F**kin phone....... Continued..... "Waste your time. All I'm trying to do is get others opinions on their experiences as v twins and especially ducati s are new to me. Lots of contrasting opinions and views on "essentials" and "musts". But still, the beans sound interesting...... Haha
Hey listen, buy what you like. It's your money. Just don't believe all you hear on the internetz. And I include myself in that too :wink:
I'd like a slipper clutch, had a few wobbly downshifts the more I get used to the bike Essential though? Probably more use than abs or dtc or kfc
In my view if something is "essential" then it will be designed into the bike and manufactured accordingly. If its something that will make the bike individual to the owner/rider then that is a completely different subject. Don't confuse the two :smile:
A slipper's useful on a big twin (an 848 isn't a big twin), but IMHO not a necessity, bit like traction control. You just need to keep your wits about you. It won't make the bike "handle" any better but will stop the rear wheel locking if you're abrupt with the clutch. Or you save yourself a grand and learn to feed the clutch on downshifts. I much prefer the 1x98 to the 848, it's got a wall of torque at the bottom end so you can pootle and be lazy and the head rush at the top
So we both said tomato? Only kidding, couldn't resist :wink:. I'm with ET on this, brakes and a seat are essentials, things like slipper clutches aren't. My recommendation would be; live with the bike for a bit then decide whether you want a slipper clutch or not, the cost isn't going to change and you may save yourself some money.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to ride a rented 1198s from Pisa to Misano and back again. i also did about 100kms on a 1098 with a shagged clutch to help a mate finish the days ride (don't ask!). At the time my own bike was an 04 R1 and I was so excited to finally ride my dream bike. Well I have to say the first morning on the 1198 was such a let down. Lots of traffic, bloody hot and the engine ran like an old dump truck I used to drive. Then later that day somewhere north of Florence on an open twisty piece of road me and the bike started to click and by the end of the day I promised myself that one day I would buy one. Last year I finally had the opportunity to realise my dream and buy an 1198. I test rode a couple that were for sale and to be honest at home on English roads it was mostly the bad momeries that came flooding back. Hard, uncomfortable and miserable in traffic. Then I popped down to Snells and had a go on their demo 848 corse and fell in love. Bought my 848 Corse last May and have not looked back since. it is easier to ride than the 1198, better handling and I love the fact I can just crack open the throttle and wring its neck when the mood takes me (which is most of the tiime). Sorry if the post is a bit long but bottom line for me is having riden the 1198, 1098 and my 848 its about the ride and what you get out of it and not about cc/bhp envy.
I am having problems imagining a slipper clutch as essential unless the rider is completely cack handed. If it were essential I'd surely be locking my back wheel continually - unless it's only the post 999 bikes that make any torque. Can see that on track it might be a different story.
So RadiheadR6, have you ever been fingered round the back. Perhaps you two have already met.:biggrin:
I'm far from being an expert but after getting my 848 Evo and loving the power my immediate thoughts were a bit like the OP 'this is awsome, I want more!!' and wondered about the 1098 et al. When I asked about it I had lots of 'you won't be disapointed' as well as 'do you really need...?' replies. So the consensus seems to the bigger bikes will definitely give you more of that wow factor, and then some. I decided that I'd learn how to be a better rider on the 848 and use the power I have. I think I made the right decision, for me. I would still like the bigger bike in the future because most of the time I'm using midrange and I like the controlled power. Until then I'm going to try to get used to screaming the tits off the 848. It kind of scares the shit out of me because it goes manic at the top end.
You might then want to think what the effect is going to be of adding another 350cc into the equation.
