As has been said, the 1198S is the last of the traditional Ducati superbikes - trellis frame, underseat exhausts, bit torquey V-twin, dry clutch. The only concession to "nannying" the rider is traction control and you can always switch that off. As @Ben Mallinson said, get it right and it's brilliant, take one liberty too many and...
You are correct the 1198S is non-electronic Ohlins, I was more referring to the traction control on the 'S' and I believe some of the late S's also came equipped with DQS too?? I may be proved wrong the latter though... I opted for the 1198 Base Model as it has absolutely nothing to nanny the rider and is the last Ducati Superbike that will be made without these. Apologies for any confusion caused by my earlier post Andy
If I was to buy a sports bike again it would’ve an 1198. To me it’s the last proper Ducati. Trellis frame,dry clutch and more than enough power for us mere mortals. Just my opinion,sure a lot will disagree
Well, first off thanks to everyone who responded, it's really appreciated. Secondly I'm really surprised by the resounding vote for the 1198. I would have expected the newer Panigale models would have had a large fan base. I'm off now to have a chat with the dealer selling the 1198s which does look stunning. Thanks again and have a great weekend. Steve.
I'd buy a 899. But that's because I have a 996 and 999 so the classic Ducati sports bike is pretty much covered. I'd love a 1098/1198 but would rather something a little more different. And think 899 would be a hoot on track.
I'm going to go the other way and say go test ride a 959 at a dealer and consider the 899 if you like the experience. You dont sound like someone who will be thrashing it to get the benefit from an animal of a machine like the 1198 and 1199 which need to be rode hard to get the most out of them. The 899 works best when ridden hard as well but it's much easier to do that. If you're looking at doing long distance journeys where you will see benefit from lazy riding on the bigger bikes then they might make sense, but otherwise the 899 is a lot of fun to thrash around on the weekend. Lots of people own the big bikes without going hard at it but I think it's well worth trying the small bike for the fun factor as the 1198 and 1199 are very physical and can be over whelming if not taken by the scruff.
As I mentioned in my initial post my budget rules out a 959 unless it's a higher mileage one.That said I have booked a test ride early December on a Supersport and a 959 just to get a feel for a newer bike.
Thats what I was getting at. You'll struggle to get a test ride on an 899 but should be able to get one on a 959 to see if you like the smaller bikes.
