i agree the 1199 paniugly is overpriced bling ..all show no go ..i had a 06 blade the Toseland wsb winning year i did a few tweeks full yoshi 1 tooth down sprocket super corsa tyres and honestly no one i mean nothing could keep up with me ..even my best mate on his zzr1400 could only just stay with me in a straight line ..it got nicked ... but the mini pani looks a good comprimise still way too much money ,,but the best bike i ever had was the 1st gen R1 had it 9 years from new this bike seriously moved the goal posts and for a jap bike was pretty ..never had a gixxer now im old and adventure bikes are the way forward
I'm not that up on the older Kawasaki's - A mate of mine has a dark Blue Z1100 and my memory of it's engine despite not having seen it for at least a year made me make the comparison to the engine in the Katana. The same mate had a K4 Honda CB750. I knew one of those two bikes was 1979, but I guess now I'm in my older years now at the sorry age of 39 my memory isn't what it once was.
I wouldn't go as far as to say the Paniugly is totally ugly, I just feel that Ducati are loosing their distinctive look, things like the exhaust position and the electronic suspension etc... don't do it for me. It just seems like they are trying to compeat with what BMW have done on the S1000RR in that sense. As good a bike the S1000RR is in many ways that also has no draw for me. All this fly by wire shat is not what bikes are about for me personally. I prefer the look of slightly older Ducati's those bike stood out more for me. Having owned a Blade and a CBR600 the only thing memorable about those bikes was the fact they were built so well, there was nothing about the ride or performance that will stick in my mind as being special. Having said that if a 954RR came along for good money with low mileage I'd be very tempted again. I prefered the slightly more practical size of the 954RR. A mate of mine who now has an SP1, S1000RR, GSXR 1000 K5 couldn't live with me on any of them when I was on my ZX6R, at the time he was actually riding a 55 plate CBR1000RR which had a full race system and Power Commander fitted, again thats not bragging it's all about the rider and their experience when it comes to comparisons of performance etc.... Certain models of Honda, like the HRC I posted earlier on does it for me on the looks quite well and the Hannspree CBR600RR again looks really nice to me. I also have a 2 mates with ZZR1400's and on the straight yep they would toast most things but thats not where I get my thrills, I prefer to avoid straights and use the side of the tyre more on the twisting roads I find that far more satisfying, on the ZZR1400 bends are not too bad but a well ridden 250 would leave it on the twisties as the wheel base is far too long to have major performance in the bends, any monkey can get their head tucked in and do silly speeds in a straight line on the motoway or duals. I cry at the sight of a long straight, I'm thinking shit! Thats too much use of the centre of my tyres! I road my mates L0 GRXR750 and trying to get that over in the bend after getting off my old 55 plate ZX636R was scary you had to wrestle with it with stock suspension settings, the Ninja just dropped in so easy in comparison. From speaking to a couple of guys that really ride well and do track days I discovered that most people that have later gixxers find they need to shim the back end up to get them to turn better.
With Jap bikes in my opinion the only manufacturer that really deserves a pat on the back is Kawasaki in recent times. You take it, the bikes they have introduced / updated over the past 5 years in comparison to Suzuki and Honda. Both Blade and GSXR are just wearing a different set of clothes with very minor upgrades for many years. Even the new SP Blade is not that different or special really.
As bootsam stated, taste is personal, take a look at your wife or girlfriend! For me, and I've said it before and caused a bit of a stir, the 1098 series is the best and sexiest bike on this planet. Ditto. I love my pair!
Yep, maybe, the 916 was styled off the NR750 evidently and is generally thought to be the sexiest bike on the planet, just as the 1098 was styled off the R1, but only you think it's the sexiest I do want a 1098R...
how can you call the panni ugly come on ,, and you've had a blade,,, that's ugly and boring,,,the panni got character and ive had about 20 bikes at least and no bike ive ever had gives you the fk me factor like a panni at 9k plus revs, this is the 1199 panni not the baby panni, come and play wi us paul fast bikes im sure you will like it , nothing daft just lovely fast riding a to b, theres even 2 slow pannis to pay with , you must have been lucky wi the blade if only a system and 1 down out grunts a 1400cc bike , ive had built and set up by sean muir , now yam milwalke and you only get 171 bhp, so your mate must have not had the throttle fully open , anyway all the best,
I tremble when I think of my 848 and 1098 waiting for me to ride them! Hey, maybe I'm not normal!!!!:Woot:
The 1098 looks fek all like an R1, however it does look a lot like an evolution of the 916. I too would love a 1098R, i lust over them and can see myself buying one. But generally I stick to base models. I cry enough when I sling my bike down the road. To sling a special one would be fatal. The rear of the 916 might've been NR750 influenced but I can't see it in the front myself. Its still drop dead gorgeous. I like the front and the rear of the 1199 and sometimes some people have made it look great from the side too. Its not a minger though. Kwakers make mingers. Made nothing sexy since Z900. Although an old green Z11R ...
