I'm sure if you went on the Honda, Suzuki or Yamaha forums, they'd never be able to understand why anyone would want to buy a Ducati fullstop whether it be a 12k 899 or a 26k 1199r, they'd just bang on about how ridiculously expensive they were and how you could have a reliable but boring Jap clone instead for a fraction of the price. Whatever Duke you ride, it's special.
I do not subscribe to the theory that jap il4's are boring and soulless. Their just different to Italian twins. What I will say is that the italians can make a quirky interesting bike and the L twin is a perfect example of this. But I fear with the germans at Audi in charge that the quirky italianess of the bikes may soon be lost. After all lamborghini is no longer the mad beast they once were. The Germans I would argue do soulless boring efficiency to a greater extent than the japanese do. German design is bland and cold. The italians are mad but in a great way, as are the japanese but they are mad and efficient. These are indeed generalisations but i feel there is a grain of truth within them. I like Ducati's because they are twins, torquey, beautifully designed and being red helps too. Plus they win championships with emotion with a little 'whattamatteryouhey' attitude. There is a daftness i like that is not immediately apparent in Germans machinery. The japanese also have a daftness but theirs is a manga daftness. German stuff is too cool and calculated. They just think too much rather than just doing for the sake of doing. Only Porsche in my personal view bucks the german trend.
Hmm....... yes I think there is some depressing truth in what you say, there's a real risk the Germans will make Ducati's sensible. Part of driving an old Lamborghini such as the Diablo was when you got home the adrenaline was pumping and you had a sense of relief that you'd had numerous brushes with death but through pure luck the car had let you live and that was exciting. The newer Audi Lambo's are still fast but you don't feel bedraggled afterwards which is a bit dull. I hope Ducati's don't go the same way.
Nah , those italians will just start Ducavero in the shed nextdoor if they have to start making beemers
Ive got a Porsche....almost...ok its an old camper but its air-cooled. Fucking money pit that it is but sometimes you just laugh out loud whilst driving him. With his 50hp. This is the daftness that the german can do if they just take a fucking day off being efficient. Bollocks to efficiency. Sometimes mad stuff just works and no amount of cool efficient calculation can design it. It just happens. Plus kids wave at you.
wouldn't mind a GT3RS myself... but wait.... naaah ... the 888 RACE, DESMO, PIEROBON ultralight and 916RS first.... and then perhaps....
I was once going down the motorway when I saw a really cool looking VW camper van, well I mean they're all cool, even the shit ones, but this one was particularly cool so we pulled up side it to have a proper look only to discover a butt irritating Jamie Oliver at the helm!. I hate Jamie Oliver even more now than I did before, he saw us gawping at his van, gave us the finger and floored it. Apparently it has a Porsche 911 engine in it which I can believe as it it definitely wasn't the spluttering arrangement of cogs you normally find in a Vdub judging by the way it left us standing!.
I'd sooner just have an old 911 Carrera. My 916bip is my dream machine. :biggrin: I couldn't afford the maintenance on a race version. Especially as Percy bleeds me dry sometimes. He is the camper version of the charming cad.
I like being able to push the bugger around without struggling and feeling like a muppet. I also ride a sports bike everyday, regardless of weather, and mostly in traffic and town - so I appreciate the lightness that makes it easy to manoeuvre a bike.
I took a test ride last week on the 899 and absolutely loved it. it is far from being lazy. it is very fast, light weight, well balanced, the feel is sensational and very good on public roads. it feels like you still can't max it on the public road but it is much more (to my taste) usable and properly built for out of the track use. Hell, I want one. (btw. we ride on the right side of the road here)
I rode the 899 at the weekend and I thought it was an awesome road going machine. Super fun, full beans, big smile, direct handling, feedback a plenty and I believe its right up there for sportsbike of the year 2014. I may even buy one myself...! Video will be out later this week for you to criticise
I'll be very interested to see your impressions, seeing as you have put in a few miles on the 1199. Interesting. I never really figured it out: did you buy an 1199, or did someone lend one to you, and how many miles did you do on it?
the 1199 was not my bike, it was part of a video thing i was doing. We rode that and a Multistrada GT to Verona last autumn so we had it for about 2 weeks in total / 2000 ish miles.
