Depending on how hard you're going to use it, you'd benefit from getting the OE suspension set up for £50 rather than spending £2k on new Shock and Fork Cartidges. The comfort or race seat are miles better than the Original, but if you're on a budget, then a set of Stomp grips for the tank will take away a lot of unnecessary balls to tank impacts due to the OE seat being like a slide. For the 899, if you don't mind reaching into your pocket, a set of lightweight wheels would make the biggest difference as the OE ones weigh a tonne. It was the wheels that got hit the hardest by the cost saving when Ducati decided to make a cheaper Pani, and they weigh significantly more than the wheels on most comparable bikes. As said above, the OE pegs are super rubbish, so if you didn't fancy a full rear set purchase, a set of Oberon footpegs are a good halfway house. The peg position on the 899 is pretty decent for a road bike, but rear sets would give you a lot more adjustability and would be a lot stiffer than the standard versions. Have a play around with the positioning of the gear selector as I'm sure you'll find a position that suits your foot better Good luck, and welcome to the world of spending on things that you don't really need, and if you're lucky, your girlfriend won't understand the value of
Good post there thanks. I will get the suspension set up for me and look into the seat option as it's not too expensive in the grand scheme. I'd love the lighter wheels as I really do value the lightness and flickability of bikes, but 2-3k is a lot of money considering the bike was only 9.6k.
That's very true, but unlike the bike, the wheels won't depreciate much, so when you're done with the 899, you can put the OE wheels back on, and sell the lighter ones for not a massive amount of loss. Either that, or buy second hand and loose virtually nothing
the Comfort seat is largely the same profile as the Race version, just a bit softer if that option's available
The wheels on the 899/959 are definitely a weak point. The OZ ones are around £1500 and you'll still be able to sell them for over £1000 in a couple of years. I wanted Marchesini wheels and ohlins.... only they sort of turned into a 1299s instead because the upgrade costs were fairly similar, and it came with all the upgrades I wanted without the overly complicated nonsense of insuring a modified bike.
That's another thing - if you spend a few grand on an 899 you could get a second hand 1299s for that money in a year or whatever.
Keep it simple. Ohlins and wheels can easily be swapped over and will always sell well as upgrades. Although cartridge kits etc may seem cheaper upfront, you will never get your money back when they go with the bike. A lot of other things (throttle spacers/tail tidies) will swap straight over if you do change to a newer 959/1299. You can pick up a 2 year old 1299s for £16.5, possibly less... my 959 with Marchenisis and Ohlins would have cost me more than that, so I cut my losses.
Ditto! .... Also the £30 spent on suspension set up! That alone is probably the best cost effective 'mod' you can do.
The only things ive replaced on mine is footpegs for oberon ones, swapped the seat for the race version ( much comfier than the stock seat) and single seat cowl, ive removed the pillion pegs. I will get the suspension set up properly soon but that'll be it. Im super happy with it as it stands!
