The simple answer is that, at the time of it's launch, the 999 was fucking ugly compared to the 916. So ugly that people stayed away in droves. Don't moan about it, it means you can buy a shit hot Ducati for relative peanuts, and their looks have grown better with age. Sadly, I cannot foresee any time in the future when the fuglystrada will pull the same stunt.
Exactly, the reason they didn't like the 999, was it wasn't the 916. Simple as that. My local dealers have a mint sub 300miles 999r in stock, that I have been seriously lusting over :Woot:
No - the reason they didn't like it was because it was not beautiful. You still can't call it beautiful, but today its 'brutalism' is more appreciated.
Its crime was it wasn't a 916. But what a thing to have to live up to. Mr Tamburini's masterpiece. Its like trying to out do Sergeant Pepper, or the E-Type. Now its appreciated for what it is. Its come out of the shadow of the 916 as time has been kind. So now it can be seen that its actually a rather pretty little number. Plus it won shitloads. I think it stands shoulder to shoulder with the 916 on its own merit. I'm an unashamed 916 fan. great bikes the 999. I'd like one to park between my 916 and 1198 in my garage.
749 is a stunning motorcycle especially in yellow. it was the bike that allowed me to give ducati a second look.
IMO the 916 stylee is really showing its age, where as the 749/999 can still very much cut it as a modern bike, they stand out more that the 1098 and once we start to see the droves of 899's out and about this summer the 749/999 will stand out even more. Trust me I'm a Doctor
The 916 was a breath of fresh air when it was released and changed bike design. The 999 was a very capable bike but wasn't a logical progression for me. The 1098 was the bike that should have followed the 998 in my opinion. I always remember Frankie Chili peeing off Ducati by shunning the 999 and whupping them on a 998 For a few races.
Well I'm obviously younger than you lot because I don't think that the 916 is that good looking . Its a design classic obviously but it doesn't make my knees go wobbly. Its a great design of its time. Its like the E-Type Jag. When they came along they were SO much prettier than the other cars on the market. They took on this mythical status, on bedroom walls and yes they were/are pretty. Still pretty but there's not that many ground-breaking designs out there these days. I guess the same could be said of the Lambo Countach? The 999/749 is looking better with age in my eyes.... surely that's a measure of good design. It always divided opinion and I'm sure it will continue to. It's all in the eye of the beholder after all.
Countach? Ground breaking design? PMSL. Its a brute. Dont get me wrong, I'd sell my Gran for one but its not conventionally pretty as say the Muira was. The Countach is attractive as say a Storm Trooper can be considered attractive as he holds a blaster to your head.
I never said it was pretty ....or did I....I might have by mistake! As a design the Countach was/is extraordinary though.....like nothing before and in that sense it took design in a difference direction. I wonder what bikes would have been like these days if the 916 had never been designed...
when it comes to anything that is seen as style or art it's a pointless exercise to say one is better than another. It's like saying Led Zeppelin is better than Pink Floyd. Different strokes for different folks etc. I have only owned 748/996 but I wouldn't hesitate to buy any 749/999. (btw Pink Floyd are better though )
I'm lucky enough to have both a 996 and a couple of 749s. From an aesthetic perspective, I can't say which I prefer - there's plenty to look at on both bikes and I find both stunning in their own way. From an engineering point of view, the later bike is much more advanced. I would say that the 749s I own benefit from the slightly wider top fairings, which do look different compared to the early road bikes.
The 999/749 are awsome machines. Pierre Terblance concentrated on funcion rather than style and it showed. In my opinion he also ruined the enjopyment of the Supersport series. There is more to Ducati than mere function, there is style. Lets face it who amongst us is going to use the full potential of the 916/748 bikes let alone the later models. In a row of motorcycles which ones get looked at the most, not Jap bikes or the 999. Many years ago I could sit for hours just looking at my Vincent and I get the same feeling looking at my 748. I can even spend a few moments admiring my Monster but I wouldn't give a second glance to a 999 or 749.
Great point and comparison. The early SS is far prettier than the later SSIE. Too much going on. Maybe I'm just a fan of simple lines, probably why the 851 shape has really grown on me last. Couple of years, enough to start wanting one in the garage
"Gone and forgotten...hair, 6 pack and the ability to bounce rather than break" more a Party Eleven nowadays than a six pack.
I dunno what all the fuss was about, I had a good long look at a 999 years back, and I thought it was a fine looking bike, far nicer in the flesh than in photos. But people can be terrifically shallow - check out the horror when Ducati put a double-sided swingarm on the 899 - and if looks is all it takes to sell a bike then Ducati were right to bin it for the 1098 family.
Looks are a big part of the experience. You dont see many premiership footballers or old rockers with young, fit, ugly girls now, do you
