Nothing wrong with a dream like that Our 3 are keepers, and the collection will hopefully continue expanding gradually... Or thats the plan at least
Shut it. (Had a slight accident today with said angle grinder. Amazing how much a rapidly moving sub frame hurts.....)
Well I've managed to get a couple of hundred miles on the Tricolore now... It still feels a bit Alien to me really. I am certainly growing to like it more with each ride and I'm slowly adapting my riding style to suit it's technology. What has become clear though is it's going to take a while to feel as comfortable and at home on it as I do on the 1198. All of my riding has been in sport mode at the minute and I'm happy with the progress I've made in getting acquainted with it so far, but I feel like it will take a good few months at the start of next season to start getting that 'rider and bike become one' feeling that I have with the 1198. Things I am missing at the minute are... - The low down grunt of the 1198 out of the bends - The physical effort you have to put in to wrestling the 1198 - The 'popping and farting' on the overrun of the 1198 - The dry clutch rattle when sat at the lights Things I am enjoying with the Tricolore at the minute are... - The less agricultural experience in towns and villages - The bark of the full termi when opened up & the pops and bangs on upshifts - The surprising fact I am getting on with the race seat and not going to have to shell out for a comfort one just yet - Experimenting and finding my way with the electronics package I am definitely glad I took the time I did deliberating different models and seeking thoughts/opinions from other owners along the way. The right bike eventually came along and I'm now resting easy having got some miles under my belt knowing I made the right decision in pulling the trigger on this one in the end As sad as it may sound, I'm actually quite looking forward to the winter coming now so I can spend some time getting the fairings off, giving it a thorough clean, some ACF-50 applied, the fairings cleaned/polished/waxed properly, the exhaust cleaned up nicely and generally all ready for my first full season with it...
Very nice bike. The Tri Colour has to be the best colour scheme for a Pani and a future classic. Good read and enjoying your review.
@Ben Mallinson Im amazed you think it'll take that long to get used to it. It took me three weeks to get used to my 848 Evo corse SE coming from an R1 and that like the 1198 has a more extreme/focused riding position. When I moved to the 899 then the 959 it was a doddle as they are not only comfier but easier to ride. IMO anyway. However when you put it into race mode you will see that it's a very different bike
I was expecting it to be as per your experience to be honest @El Toro. At lower speeds I think it is a much easier bike to ride, it is when pressing on that I'm finding it most different though, the difference in tipping it in to bends, power delivery out of bends, differences in engine braking and it liking to be towards the upper end of the rev range is where I'm currently finding the need to recalibrate my riding style though. It's already putting a big grin inside that helmet of mine though and I'm getting there with it. I'm also looking forward to getting it in to race mode once I've got some more miles under my belt I'm sure I'll be up to speed on it by the time we manage to meet for a ride out next season
I haven't managed to go to the light on it yet @cookster but its looking like it will be marginally better than the 1198 When out for a spirited ride on the 1198 I've seen as little as 80-85 miles per tank but I did about 95 (fairly spirited riding) on the Tricolore yesterday and didn't see the light If I recall rightly the 1198 has a 15.5L capacity tank where as the 1199's is a 17.9L I think? Even when taking the extra capacity in to account I think the 1199 is going to be slightly more economical on the juice when in 'Sport' mode, I can't comment on 'Wet' or 'Race' modes at the minute though fella
If the weather holds out this afternoon then it may well get it's last outing this afternoon and I'll be giving it a whirl in race mode
My 899 is definitely not economical on the juice, though I run it mainly in wet mode. I'm definitely under 30-33mpg even on a nice long highway run.
I've noted more range from a tank from 1299s compared to my old 1198. I'm no longer the lowest denominator. I get over 100 to a tank now. mpg doesnt interest me, range does.
I agree range is what I want not mpg although I guess there obviously linked. The 1299 does 80 before the light is on which is worse than my zx10r was, which managed 90, but the blade that thing ran on fumes and would see 120 before you got the light. I guess big twins like to sup the unleaded.
I average 52.3 mpg right now. But I sit on the motorway at 58mph in the slow lane and enjoy the wind in my neck.
Well I had it out again and did another 60 miles, some of which (not all because Mrs M was out on her little monster too) I had it in 'Race' mode... @shakeys dad and @El Toro were indeed right Immediately felt more at home on it, not as comfortable as the 1198 as its still new to me but felt like I got on with it much better today when in Race and then when I reverted back to Sport too... Quite strange how quickly it all started coming together after the initial impressions I got up until today. After today's ride though, I found the bike I was expecting to be riding... There is still some recalibration to do in my riding style but today we made great inrodes Quite shocked at the how different the bike felt by changing the modes and the difference in the throttle response in 'Race' seemed to narrow the gap in the drive of the corners that I was missing up to this point... I still find myself being a bit lower down the rev range than ideal when exiting bends at the minute though. This was never a consideration with the 1198 as the extra torque low down ripped your arms out of the bend and the rest of you and the bike just followed Unfortunately, it looks like today could well be the last time I get to play on it until next year as the next few months are busy with work and I have accumulated a list of jobs for the winter that need attending to also... Roll on next year!
