Well after multiple failed attempts recently at having a 959 test ride due to weather, yesterdays booking with Ducati Peterborough actually went ahead Firstly I'd like to add what a lovely place Ducati Peterborough is. I think they've only been there since June/July so its a new build but really nice people, no fuss what so ever, simply sign on the iPad with your fat finger and off they send you. As mentioned the previous attempted test rides had been scuppered by bad weather, yesterday however was the polar opposite.......31 degrees and sweaty as hell. Sweet jesus it was hot, i drove there in the car and took my leathers in the boot, when i started getting changed in the car park (no shame here) i seriously contemplated just knocking around in my pants for a bit it was that warm anyway, less about the underwear, more about the bike. Lets do some 'slight' negatives first as Im sure you good folk will pipe up with the required solutions if possible Exhaust heat : Was at times ridiculous, yes i know it was 31 degrees and perhaps if you knock it down to early 20's things would have been different. But honestly i had to check if my thigh was touching engine or something on occasion. Obviously on the move the wind cooled things considerably so i presume some adhesive backed thermal insulation under the exhaust heat guard may help, perhaps under the seat as I've seen recently, or as a last resort ceramic coat (expensive though to fix something when its not an aesthetic preference of mine) Switch gear: Ducati you lazy cheap Bas!4rds....Yes, you! My 3 year old daughter has higher quality plastic used in her peppa pig toys, in fact in 90% of her toys......even kinder eggs (although they've gone downhill since i was a kid) It looks very very dated, was angled more downwards than anything (can it rotate?) and in classic Ducati fashion every so often I'd realise I'd been high beaming the oncoming traffic for a while. Ok, they're my thumbs, so my responsibility. Honestly though they do need to sort that out, its not a huge issue obviously but we're back to that good old 'premium brand' thing, and its the little things that justify those assertions of 'premium'. They look like they'll break...therefore its a concern, unless they'll keep churning them out for free whenever they do Mirrors: Yes they're better than previous Ducati's I've owned, but they're still slightly piss poor. I personally like my elbows, they're quite useful for connecting parts of my arms. Perhaps they get a little dry at times, but they're ok as far as elbows are concerned. As much as i like them, i really don't want to keep an eye on them for the entire duration of a ride. Nobody is going to steal them, and frankly they get in the way of trying to see the car behind me. Maybe its my elbows at fault? who knows Either way the mirrors are a bit crap and at the very least could do with being foldable (new mirrors then) Size/Leg room/Comfort: Im 6ft 3" (and a bit) Ive done lots of looking at pictures of the Panigale and tried to find lots of taller 6ft+ riders on them. Obviously when stood next to them they seem a fairly small bike. However when sat on it its not so bad to be fair, although the screen needs to be higher (Puig double bubble?) and the legroom did still bend my knees to an angle thats ever so nearly uncomfortable. It's not quite bad enough, so again not exactly a negative, but maybe back and down a fraction would help (Rearsets would be required i guess) Then theres the low bars which i doubt much can be done, perhaps they're just normal really as i haven't ridden an out & out sportbike for a couple of years since preferring super naked's. Maybe thicker grips would help aid the feel on the bars as the stock grips feel small in diameter for my shovel hands. Maybe the Race seat (or comfort) will help on the legroom a touch, but i guess that'll also increase the downward angle to the bars.......therefore i'll be thumbing the fucking high beam switch even more Exhaust: It was running the twin Akra slip on (not sure if that comes with an up-map?). Sounded good i'll admit, but Im afraid they're not for me. Well, not unless they're free anyway. Not really a negative per se, more of an observation vs price point thing. I just don't like the look for the money they want. A single short pipe would have looked better (SC Project/AR et al), and thats what id buy IF i make the move Anyway, thats about it on the slight negatives, most of which i presume are fixable to some degree, or i hope they are. Now then, lets have some positives: I honestly really thought it was a 'great little bike'. It seems strange saying that as its truly plenty powerful, but it kinda felt 'manageable' and 'just enough' in most instances. Sure it could probably do with a bit more midrange or pick up, but i reckon an extra tooth or two on the back will fix that, or maybe 1 down on the front. What i liked was that after a really short period it just felt like an old friend, you can kinda plod along quite happily knowing it isn't going to bite but get really good progress on when needed. The engine characteristic is really nice and linear. In fact its a peach. I did ask whether it was running a standard stock map or an up-map for the slip ons, unfortunately he didn't know so maybe you guys can tell me. It seems to glide nicely from bend to bend, seems happiest up in the revs more than the older tech engines, tip in felt good and didn't tend to run wide like my previous 848. The quick shifter was impressive as i really thought it'd be clunky coming from Ducati, but i was glad to be proved wrong. Really very smooth to use and the power delivery remaining constant. Brakes were ok, nothing special and truth be known I'd probably want to upgrade the pads at least because on the odd occasion the feel differed from a previous heavy application. I can't quite put my finger on it but i guess on some occasions i came to the stop i expected, on others it seemed to run on a bit longer and can't figure out why. Suspension felt very occasionally harsh, but that could simply be the seat or body position. Nothing particularly bad and again in most part flicked from side to side and soaked up the roads lovely. So overall I'm very impressed So what now? Well, I'd like to investigate the ways to increase comfort for my bigger frame, also plan out what I'd like to adapt/change as a matter of course. Ideally i think i need to test ride it again but on local roads that i know. That means i need to wait again until at least next week when Ducati Nottingham get their new demo on the road (fingers crossed the weather holds out) I 'think' Id have a red one as it can be polished..... the white looks very nice but the silk finish would be forever bugging me and i presume harder to keep looking fresh. its looking pretty good though I'm still going to test the V4 Tuono Factory this coming weekend as I'm a sucker for the howl, plus they've made the changes i always wanted from the previous Tuono v4 i owned. Well priced too at the moment so can't discount it without trying. I also rode the 2016 S1000rr yesterday afternoon after the Ducati and on local roads that i know, hence why i want the 959 comparison on the same circuit. I have to say it was in a different league in so many ways, power, brakes, switch gear, technology, build (in some areas)......BUT, is it too much? Don't get me wrong, the bike is an astonishingly good bike, and i find it hard to believe you could go quicker on anything currently available in road trim today, sincerely its that bloody quick But thats also the negative left in my mind. Whilst the 959 felt like an old friend and manageable, the S1000rr required respect and huge amounts of wrist restraint. Its very very easy to ride, and so in theory you should be able to ride it no different than the Ducati. But its a hell of a lot of power, and maybe its far more suited to very regular track use than 70/30 road and track Still up in the air about that one being honest
Interesting review. I spent a couple of hours on mine yesterday and I'd agree with some of your comments and disagree with others. But those I'd disagree with are size/ergonomic points, as I feel very comfortable on mine and can see in the mirrors (unlike every other Ducati Sports bike I've ridden) Maybe it was designed by a hobbit, with tucked in elbows.
The ergo's aren't as bad as what i initially thought though which was surprising. Obviously i can't get away from the fact I'm tall, short people can wear hidden soles in their shoes, id have to dig holes everywhere In all seriousness though I presume gaining an extra inch in legroom etc is doable, there must be loads of rear sets available and then add the race/comfort seat its only going to get better. still a great bike though
I find your comments about "Thumbing" the high beam switch a bit strange??? My high beam is operated by my forefinger, or have I missed something here? have Ducati changed switchgear for the 959 ??? I'm still in love with my 899, 2 years and 10,500 miles later I'm still blown away every time I ride it by what a complete package it is. I ride with guys who have more powerful bikes than this, CBR 1000rr, BMW S1000rr and BMW S1000xr's and on the road its a match for any of them, one of the guys who rides an S1000xr commented that he couldn't believe how well it flies out of corners. And when we park up anywhere its as if Harry Potter has just thrown his "invisibility cloak" over the others, no one seems to notice them and they all letch around the Ducati !! At the moment nothing is tempting me to change it, not even a 1299, nearest thing for me would be a V4 Tuono but its no where near as pretty, bloody thirsty, and if its anything like the Aprillia's I've had in the past, will suffer from astronomic depreciation! Your money, your choice, so many good bikes out there at the moment!
No they haven't changed the switchgear. It's exactly the same as the 899. The 899 is an awesome bike, and like you say, on the roads no-one on a bigger bike will lose you. The only reason I changed mine was that it was coming up to 3 years old, and I was offered a fantastic p/x deal and the 959 I bought has the "Anniversario" paint job. I did have to get them to change the exhaust though
I stand corrected, maybe it wasn't my thumb, perhaps it was just my shovel hands catching high beam switch. None the less I still find the switch gear fairly low quality in terms of build, but if it could be angled / adjusted round the bar a little more I think I'd probably not catch anything I didn't intend on. Agreed on the look, I do like the aprilia v4 especially in factory set up but the panigales look lovely.
Very pretty El Toro !! Damodici, I did a similar thing with the high beam switch when I first test rode the 899, I didn't realise it was operated by your forefinger on the headlamp flasher and I spent the last half of the test ride blinding everyone on high beam as I couldn't figure out how to switch it off....dohhh!!!
Can't say I've ever had a thought about the switch gear.. Corner speed on the baby panigale's is its thing. It inspires such confidence you find yourself going round the outside of people. Great fun.
For a taller frame I can imagine the 'comfort' seat (ironic name) would help as i am 6ft and it raises u about 1.5 inches which gave me noticeably more room in the leg, my knees weren't so close to the fairing, otherwise u could look at rear sets to pull your feet back a bit. The seat might help with the heat also. I have to say my impression from 2 of my buddies is that heat is worse on the 959 tbh than the 899 but in either case it's always better with aftermarket exhausts and you can get the rear exhaust ceramic coated for very little cash which I'm considering. Also agree with the gearing, I'm going to do the same to my 899, no ones needs 160+mph so always nicer to have a little more response and also makes the bike easier in town. Finally I see your point re the bars but honestly compared to the 848 it's like an upright bike! And even compared to my Daytona 675r it's slightly better. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The comfort seat compresses too much. The Race seat is the same initial height as the comfort, but does not compress. It would definitely be a better option. Try to borrow one for the test ride because it is only one bolt to change. The running on issue I also had. I changed to sintered pads, but the biggest difference was dialing back the ABS, which is far too happy to extend your stopping distance. I still occasionally catch the high beam trigger!
Re the double bubble screen; I tried a few and the Ducati Performance one is higher and more effective than the Puig ones, albeit more expensive as usual. I think I mentioned before in your other thread (someone elses?) that leg room is better on the Panigales than most other bikes because the bike is high and narrow. My S1000RR is not as comfortable on long journeys. I always use the race seat on the Pani so the thing about it being higher may have extra input in this but even without it the bike still has more room. I find soft comfort seats are not comfortable in the long run and prefer more support. The Tuono is in another league to the 959 and not comparable in my opinion. It's more like a naked 11 or 1299 than the smaller Ducatis. When I took one out it seemed silly not having a race fairing on it but otherwise it was an awesome bit of kit. That engine is nuts. For me though I'd prefer either an RSV4 or a proper naked like a Monster R if I was going down this road.
So the race seat is firmer than the comfort seat.....but more comfortable and adds better legroom. Sounds like that's the ticket if so. As for the screens I presume it's this one from ducati? Even though it says 1299, would it fit the 959? Ducati Corse Tall Screen - Panigale This is the puig I looked at, which I also thought alluded to being 30mm taller (unless I'm reading it wrong) http://www.puig.tv/descargas/PUIG23026.pdf Either isn't that expensive though, although both look similar and well styled so I guess I'd go with the tallest if there was a difference
I have the comfort seat and it's great...for the first hour. After that I get a numb bum. Very disappointing. I need to try the race seat.
I think seat is a personal preference. Loads of threads on it. For me: Standard: too low and slippery Comfort: great for long journeys (Assen and back with no problems, upto 160miles at a time between fuel stops), but hard to move around on (grippy and you are sat "in" it, so you have to stand on the pegs to lift your bum to move). Race: grippy and gets me more up over the front so I feel more in control, and easier to move around on. My first trip gave me a numb behind, but got used to it after that.
The thing I forgot to mention is that the comfort seat made my wrists hurt, because I was slightly more leant on them Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi Phil, have you tried the rearsets that give you more leg room? I'm considering them to be able to go on rides much longer than what my knees can take with the current setup. / Rex
I'm not 100% sure if that is the same Puig screen as I have on the 1199 but it looks the same. The DP one is definitely higher than the Puig one though. 1299 and 959 are interchangeable as the fairings are the same as are the 1199 and 899 which have the older narrower front. Note the screens are not interchangeable between 1299/959 and 1199/899.
