Hi Chaps - what's the main benefit to altering the gearing (either down 1 at the front or up 2 at the rear)? I've just bought an 848 Evo and covered 2K miles on a trip to and around Scotland and back straight away so a bit of a baptism of fire! I think it's an awesome bike, much more comfortable than my old R6 but a bit of pain below say 40 or 50mph or around town but then you'd probably expect that of a Ducati sportsbike. I assume the alteration to the gearing is to help improve that? Also, regarding tyres, a few of you mention Michelin pures... Has anyone tried the Dunlop Sportsmarts that seem to be getting unanimous praise in the press? Apologies if I have highjacked the thread a little, however, I figure this has to be of use to the original poster!! Thanks
Adjusting the gearing in this way, or downgearing it, gives the effect of more power/torque without actually increasing it. It feels more lively and eager to get a move on. It lowers the top speed but accelerates quicker. It suits road riding much better.
cheers guys, great help. seen a few nice 848's. is it worth spending the extra for the evo? or adding to the standard as you go along?
Depends on how much extra. Your only getting a few extra horses, most people can't even notice but the fueling is a bit more sorted. Ducati gave you brembo mono bloc calipers on the evo but they didn't make such a fanfare about the fact they took the marchesini wheels off you to pay for the mono's. The wheels are made to look the same but no Brembo or marchesini logo....I think it says ALDI on them. I looked specifically for a 2010 pre evo, that was heavily discounted because the evo had just come out and used the money I saved to start my own enhancements. I now have mono blocs on, an Ohlins shock and a full termi system etc, but there is always something else comes along.
I haveSportsmarts fitted. Done over 4k on them and 3 track days and no probs. Better all round tyre than the OE Pirellis. The front has stepped a bit, possible due to excessive use of the front brake, and the rear hasn't really squared off. Going to kill them at Silverstone later this year. Matt
Fine thanks Anth. Bloody hot out here and getting to see lots of 'stuff'. Had a quiet day the other week so managed to trawl ebay and pick up some brand new monoblocs off a ktm for £300. Not one road mile on them. Going to get those fitted in Sept. when i'm back for 2 weeks along with a Oberon Slave. Toying with some HEL lines, one for each caliper instead of the link. Any benefits? Got some more goodies planned for November before Cartagena so watch this space. Miss the bike like mad though. Can't wait to get back on it. Matt
Nice one Matt, I put a set of twin (race) Venhill lines on mine, but I don't think there's much difference between the two to be honest. I just thought as I was changing them cause the bottom banjo's are at different angle on the M4's I got, I thought I might as well. I think I got Hel's resident idiot when I tried to order the Hel lines. You'll like the Oberon slave.... Take it easy out there n be safe!!!!
My 2010, pre-Evo had Enkei wheels, obviously it now has O.Z. lol I would imagine it'll be Ducati's design and they farmed the wheel manufacturing work out to Marchesini and Brembo then changed suppliers to Enkei for whatever given reason ( probably cost). That's just my guess anyway.
Who cares what wheels long as they do the job, look the part and are light as air Carbon wheels are the one massive purchase on my future list.
Matters not if the quality is the same. Aprilia switched from OZ to Malgatec OZ lookalikes a while back (obviously cost saving) but quality is not equal. Don't know much about Enkei though.
They're reasonably big players in the car wheel world I believe. I didn't have any trouble when I was running the OEM wheels, so have no qualms.
Having owned both it's difficult to judge the differences between the two unless I rode them now back to back. I recall the brakes on the evo were quite an eye-opener at first as they are quite a step up. Of course, you do get used to their power quite quickly but I remember thinking that too much of a grab of them in the wet could be a problem. The other thing was the steering damper...I didn't have one on my '08 model and it didn't really need it. However in my opinion the ride benefits from the damper on the evo. I agree that the fuelling does seem better but it's marginal and not really noticeable. As far as the horses are concerned I can't honestly say it'd be noticeable on the road and I changed the gearing on the evo as soon as I got it so can't really make a direct comparison. If I was buying an 848 for the 1st time my choices would be based more on condition, mileage and price rather than whether it was an evo or not. Having said that, given a marginal difference on these factors that didn't blow my budget I'd go for the newer model.
Mine have the Brembo logo cast into the hub, and the all important marchesini stickers on the rim I never said there was an issue with the enkel or whatever they are rims, merely pointing out some of the differences, as asked by th OP. And one of these boring went and windy days I might even get some BST's too. :wink:
Noooooo, don't get BST's they look wank on our bikes!! Get forged aluminium not carbon. I love carbon but it just don't look right with a single sided swinger!! (the above out-cry was brought to you by my personal opinion and only my personal opinion.) lol
Lol..... Arthurbikemad has some BST's on his and they look ok. I must admit I like the style of the oem ones to be honest. Arthur swears by the improvement they make with less gyroscopic effect n less unsprung weight n all that bollocks. I'd rather ride something with them on before splashing my 2.3k tho to be honest. Are you listening Arthur!
