I didn't want the power of the 1199 but the 899 felt a bit budget in comparison. Brakes were rubbish, no fancy dash, overall finish not as nice, and the gsxr swing arm simply doesn't do it for me. If they did a 899s with the spec of 1199s but the smaller motor I'd buy one.
I really coulden't separate them In the end I went for the 1199 base Only reason ,I was worried I would regret not buying the 1199 Oh and A couple of extras thrown in. I have no regrets loving the bike
Interesting thread. They're all great bikes but I haven't heard a single owner who pushed for an 1199 wishing they'd stuck at the cheaper bike in hindsight. To badly paraphrase, "quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten". So there's no way I'd make do with a DSSA when the SSSA exists. It's like buying a Boxster when you'd always promised yourself a 911. Both fast, we'll made etc etc but I know which I'd prefer, even if I had to go used. Since we've had a penis analogy maybe I can try with breasts- some prefer small and perfectly formed, most think larger is better but it's really personal preference. Me ? I like em massive and preferably with gold nipple tassels (aka ohlins bling)
These are the same thoughts as I had from my uninitiated standpoint re the cut down spec of the 899 and the full fat package of the 1199. Priced them up quickly and it's a shitload of money for an 1199S and no mistake.
As above, it's all down to preference. I chose the 899 as I like working the engine as much as possible, it takes me back to my 2t days. I also found it a better everyday bike as I don't always don my power ranger suit when going for a ride. I'm not sure about the rubbish brakes and poor finish comment above, both seemed very similar. The best part of owning the 899 is flying past 1199 owners while they hone their skills needed to ride the more demanding machine, while checking their reflection to admire the gold forks.
Year old 1199s then instead of a brand new one? Still got 1 year warranty left that u could extend and prob save £3k. The seat will likely only be lightly stained but u can replace that ;-)
And I bet there a few girls on here that would give you a run for your money on your bigger bike :lol:
I guess it's down to personal opinion. I've never ridden the 899 but I have an 1199S. If truth be told, the 899 is probably all you need on the road. However, I love the 1199. Yeah, it probably is a bit much but when you feel like going for it, it's awesome and the rush you get when you hit the 6,000 - 7,000rpm mark is amazing. I also have an 1198S and a 1098R. The R is an animal and is just too much for the road. The 1198S does have more torque than the Pani but the Pani is much more flexible. For day to day riding, Panigale is easier than the 1198S.
I actually thought the 1199 was easier to ride at low revs than my 848, but as mentioned, when it gets going it's pretty mad, I imagine the 899 has a smoother transition into the power? I actually also found that the 1199 was a bit 2-stroke like in that you could either ride it in the power, or below, but try to ride it in the range of 5k-8k and it is difficult. Please don't take that TOO literally though, I rode it for 7 miles, hardly long enough to learn the gearing/engine. PS... I f*cking hate this girls bike/mans bike bo**ox!!!! it wouldn't be so bad if people were just joking but some people really believe it! it's crazy! I can 100% say that I could afford to go and get a 1199 if I wanted too, and I am happy with the size of my penis!! (it can be seen from space!)
I think the whole 899 vs 1199 boils down to two things, money and psyche more than what you actually need. If your budget is £12.5 k you buy the 899 because that's what you can afford regardless of what the 1199 might have to offer and you'll love it. If you can afford 20k then you've got the 3 options, an 899, 1199 or an 1199S and more of a dilemma on your hands. Which one you choose depends on the sort of person you are. It's true to say the 899 is a fantastic bike and more than enough for most people and more than enough to loose your licence or kill yourself on. Some people will buy the 899 and be satisfied, some will buy the 899 and spend the whole time they own it wondering what the 1199 has over the smaller bike. Some will buy the 1199 because that's what they want and others because they have to have the biggest numbers even if they will never use them and some will buy the 'S' just because the gold forks and full led lights look cool and they can afford it. And there's nothing wrong with whichever category you fall into, it's about buying what makes you happy.
The 848 EC SE and the 899 are great bikes but in reality they too are still too much for the road. I bought my 848 & 899 because I'd done the litre bike thing for the previous 10 years. I'd had the latest Blade, ZX10R, GSXR1000, and latterly the new kid on the block, the "cross plane crank" R1. The trouble is, as we all know, is that you get sucked in to the marketing/magazine hype (or at least I did) of wanting the newest, biggest, fastest, sleekest* bike on the market. They were all very good, even brilliant, bikes but ultimately they were too much for the road, which is where I do my riding. *insert your own adjective
The 1199 is so much easier to ride at low speed than the 848, in traffic and especially at round abouts, you never seemed to be in the right gear on the 848. To me its a no brainer, if you have the budget 1199 all the way.
The way I looked at it was if I'm ever wanting to feel like a hero I can just drop my 1199 into wet mode and ride the arse off it. Did this yesterday and was quite fun. Most of the time I'll be in sport and simply using the torque to gain speed. I'm never gonna be able to hold the throttle pinned in 2nd , 3rd and 4th. I like my license , and life to much to do it on the road.
Yeah, I do think though that it's softer down the bottom of the revs (and smoother) than the 848 but just ballistic up top, in short, the 899 is probably perfect!
You can just adjust the TC down, that's what I'd do....just remember if you use it in the wet you've done that. Though to be honest I've never had TC before and been fine in the wet, always useful to have though
