I rode a Speciale at Brno a few weeks back, it made the circuit feel to small. Low end and mid range, I felt was comparable to the V2. But when you let it rip up towards the redline... SHIIIIIIITTT that thing is fast and the straights seem to become a whole lot shorter!
I'd have to agree with Rob and a few others in that I wouldn't. It is next to useless as a road bike as it was primarily built as a track bike. In plain red it is a very ugly bike, it looks too bloaty at the front but particularly the middle and the tail end looks like a shed customiser who has done a bitza build and shoved gsxr rear end on to try and bring some sporty to the party as an after thought being a track created bike, the basic model price rrp £19,250, that is a very expensive toy. The recalls before some customers even got the bikes did not help it's pr and confidence in the product. Outside of the Ducati bubble, it is a bike that has barely registered and that should be a worry for Ducati given new blood is hard to find in the motorcycle market and the old blood has not been fawning over it as they needed to have.
Its actually easier to ride than the 1299 in many ways and even probably makes a better road bike as a result. BUT its impossible to resist twisting the throttle and before you know it vehicles in front are coming towards you at an alarming rate. Its a good job the brakes are as exceptional as the acceleration. Its a fantastic piece of technology and engineering. My comment about not particularly wanting one for road use is based purely on the fact i would not keep my licence for very long.
I haven't even looked closely at one. The 1st time there was one in my local dealer, I walked past it as it was so non descript. It was only when I asked when they were getting the new V4 in, that the salesman pointed out a couple of V4S to me side by side. I looked at them for 30 seconds and then walked away to look at some other stuff. There is nothing about it, and I genuinely mean nothing, that I think "That's nice". I'm sure it's technically superb, but I don't go in for the magazine hype that it's suddleny made the 1299 feel like a Fizzy. I'll stick with what I've got, thanks all the same.
BTW i notice the 2 V4 Speciales that Bike Specialists bought at a premium and are trying to sell at a premium, are still sat on the showroom floor.
So fickle you lot,two numbers that spring to mind as box office failures.....749/999............but people like them nowi rest my case
Yeah, but after a few years, people realised that they kind of look ok ish. The V4 looks like a sack of s**t It'll still look like a sack of s**t in 10 years time. If fact, it'll look like a 10 year old sack of s**t. I rest my case
Here is one way I think* will happen then, just like the new Honda Africa twin, i think* you will see more v4's on the dealers floor, than on the road and I wonder how many dealers will pre register their allocation, just to meet targets but still be stuck with them? *just for El
