So its clear to me that myself, @Gimlet and @comfysofa are all up for a new Streetfighter from the Audi overlords at Ducati. A new, razor sharp super naked from the boys in red. Got me wondering if anyone else is in the new Streetfighter queue with us? Its well known that the original 1098 SF don't sell all that well, I think they priced it out of the market. I'm thinking that this made Ducati shit the bed somewhat and decide that there's no demand in the market for super nakeds, though KTM, aprilia, KTM would beg to differ.
Or another take on it is....if they produced a streetfighter now (ie there was none before) that was panigale powered, now the biking public loves the naked shape (ooer) then they sell better...? I must confess im still partial to the SF and would say if someone offered me one for my rsv4 I may....dunno...just thinking outloud. however a quick look on ebay I am seeing a few that are what I would say better value....I don't mind/didn't mind at the time paying 9k but, I would expect something better than a 1098 stocker with 10k on the clock....
What was the original OTR price of the first 1098S SF? I can't remember. The KTM 1290 at 14K is generally considered today a very salty price. They've got away with it IMO because its been cleverly marketed. They've milked the carefully constructed "beast" myth for all it is worth. Its a brilliant bike but its not exactly got the field to itself and I think KTM have pushed the price to the absolute limit. They've found the magic maximum. Its slick but the Tuono and the S1000R are both more sophisticated and cheaper and in real life, just as rapid. The 1098S was cutting edge in its day but if 14K in today's money is pushing it for the 1290SDR, then if the SF was anywhere near that 6 years ago its hardly surprising it flopped. I can't see any supernaked, however good (and the KTM, Aprilia and BMW are very very good indeed) being a big hit if the price goes above 14K. If Ducati do make an all new, state-of-the-art supernaked, it needs the 1299 engine. The 1199 is too peaky for a naked unless they can retune it. Trouble is, they're not going to undermine their flagship bike by selling a full on 1299 minus the fairing for 6K less than the real thing. And, much as I'd love a 1299 naked, if its anywhere close in price you may as well have the extra capability of the original sports bike. But would I want one if they did? God yes. Kidney sale time.
Agree. Diavel (1198) over the 1199. But the 1299 might be a different matter. Bimota use the Diavel engine in their streetfighters. They've stolen a march on Ducati.
I don't really mind what engine they put In it as long as it has the sharp, aggressive edge like a true sportsbike counterpart. The midrange grunt of the old 1098 SF was magic. Its not inconceivable that they could pull what they did last time. The 1098 SF lump was based on the 1098 engine with 1198 casting and head covers. They could reserve the 1299 for the top tier sportsbike and retune the 1199 with 'some bits from the 1299' marketing chat. I would see no problem with the 1199 and a retune for better midrange and less on the top. I'm ambivalent as long as its sharp and in the same spirit as the original. And they make it.
Personally I am happy with my current one. I wonder if Ducati would invest in a new model anyway as the old streetfighter was not apparently a big seller and the monster 1200 covers most of the bases.
Disagree, the M1200 is a softer mini-diavel cum cruiser and the only bases it covers is naked and has a Ducati badge. Its hitting a different need.
You maybe right nothingfaced. They are going to need to expand their model base for the new engine and a hard edged naked in the 1290 mold might be it.
For midrange, there's nothing stronger than the Diavel motor in terms of the way it delivers the tree stump pulling brute force at any road speed. And then it still pulls like a train to the top end - by which point, any naked geared for 150-160 is more than sufficient... I'm not sure I could hold on to a naked at 180+, as the Pani is geared for.
I'll take on a Diavel with my SF. Nothing against the 1198. Its a great engine. I just rather like the idea of 200 bhp and a wet clutch. I'd like a trellis frame chassis though. It looks right. The monocoque Panis stripped of their bodywork look like a gravity-defying collection of parts.
Agree with Gimlet re trellis frame, even if its a cursory one like on the M1200. I have a 2014 Tuono and that is 170bhp (Aprilia bullshit figure of course) and that's a delightfully painful experience to hold onto with the throttle pulled round to the stop. Anything over 80mph is painful on any naked. I love super nakeds as they give you all that acceleration and performance with a razor sharp handling package of a superbike.
Of the supernakeds I've ridden I find the 1098 SF the best for maintaining high speed. I wouldn't say its got the most comfortable riding position. Its pretty wristy though a lot of that is the skinny tank. Its easy to lock the outside knee into the tank in turns but its less natural to use the knees to take weight off the wrists in a straight line. It would probably be helped by gripper pads but I've resisted because I think they look hideous. Its Definitely more sportsbike than sports tourer. If anything it feels more sporty than proper sports bikes like the KTM RC8 or the older Fireblades or Gixers. But somehow it doesn't seem to produce any turbulence. There's wind blast but its clean and not overly noisy. I can hold 90 mph cruising speed happily. Its actually quieter than my SMT at the same speed. Well, the wind noise that is, perhaps not the exhaust..:Angelic: I regularly get into the 130s during short skirmishes and I can live with anything up to 120 just on grunt, without troubling the top end. Knock it down a gear and get it spinning above 7.5K and its turns into a different animal but it gets very wheelie-happy, exacerbated by the lack of bodywork at high speed. I bow out of flat-out straight line stuff. Its a waste of tyres and above 140 the pressure on my neck is physically painful and I'm getting garrotted by the helmet strap. Thrusting through bends is where its at and the harder you push the better it flows. Where it seriously harries proper sports bikes is with the amount of instant propulsion you can on exits. The 1198 engine does deliver that in spadefuls which is what makes the Diavel such a hoot. I'd be happy with an 1198 SF but on paper the 1299 should be as good for mid-range thrust if not better. Unfortunately I haven't ridden one. I've got a policy of not test riding bikes I can never afford because that can spoil your life... epressed:
I found my 1098 SF incredibly comfortable. I hear a lot of discussion about the tapered bars but I personally loved them. I'm 6'2" and the peg to seat height was perfect for me too, I've not ridden a single bike since that was as comfortable, the Tuono cramps my knees somewhat. Agree with you on the windblast as well. It did hurt my neck at anything above road legal speeds but it wasnt a turbulent buffeting. It was only the clutch that really bothered me, I did get arm pump in traffic sometimes even with an Oberon slave. I miss the SF. I did contemplate buying a new Streetfighter S last year but after riding the Tuono, SDR, S 1000R (and even the M1200 to a point) it felt a little 'old' compared to the new crop. Really do hope that Ducati produce a new modern replacement. Edit: BTW couldn't agree more regarding tank grip pads, they look nasty! I had ventureshield on mine and that helped with grip and didn't look like shit either. .. Its days like today that I sometimes wish I hadn't sold it.
It is comfortable. I found it a big improvement on the Speed Triple I had before, which is supposed to be one of the best nakeds for comfort. Other than the lack of turbulence, the remarkable thing about the SF is the seat. Its an all-day perch. In fact its better than the seat on my SMT. I never get the fidgets or numbness. I don't know why. There's not much too it. Maybe its just the angle. That's another reason why I've also decided to stay with the original bars. Its not worth sacrificing aerodynamics or seating ergonomics which work perfectly just to relieve some very minor pressure on the wrists. They need painting black though. When I bought my SF I rode it 50 miles home from Bristol. Glastonbury festival had just kicked out and the roads were rammed. It was start/stop filtering for miles. By the end of that I was convinced I'd have to change the clutch slave but since then I've not done a lot of urban riding so it hasn't been an issue and I've forgotten about it. I did turn the master cylinder round slightly on the bar so that the lever is tipped downwards at a more natural angle for the wrist and that seems to have been enough. If I lived in town and had to spend time in traffic I think I'd fit a stronger slave but as it is a few adjustments have done the trick. Very red, very comfy, oodles of grunt and a stupendous racket. You know it makes sense..:Woot:
