i found the 749 s 05 model, very uncomfortably, the seat has little foam, also the 749 and 999 are very long bikes, being only 5' 7" it was a stretch to the bars, making my back ache, the under-seat exhaust gets hot in the summer, not nice. even my 900ssie wasnt a lot better. I purchased a st3s, it was like an armchair compared to the 749. but i missed the acceleration and handling of a sports bike. so i purchased an Aprilia rsv mille, 02 model, great bike very comfortable, its a big bike, loads of room to move about.
Cant belive all this 999 is comfy brigade...only did 30 miles and killed me! Had a swap with a mate from my RR4 blade which was armchair comfy all the time....reckon gixer thou wold feel pretty good. Persoanlly I find the 848 pretty good except slow speed but I can handle that
I rode both the 848 and 1199 at a Ducati test day recently and thought the engine in the 848 was better for the road than the 1199 but the 1199 was more comfortable, I think I would struggle to justify an 1199 as a second bike though. I only got to do about 15 miles through the Pennines on each and would have loved to spend more time on both as I only just began to scratch the surface; it was also my first experience of any superbike :biggrin:. The precision of the 848 was fantastic but the ride was pretty hard, there was a short section of cobbles on the ride . The suspension of the 1199, a standard non S model, was much more compliant. At the end I though the engine of the 848 in the chassis ( err what chassis ?) of the 1199 would be great. The lasting memory of the 1199 was heat from the underseat exhaust, and it was a cool day up in the Pennines, I dread to think what it would be like in an Italian city in the summer, 3rd degree burns possibly. As I said in the original question it is a lust thing and Ducati is an iconic brand, I am sure the RC8 would be more comfortable than any Ducati, and on the road they are all more than fast enough, but it lacks the emotional tug. It would be a thing to keep and probably maintain myself as an interest so a 999 that is close to bottom on the depreciation curve makes sense. I will have to do some practical research when I have the time. Thanks for the input
This is timely, I have a 999 bip and a 12 year old minty clean SRAD 750. Me and a mate took them out back to back weds evening and the difference between the 2 in terms of comfort (padded seat on the gixxer compared to what is called a seat on the duc) is chalk and cheese. To say an SRAD feels like an armchair might sound daft but ride it back to back against a 999 on our crappy bumpy roads and then see it seems stupid Have played about with the suspension to try to soften things up for the road and that seems to have helped. Love the bike regardless. The other thing that threw me completely is that in a drag race between the gix and the duc, the 999 only just stayed ahead. So the gixxer feels fat comfy and slow compared to the ducati but the reality is quite different. Ive also noticed the 999, in low speed corners (90 deg bends or roundabout exits) often feels like the back end is sliding when i touch the throttle as I start to lift the bike back up and get on the gas again.....not giving it a fistful and I have sticky new tires on it that are up to temp / scrubbed in etc. Never had it on my SP1 and have always been respectful with the throttle on litre 4 cylinder sportsbikes due to high side risk coming out of corners - cant seem to dial the back end movement out with the suspension tweaking either Is this just something that they do and I have adjust my riding style?
+1 GSXR 750 feels like a comfy sofa compared to a 999. That said, I don't find my 999 at all bad, comfort-wise, certainly compared to my 750sie - now that one *is* uncomfortable, positionally speaking. With the 999, you need to discipline yourself in terms of how you sit in on it. Make sure you aren't putting too much weight on your wrists, use the the adjustable footpegs (if you haven't got rearsets). The bip means you don't have to adjust the seat position and you can move around a lot on it - which I like. The 999 only gets really uncomfortable at town speeds if you are stuck in traffic for any length of time. As for spinning up the rear, sliding it, etc, coming out of slow corners ... adjust your style or get used to it and enjoy! I'm guessing but I suspect that power delivery is what is catching you out here. The 999 will pull surprisingly strongly at 2k revs whereas I remember GSXR's tend not to even get out of bed before 8-10k revs (depending on cc engine). I suspect torque and low-down power isn't what you are used to, at least not the sort that comes from a big v-twin. Adjust, adapt or be careful :smile:
As Gliddofglood has said, it's more about moving around in the saddle. Any sportsbike will become uncomfy if you sit in one position all day long. But fitness (and fatness) make a big difference also, towards the end of summer, you don't get quite so cramped because you're used to it. Then there's the obvious (and I'm speaking for myself here before the usual suspects pipe up )..... loose some excess padding! The less of you there is to squeeze into a space, the more room there is to move around
May 1098 motor is a slag to get around tight corners or roundabouts! I'm trying to master a bit of power + clutch to get me smoothly around, rather than the coasting Dump Truck technique! :biggrin:
Good stuff guys. I found that I could slump foward and let my wrists take the strain or use core body strength to maintain position and relax arms, it was a steep learning curve with little time to waste. Once into the twisties at a middling speed it all started to work. I think the knees would be the limiting factor though.
Thanks Loz, thought there was summat wrong with suspension. Owned big twins before so used to different power delivery traits, but do find the 999 breaks traction easily out of low speed turns.....which is it odds with the grip theory advantage argumentative that twins have more grip than fours due to the power pulses. Sp1 didn't do it so it must be a duke thing having more grunt lower down. Time to learn the art of laying big darkies!
I rate the Aprilia RSV1000 up to 2003, I had a 2001 for a while and had no comfort issues. Plus you can buy a decent one really cheap...... and they're good to ride too!
it HAS to be either the 916 or the MV F4..i should know..im only 5'9 and 3/4 but theyre both purgatory unless youre hanging off like a monkey.
Swapped my Desmosedici with Drinky's KTM RC8 for an hour, it has a really comfy riding position for a sports bike, defo mile cruncher bike.
I'd disagree with you. I had a test ride a couple of weeks ago and after two hours my back was really sore. I jumped on my R1 and the pain vanished immediately.
