I tend to agree, i think the 1199 is harder to ride than an 899, but relative to the 1098/848 series it's like having cream licked off you by carol vorderman
Tricolore any day for me. A future classic. If you can't live with the exhaust situation on the 959 then dismiss it as by the time you've put an alternative belly can system on you're at 1299 money and a 1299 makes more sense. The 899 is a fantastic bike, some argue the more rideable bike but it depends on your own personal mindset. For me personally when I've bought the smaller model of bike in the past I've spent my whole time wondering what the bigger bike would have been like, but that's just me. Now is the best time to buy a used Tricolore. You can buy a good one for the same money as a new base model 1299. In a few years time you'll sell the Tric for more or less what you payed for it because of its limited production rarity. The 1299 will lose a third of its value in five years. Take with a pinch of salt people's opinions about the rideability of an 1199, they may be more aggressive than the 1299 but I think they are a pussy cat compared to the earlier superbikes such as the 1098 and I'm no expert rider but when riding in traffic the 1199 is very civilised. The real arguments I hear on here between the 1199 and 1299 are from well seasoned riders who push the bikes to the limit, this is where the differences may be seen but with my riding abilities (or lack of them) I can't comment.
The 1199 is perfectly ridable, I think the issue is more that on the road it's very hard to feel like a hero on it. It is always egging you on to go faster and the trouble is that it is frighteningly fast and to extract anywhere near it's potential on the road and you're either going to end up in jail or a body bag. Don't get me wrong, the 899 is also a fast bike, but not in the mind-bending hanging on to the handle bars for dear life kind of way of the 1199. I might end up missing that, who knows. I was perfectly happy with the way my 1199 rode. For me the issue was always that it had too much power to be a usable road bike. But then maybe I'm just a big girls blouse... :smiley:
The 1199 is not difficult to ride, but what I meant by manners was more a case of, you're coming from a GSXR750, fab bikes, COMPLETELY different to a Ducati sportsbike... so it will seem a little rough around the edges until you get used to it.... more so than an 899/1299 in my opinion.
SOOO managed to get on the 1199 and it was an enjoyable but more taxing ride however in my opinion felt nothing in comparison in many ways to the 1299 which i jumped back on to make a quick final comparison. Therefore have decided to go with the 1299 and hopefully picking it up at the weekend. Happy days and thanks to all for your opinions.
I'm obviously doing something wrong, I'm mostly hanging on for dear life having my vision blurred and my mind bent on my 899! It is my first sports bike though! Actually it would count as my first real bike after my CBT! I don't have an urge for anything any quicker with any more power! The gentleman in the big Bently can testify to the acceleration off the lights and my arse twitching like a rabbits nose was an indication that the front wheel left gods earth I may be returning to permanent wet mode!
Nigel, nothing to do with being your first sports bike, your correct the 899 is rapid. I've had loads of sports bike's over the years and as you described when the 899 is on song, wouldn't want anything quicker. Haven't ridden a 1299 though and imagine the extra low down grunt/torque would be nice.
my 1199s scares me witless. come out in a cold sweat when i get within 5 feet of it. And i love that. My daily rider is BMW K1300S, which is more than quick enough. But the 1199S is an animal.
If you're not intending to track it, the 959 better for the road. Belting bike for the money, and almost as fast. That said, try all of them and let your heart and mind make the decision for you.
Congratulations on the new bike, sounds like a good choice for you. For the record I pretty much learnt to ride on my 1199s after a couple months on a CBR600 and an old R1 and never had any problems. I would say you need to enjoy the bikes excitable nature to make it work for you as it's a bit of a pig if you ride it soft. I'm doing the Ducati trackstar test riding day at Silverstone this week and looking forward to trying the 1299s. The one thing that puts me off is its reputed more civilised nature, although that does make me want the R more!
I'm not sure you could call the 1299 civilised. The electronics just mean you can ride it harder still.
My first post on here so be gentle ;-) I have recently taken a 959 and a 1299 for a test ride so I though I would give you my opinion. Firstly they are both great and I would be happy with either. I would recommend riding them if you can, you might like the bits that others hate. I preferred the 959 simply because I found it more interactive, you get to use more of the gears. On the 1299 it took me 15 minutes to get out of 1st and I have no idea what 4th, 5th and 6th are for! I was attracted to the down blipper on the 12, but found you couldn't use it that often on the road. Both great and I could have either TBH but I went for the 959 on that basis.
It's a completely personal thing at the end of the day. Only bikes I've ridden so far with an auto blipper was the s1000rr and I got plenty of use out of it...
Agree, have a auto blip on my 899, I use it all the time the only problem is I keep forgetting to pull the clutch in when coming to a standstill.
Good report, where did you get the vinyl for the front, i have been looking for something like this that doesn't cover the logo?
