So, the 1098/1198 plastic tank issue, is it a case of when not if? and will the Panigale have the same problem? And does the 1198 feel a lot stronger than the 1098 on the road?
Yes, no and yes. All the tanks swell to a certain degree, 1199 & 1299 Panigale’s havealuminium tanks, 899 & 959 Panigale’s have steel tanks. 1198’s have a fair bit more punch than 1098’s.
Thanks. It's an 1198S I'm interested in, but a local dealer has a mint 1098 with low miles and a new tank. Wonder if I'd be a bit underwhelmed by a standard 1098 after a S1000RR, and should wait for an 1198 or perhaps a 1199 Panigale. Power isn't the issue so much, more the lack of a quick shifter/traction control.
My buddy had a 1098S which I rode quite a bit. It's definitely not an underwhelming bike on the gas, it's waaaay punchy enough for road and track.
I was close to buying a new 1198S around 10 years ago, but Ducati couldn't be bothered to reply when I asked some questions about the leathers/gloves/boots etc they were throwing in at the time. And the dealer wasn't surprised. Does the 1199 perform much better than the 1098/1198?
1198>>1098. Its all about the torque. My 1299 is nowhere near as torquey as my 1198 was. I suspect the 1199 is worse. The power is higher up in rev range. The 1198 makes it where you can have a hoot with it. Its insanely fun and addictive.
After a lot of Jap 1000's and the BMW it's torque, sound and looks that are attracting me to the Ducati. But the tank issue concerns me. The one at the dealers was registered in 2007, don't know when it was built though. It's immaculate but £8.5k.
From what I've read the tank is was more of an issue with US fuel. Could be wrong. Personally i'd leave the early ones, 2007 is an ealy one. 1198 is a more robust, lighter and more powerful engine.
I had my 1198 for 4 yrs. No issues with tank despite filling it with deisel after only a couple of weeks or so of ownership.
AFAIK it's ethanol in fuel that swells the tank, so it's not something that's going away. BP and Esso are the only safe brands to use I think. So a new tank and that are the only ways you're safe.
I know almost all Streetfighters suffer from it, but only a handful of 1098 / 1198 superbikes. The 1198 has real stomp from low down. My 1098R (1198) feels way more powerfil low down then my Panigale R. An 1198 will stretch your arms.
Early tanks were made of Polyamide which had real issues - they changed around 2009 ish to. PP or PU based plastic. It’s the PA6 marked tanks that are by far the worst, like the new Streetfighter one someone is trying to sell on EBay at the moment! Has @I’m closing in sold his 1198 yet, it’s low mileage and in fab condition and great value too!
It's all down to stroke length. The Panigale designers were chasing power figures so they had to go for an over square configuration. They get the power at the top of the rev range but the trade off is that they have a less impressive torque curve than the 1198* before them. This is a factor that always left me a little cold with the V twin Panigales. I always felt my 1098R (which of course is an 1198) had them covered. So when Ducati announced a cheaty 1103cc V4, I thought 'hello' this should be beefy. And I was right, it is- right from the bottom to the top. Can't whack a beefy mid range
Ducati do like a cheaty V4. The designer of the Desmo says in the 'Bike World' restoration videos, that the Desmo bore / stroke ratio would be illegal today, such is it's extreme short stroke. All done to achieve 25 thousand gazillion revs. 4.00 mins in.
