899 Early Life With An 899

I posted this on the 675 forum as quite a few people over there like me have been toying with the idea of an 899. Its my initial thoughts on my 899.

I've had my bike for nearly a month and its nearing its first service. In that time i have absolutely fallen in love with it. Obviously its not 'biking weather' and i haven't really been able to see what she can do properly but i've got a good idea. I've also never referred to any bike i own as a 'she' before, but my wife pointed out i call it a she over the weekend.

This bike is so, so good that it's easier if i mention the negatives first. Of which there are only three.

1) `The footpegs are shite. Like standing on ice in the wet. No idea how Ducati think they are acceptable on a now £13k bike.

2) In comparison to the 675R it's likely going to use more fuel. I don't really mind this.

3) There is no mechanical slipper clutch.

So the good!

The bike is beautiful to ride. I'm still learning the character of the twin engine and how to ride it. There is loads more engine braking than i ever imagined and i've found in comparison to the 675R, i'm generally riding in a gear lower through corners, in traffic and riding up multi storey car parks having to slip the clutch. The bike needs more revs in first to chug along in traffic. You can't be as lazy as you can with a triple.

The bike is quick. Deceptively quick. Listen to the engine and you think you are bimbling along, look at your speedo and then realise you are going way quicker than what you thought.

The modes on the bike are brilliant. Wet mode is smooth as butter and brilliant for commuting and surprise, surprise in the wet! I would say that in real world seat of the pants terms wet mode on the 899 is very similar to the 675R. In sport and race mode it's a real marked jump in performance on throttle opening.

I have spent most of my time in sport mode which gives the whole 148bhp with a smooth throttle. Race mode i'll get into more when spring arrives i'm sure. Race mode gives you direct throttle connection, almost like a good switch. When you stick this mode on you can hear the exhaust gains a growl at idle that isn't there in the other modes!

The feel is insane! Obviously very different being a monocoque bike. It feels solid and really planted when you first start riding it. Almost like there is no sag under your weight but once you start going, dear little lord baby jesus its brilliant! The front with the Showa Big Piston Forks is boner inducing. I've never ridden a bike with this much detailed feel from the front. It sweeps through corners beautifully. It's so controlled through transitions its hard to explain. The 13 675R is close in that feel but lacks the detail that gives you the absolute confidence the 899 does to chuck it in a corner on a cold winter day. Roundabout flip flops are conquered with ease. And yes i mean conquered because the 899 is so easy to move about it meant recalibrating my logic for roundabout antics.

The bike is blessed or i suppose engineered with an incredible feeling of utter stability at lean when cornering. I took her round some of my favourite bends near home and it was glaringly obvious to me that i was opening the throttle earlier than on my 675R. That old adage of space creates time could be applied here in spades. The 899 feels so easy to get into a corner, settle and start heading towards an exit that it seems you have an age to get through corners. There are 3.5 corners on one of my favourite roads i always found required a bit of balls to attack, sometimes more risk than i am willing to apply on the road. But, i seemed to just glide through them and at a quicker pace, whilst being conscious of the feeling of having way more time. This ties to my earlier point that, if like me you are used to gauging your speed with your eyes on the road and ears on the engine, you will find you are going quicker than you think. I'd estimate 8-10mph quicker.

One area the 675R is superior is the feedback from the brakes. The 675R you could feel the brakes grabbing and using up travel. I still haven't got my head round exactly how far i'm pushing the 899s brakes and suspension when braking hard. Its a combo of the BPF and calipers i believe.
I've got a cable tie on the front and after a few hard braking tests i found i was nowhere near where i thought i was on using up the travel. The BPF do offer a decent amount of support under hard braking and dont seem to use as much travel as the ohlins on the 675R. So, it's a case of me learning the 899s brembo/BPF capabilites and feedback.
The stopping power isn't in doubt, it is really damn good, i just want a bit more of a notion of what the calipers are doing. I'm guessing this will come with seat time and dry roads. If not a change of pads should improve it somewhat.

The gearbox. No two ways about it. It is sublime. The smoothest gearbox i've ever used and the quickshifter is laughably smooth. Obviously i've never ridden a motogp bike but i'm imagining the 675R v 899 gearbox/quickshifter combo to be something like last seasons M1 vs RCV seamless gearbox. I think the 899 will save me those all important milliseconds per shift over the 675R on track. I've also had none of the jumping out of second gear nonsense i had with my 675R when using the quickshifter. When all is said and done it's a beautiful gearbox that feels maybe a development cycle or two ahead of the 675R.

There is no mechanical slipper clutch. On paper to me this seems like a stupid idea and one that put me off buying the 899 last year. However, having had it confirmed that my pace probably isn't going to be so much that i'll really bother the EBC brain and tie myself in knots i'm learning what it is capable of.
I'll give it to the 675R here. The slipper clutch makes corner entry a piece of piss. That piece of piss was nearly 6 seconds for me around Oulton over my standard 675! I'm learning the 899 electronics at the minute and something that Lucky13 had mentioned is glaringly obvious on the 899. Blipping the throttle when downshifting does shit all! In fact the bike behaves better if you just bang it down and let the EBC do its thing. The bike will move a bit when doing this from a decent speed but it gathers itself in so quickly its almost equally impressive as the 675Rs slipper. I haven't as yet tried reducing the EBC to see the effect that has, as i read that Ducati engineers and test riders said they always used 'setting 1'. I'll try it out in the Spring. When the kid is 3, when he gets his free nursery hours and i'm a shit load of cash better off per month i will be sticking a mechanical slipper in it.

It's f*&king beautiful. I mean sit in the garage and look at it beautiful. Next time you are in a Ducati dealers look under the headlights and headstock area and think to yourself, "why the hell can't Triumph make the 675 look like that". I've already polished the thing more than all my other bikes put together (3 times). I've cleaned the wheels, something i never did either. Hose them and be done before. No sir i will wipe these wheels down after. I have a real sense of pride in keeping this bike clean as it rewards you by looking gorgeous. Humptastic.

My neighbour says it sounds like Thors hammer smashing an anvil...Termis arent fitted until the 18th

My initial feelings are that this is hands down the best bike i've ever ridden.

Sure there are areas like the brake feel and slipper clutch on the 675R that were definitely better. I even think it will take me a couple of trackdays to match my pace on a 675R as i readjust. BUT, once i climb on top of her, admire her top half, turn the key and thumb the starter there really is no better place to be.I could sit there with my eyes closed just feeling the vibrations and listening to the hammer and thump of the engine. It then just gets better and better as you twist the throttle and unleash some thunder!

To quote a friends wee brother - "That is f&*cking belter"

I'll update this as i go with effects of a winter on her, dry roads when we get them and trackdays!

09/12/14 - An update on riding modes. I should add the all the modes are customisable really easily. In Wet the engine mapping is set to Low, Sport it is Medium and Race is High. This morning (after negotiating out of my house via the pavement to avoid ice and getting to the salted roads) I have set the engine mapping in Sport to High as i prefer the throttle response and funny enough it makes commuting easier as the revs rise quicker with smaller input. The throttle response difference in Medium to High is probably slightly bigger than the effect you get with the 1050 mod on the Daytona but smoother in application. Sport and Race have full power available, Race just turns the TC and ABS way down. This means i get the instant throttle response but still have reasonably high TC and ABS which is great for the impending "Weather BOMB".

22/12/14 - Bike is in today for first service and to get the Termis fitted. Going by a combo of chatting with Ducati mechanic and bike mag long term report on their 899 i can expect around 7bhp increase and torque low down and in the middle to get a nice bump.

I'm pleased to say that this bike is great to ride in the wet. I've ridden in some horrific weather the last two weeks and the way the bike delivers the power in smooth creamy lumps means i haven't used wet mode other than for the worst pissing rain in the dark. I have turned the TC and ABS up in Sport mode whilst also setting the throttle response to the same as Race. I think it's too early to start using the word 'hero' just yet.

The bike is easy to ride in the wet. The combo of the BPF and the monocoque seem to do a stellar job of communicating to your hands and arse just how slippy the surface is. If i get carried away, like on the M60 slip road this morning, the pretty little TC light flickers to say "listen sunshine you are only riding to work, cool your jets".

Mega bonus fact that in all likelihood many Ducati owners probably will never know because they keep their bikes wrapped up in cotton wool in the winter right?! I mean you only have to look at the Cleaning/Detailing section to realise that cleaning is a big part of Ducati ownership. I HATE cleaning and i was terrified that not only was i taking on a Ducati financially but, that i was going to lose aeons of my time trying to keep the thing clean. The little Panigale has proved me wrong and i couldn't be happier.
Ron Burgundy famously told the lady he chases in Anchorman "I love how you're put together". Well Ducati 899...I love how you are put together! I alluded to the lovely packaging job Ducati have done under the front end. This extends to the rest of the bike too. In fact the bike is so well wrapped. Fairing position and the plastic covers inside them are well positioned. When riding in the rain and on mucky and salty roads most of the crud sticks to the fairings or the part under the headlights. I'm getting very little road crap behind the fairings. Oh and the hugger actually works. When I arrive home soaked to the balls, it just takes a quick spray with the hose and she is sparkling again. I am seriously impressed. I have given her a once over with ACF50 and i don't even have to worry about drying her off as she's out to be dried by the wind or get wetter in a few hours.

Will update with my thoughts on the Termis over Xmas.

 

I acf'd the bike before leaving the dealers car park then spent that evening going over it so its pasted in the stuff.

I am slightly aghast at the completely useless effect blipping has on downshifts.

Still a great great bike

 

Did a wee update to the first post.

 

It's good in the wet

 

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The added thrust and smoothness it gives is brilliant obviously why they cost £2000 fitted! Thank god they were free.

Should make all owners ride with stock cans on until first service then you really appreciate just how big a difference they make.Without sounding like Steven fry its joy untold. Can feel a massive gain in torque from low low down. Much much smoother from even idle no feathering the clutch in traffic and times when I would have had to shift down to 1st as 2nd was a bit too lumpy that feeling is completely gone. Can cruise through traffic in 2nd smooth as lindt chocolate.

Oh yeah deep as hell sounding with baffles out.

 

£1525 plus the 4 hours labour