy. Please Help!

I'd keep the 899 depending on how bad the damage was, 1199 bikes are a bit of an animal plus i belive you have to ride them hard to get the best put out of them,the 899 makes a great track bike.

 

Buy it.

PS. The throttle goes both ways

 

Follow your heart. 1199S.

 

Go with the heart, get the 1199!
It is a bit of an animal, but if the power intimidates you at the moment, then stick it in wet mode until you're comfortable with it, as its much tamer!

 

If the financials make sense to go for the 1199S, then go for it! It is not really more difficult to ride than a 899, you just need to have a little more respect for the throttle once it hits 6-7K rpms (it is a bit more vicious in the powerband than the 899 - but thats the fun part )

On my 5th season with my 1199S - love it and its quirks

 

a lot of 1199/1299 owners I've spoken to at the track who had a 899 before says they think they are quicker on the 899 as can get on the power quicker and not scare the shite out of themselves. Admittedly this is quite a small sample.

 

If it's your poster on the wall bike, buy the 1199 and learn to ride and build your confidence on it. If it's not your poster bike, get another 899.

When I was looking to have a gixxer I tried the 1000 and the 750 and whilst the 1000 was a better straightline bike I found the 750 a far better everyday, every event and more rewarding bike and today would choose the 750 over the 1000 every time. It's a more complete bike and given you say most of your riding is in the mountains, I'd choose the 899 over the 1199 every time.

 

1199 was my dream bike. I wanted one after seeing it in the showroom.
Years down the line (when i could afford it) I bought the 899 as it was more within my price range and 148 bhp made more sense than the beast of an 1199
I turned my 899 in to my dream, single side swing arm conversion and a few magnesium bits. My 899 ticks all the boxes for me

 

1199 I bought mine after 24 years of being off bikes. Baptism of fire perhaps, but I loved it and sooooo miss it.

 

@Andy800 got any pics mate?

 

Nice mate

 

Nice cave mate

 

I'm going to go against the grain and say you might be better staying with the 899 since you mention that you do not use all the capabilities of the 899 as it is. If you were talking about the 1299 then I would say go for it as the 1299 can do friendly and angry in equal measure so is much more practical. The 1199 only really does 'friendly' if you naturally push it hard since its built like a racebike. It needs to be full revs before it starts to be smooth and make sense. At low revs it's not much fun and in rain mode all the bikes are pretty rubbish and I dont see the point. Rain mode on an 1199 is nothing like an 899 at all, it's completely different and misses the whole point of having the small engine; easy revs and beautiful handling through low engine mass which the 899 has. The 1199 in rain mode just feels like an unresponsive lump thats difficult to turn and the suspension does not work properly because it's designed to work at warp speed under hard acceleration and braking. An 1199 rode hard on the mountain roads or the track is an absolutely awesome machine that I would recommend to anyone but if you do not go at it hard then you are better choosing the 899.

 

Completely 100% agree with this.
From what’s you’ve said the 899, I’ve owned the 899 & currently own a 1299.
1199/1299 reward (really reward) fast pace on it riding.
Rain mode ( on all panis IMO) feels muted and unnatural, a real disconnection between throttle & power.
I never, under any circumstances, use the rain mode, it’s not a macho thing, it doesn’t feel right & is too unpredictable.
The sport & race are better ( especially with throttle spacers), but still reward aggressive riding.
Took the 1299 out for a play in north wales yesterday and it really made sense - loved it.

Commuted into work this morning on it & wished I’d cycled.

For the road ( street, if you favour US slang) the 899 in full modes is a much ‘better ‘ bike than its bigger brothers with parental control filters.

 

I've ridden both the 899 and the 1199 on track but only the 1199 on the road so my point of view is biased.

I loved the 1199 Tricolore so much I just had to have it. Nothing, absolutely nothing else came into it. I didn't even consider the 899.

On the track I kept hitting the rev limiter with the 899, with the 1199 I didn't.

Everything that Royalwithcream says above makes perfect sense. The 899 will do everything you need on the road. BUT
if you just long for an 1199 get one. I ride mine slow and I ride it quick.

It's really a question of what you will be happy with. One thing I'd consider is that you've HAD an 899. Maybe try something else.

You've got the roads to do it in Spain. Far better than the riding conditions in the UK. As I'm in Spain at the moment I will be flying back to the UK at the weekend for a funeral but as soon as that's done I'm picking up my 1199 and heading straight back to Spain with it.

Because that bike needs these roads.

 

1098 and 1198 are quite brutal bikes, no electronic help at all, except basic tc on the later 1198s.