some of you may have read recently my duc broke down recently. spat my dummy at the ol girl and bought a crossplane r1 to replace it. been covering a few miles on the r1 so thought id put a basic back to back summary. the r1 has been tipped as being just like a vtwin. on start up it does slightly resemble one but its more more of triple cylinder to me. blip the throttle and its pretty clear your on a inline 4. this thing revs fast for a 1000cc bike. clutch is nice and light, fairly comfy too. good display. on the road power setting ive found is best in normal. even though the duc has a quickturn throttle its no where near as sensitive to the right wrist. you really have to be careful on the first few turns you dont highside whilst getting used to it in sport mode. as you pull the throttle theres a large amount of vibration that comes through the seat. at this point it feels very similar to a vtwin. by 7k though its cleared its throat, the engine smooths out and off she goes like only a 4 cylinder superbike can. get it near the top end and its a missile. luckily its got some great brakes as youll certainly be needing them! really powerful but the bikes no where near as happy on them. i cant decide whether its just the forks letting the side down or the famous ducati stability. on the road handling is instantly better. unfortunately the ducati loses this one. on normal roads not once have i been fired out the seat, or praised the lord for my steering damper. turn in is nice and secure and slower speeds it just feels planted and sure footed. my 999 tends to kick a bit and can be a little un nerving sometimes. good chunk of this is simply down to the shit tyres on it. it came with some brand new qualifiers. the only thing these things qualify for is being bad tyres.
engine performance...... now this falls into 2 parts. road bike or track bike. for the track the r1's extra performance is needed, but on the road its totally different. to have fun on the road on the r1 your doing really naughty speeds as to feel any sensation of speed you need 10,000 rpm showing. its like asking to either a)go to prison or b) end up in a tree. my 999 will be down 20hp on this but due the the pipe, pc3, light flywheel and lower gearing (shes flat out at 167 bouncing off the limiter) it actually feels like a faster engine. the torque just throws you back. and finally ..... the looks. well i know some who will read this still thinks a 999 looks a dogs dinner still but to me shes absolutely beautiful. every time i pull up anywhere the duke gets a crowd round it. the r1 just fades into the background. does this mean a 2003 ducati can really beat a crossplane r1? is the r1 a bad bike then? definitely not. its a great bike that does everything a jap bike should. looks are subjective but they are far nicer in the flesh and more individual than the jap competition. its almost like theyve taken a normal inline 4 and added a bit of soul. not much, but a bit. also putting a standard 999 against the r1 it may have been a different result. its safe to say theres still only one bike thats kept in the house and it aint the r1
What year is your R1? I quite fancy a 4 cylinder track bike. A mate has an old one and he has strong opinions as to which models were best.
Crossplane R1 is the best Japanese road bike built in my opinion. Just come in from a quick 200 mile ride and still buzzing, this after 8000 miles since I bought it. After riding my friends 'normal' R1 today, I had forgotten how boring a 4 cylinder bike could be. The pops and bangs from the exhaust on the upchange just add to the experience. Only thing I would change it for would be a new model R1 or a Pantygirdle
Yes that's why I like Ducatis. They're the least boring bikes you can buy. But I think limited funds would go further with a Jap 4 track bike (well mostly track but a bit of road as well), especially for a track novice with it all to learn who may well end up in the gravel.. Value for money-wise it would be between an R1 and a ZX-10. But I can't help thinking a cross plane R1 would be more satisfying on the road, especially for someone used to a Ducati. Edit: Sorry Sandking if I'm hijacking your thread. Its set me thinking that's all.
Ducati = character and charm without the bell-endishness of the BMW clique. Tested an S1000RR and an R9T this week. Loved the bikes but the marque snobbery almost sent me immediately to Italia Moto to order an urban whatnot.
Have to say BMW dealers tend to be very helpful. But then I suppose they have to be - if you've just bought a new BMW you're going to be seeing a lot of them.. :Arghh:
haha yeah your right there gimlet. i know 2 people that have have failed gearbox's on them. it seems bmw have this middle ground where they arent sexy italian bikes, yet fail to be reliable compared to the jap stuff. they go like fuck mind
its a 2009 model. the traction control model didnt come till 2012 but if your using it just as road bike im not sure the extra toys would be worth the expense tbh
Yes the 2009 model was the one I was looking at. The 2009 Fireblade might do the job as well for similar money. Loads about too. But would it be a bit soulless in comparison?
The 2009 Blade might be less 'soulful' but definitely a better package all around, despite the Crossplane's intoxicating sound!
I like the black and maroon ones. They'll be fastest. And that face has a touch of the 1098 about it. Raleigh Choppers were shite. Massive high speed stability issues. Grifter every time.
Bloody hell Exige, you've got all the classics! :Greedy: Is it in the living room, brand new? :Shifty::Shifty:
