2015 R1 Pre-orders List Opens

they said that about the new mondeo.

 

To be fair Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki have a fair bit of catching up to do at the moment. Look at any superstock 1000 grid, its all Kawasakis with a few BMWs...

 

What, so people can go 2 mph faster on a straight then wobble around the corners even slower?

No thanks

 

It may well be a great bike. My ex wife may well be a great church goer but I still wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

 

As long as its reasonably priced and not some overpriced and over-hyped underachiever.

 

Yep. which means it will likely perform brilliantly and cost half as much.

 

Why would you order something you know absolutely nothing about? Strange.

 

This drive to give us 200BHP and further levels of performance are OK and I support them. On the roads though, that's just waving your dick around as you can't use the bike to the full extent. My biking is social fun for the most part and I no longer use my sports bike as I have a lot more fun on a big naked (pun fully intended). I'm pretty sure the KTM beast when it finally arrives will not have trouble keeping up and I'm a lot more comfortable hooning about on that style of bike. My Streetfighter wasn't exactly a slouch. The brand is important to me, I don't care if the R1 is better, or the Fireblade or any other IL4 Japanese bike. I buy into the Ducati experience and now the KTM thing because I like the design and styling as much as I know it has enough performance for me.

There are probably 99% of bikers with more bike than they can handle to the limit seeking even more performance they'll never use properly. I'm probably the same with the 1290 but I'm honest in that I'm buying it because I want it, not that I need the 194BHP. That's probably why the 899 is selling so well, it's more fun on the roads as you actually need to use it more, change gears more and work the bike.

Of late, as I'm trading the SF and it's lost the Termis and nice bling, I've been on my MTS PP a lot. It could be my only bike and I wouldn't have a challenge in terms of blatting about. So I get the bikes because I like owning them and an R1 wouldn't feel the same.

Ducatis are more expensive but sell because they provide something more than just buying a machine and I don't see the R1 giving me that personally.

My Brough Superior gives me the same sense of ownership pride and is only good for 100mph after all...

 

I ordered my SF848 before it was out and recently did the same with KTM 1290. I respect bike reviews from professional testers to probably be a better judge than me and often, if you don't pre-order you won't get the bike early. You can always get out of the deal if you don't like the bike when they finally arrive anyway.

 

I disagree Count. There is an element of brand snobbery in your post which at times we are all guilty off and it isnt a criticism of you. But the R1 is likely to be a very good bike indeed. It forever gets on my pip how Japanese motorcycles are forever dismissed as some soulless shallow machinery. Especially when the build quality of Honda and Yamaha in particular leaves Ducati blushing; and as for performance would leave them in the weeds. Its unnecessary and an example of clutching at straws in order to wave a dick around. They are better machines in many respects. The Japanese have innovated and moved motorcycles forward far more than any other and deserve respect.

I ride Ducati's because I love torquey V Twins and Italian styling more than outright performance. This to me is a fair enough reason. I guess yours is similar.

Oh and Ducati are more expensive because they take the piss. No other reason. They do not provide anything more. You buy a bike and thats it. They do not come round and tuck you in or anything else after you buy one.

I for one am interested as I am on the lookout for a new superbike next year. It wont be a Ducati. So far its looking like an RSV4 but the R1 is in with a shout.

Ducati make some great bikes, dont get me wrong. The Multi is fab, the hyper etc are all great but the Pani leaves me cold. If i wanted a tourer the Multi is heads and shoulders above anything else. Your KTM interests me as they too make great bikes with superb build quality and a better price. Ducaudi take the piss.

 

Cross plane R1 sounds fantastic with a set of loud pipes. I would love to have do on one just to see what its all about.

 

That bloated look just let them down. If the actual thing looks anything like what I have seen of the 2015 model then it looks like a blinder

 

N

No argument from me on brand snobbery. I own Ducatis with some pride knowing it's a premium brand which I enjoy. I wouldn't buy many brands as they just don't do it for me. I know I can get from A to B in a French car but unless the hearse is a Citroen, I won't be in one.

I looked at some Kawasaki naked at P&H and it looked like a camp transformer to me. My idea of styling isn't in line with what Kawasaki designers have created whereas the KTM and Ducatis I like. Ducati do price high, as do KTM but the gap isn't what is was some years ago, the Japanese bikes are more expensive now. While this is primarily down to economics and the value of the Yen, it does mean European bikes are more affordable against the Japanese than they were a decade ago.

 

Not exactly groundbreaking to look at.

 

its got plastic fantastic writen all over it. hate that ping pow look.