its a pussy cat if you respect it, its ballistic over 9k rpm, and you have to hold on tight, it took me a 4000 miles to learn how to ride it, and ive loved every minute of the 6000 ive done.
What I read was more to do with the errant handling than the engine, that it lacks front end feel so much that pushing on can end badly. And that they need a lot of effort (and knowledge) to set up
The 1199 was definitely bonkers, felt flat below 7k even compared to the 848 Evo I had swapped from then all of a sudden it power wheelied so I changed up and with the quickshifter it just meant it kept driving and I wasn't sure whether to panic or laugh! In the middle of corners it just felt like if u had it anywhere near 7k it would just lift the front which is obv fairly surreal. I get why it took people a while to get used to the 1199 and why it's a buzz when u do, i have to say though I've got more 'feel' from the front of my bike than the 1199 and dare i say even than the 848 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
its like watching Lorenzo going around a racetrack in the dry.he looks slow compared to a lot of the other riders because he is very smooth. the 899 is one of the smoothest bikes ive ridden and you can use a lot of its performance easily. the 1299 /1199 etc are mega quick and more brutal especially higher in the revs in my experience. so you get an extra kick of power if you dare to use it on the road. would I have a 899 in the garage yes I would but would I go back to it from my 1299 no I would not.
yes just had that what if thought when I had the 899. so got the 1299 with akras and its a completely different riding experience. done 2600 miles on it now and I am used to it but it took a while. the 899 is as sweet as and is really user friendly loved it.
The 1199 only gets a bit rowdy if you ride it fast but half hearted. If you ride it hard then it's rock solid. Not sure where the thing about the front came from @bradders as it's always felt amazing to me, the extent to which you can trail brake into a corner is astonishing.
What was your original one, an S or standard @royalwithcream ? The R is a very different animal. I think it was Bike mag (SWMBO was shopping so I sneaked off) this month had a piece on it for used bikes. Not ridden one so can't say, but I can say the 899 I rode at Silverstone felt great on sport touring tyres and not hammering it
I've debated a 1299 a few times. I don't know if I'd be much quicker round a track time wise on it though. Probably down to my riding style but I found the 1299 to be a bit of a handful when I have ridden them, whereas the 899 is very friendly and forgiving.
Yeah my original was an 1199S. I do know quite a few people with the base model 1199 who can never quite get on top of the suspension setup so perhaps it is down to the Ohlins on the S. It definitely took a good few months and handful of trackdays before I could ride it well but it needed very little doing to the suspension. My new R on the other hand definitely needed a bit of work ( to stop me throwing it down the road ) That said @Sam1199S felt at home right away so it might have just been mine having some dodgy setup to start with. I demo'd a 959 and I can imagine it being great around a track. As I've learnt to ride on the bigger bikes it felt a bit lacking in beans on the road but I loved it in the twisties.
The 899 I borrowed at Silverstone was easy because it wasn't scary (was used to a 170hp Gixer) and incredibly light. We were certainly doing 2'30 ish (either just under or over, can't remember) and not pushing anywhere at all, and was only in Sport as CSS won't allow Race mode to be used (and all the maps are set up as Sport, DTC was about 5!, and they checked when you left pitlane). I loved it and will get one next
Get a Prius! For anyone uncertain about the 1299, you can very easily detune it to 899/959 levels of power and introduce high DTC etc settings to make it the safest tamest bike you ever rode..... and when you get bored of that, at no expense you can slowly reduce interference (the cheapest performance upgrade known to man). If you go the route of 899/959 and get bored, you have limited options. That is fine (and cheaper) if you know in your heart that you know that will be enough for you, but if you know you will get used to it and get bored, cut your losses and go straight for the bike you want.....
You could have set the race mode to referable settings, put it to sport leaving the pit, then flick it to race as you exit to the track (Just mentioned that encase anyone else borrows a 959 from them)
They checked the settings as you went out as you can see what level it's set on the dash, I know because I turned everything off and got a telling off But yeah, why didn't I think of that, change they put back :Banghead:
