Took the plunge last year and got myself a late 749. She's the first duke I've owned but not the first Italian bike has I hade a few aprillas in the past. Lots of negative hype about these bikes but funny how it all comes from non duke owners. She goes out in all weathers and never missed a beat yet.Amazed in how she handling and love the way you can strip it to a near bear chassis in half hour.
Sounds great. Excuse my ignorance but what's the SF? Recently had my engine rebuilt, cost a pretty penny but delighted with it. Where are you getting it done?
Interesting. I had a 999S a few years back with starting problems. Like you, I nervously splashed out on a new start motor as advised by Ducati Leeds. I was sceptical but it worked a treat! Hooray!! Then it got nicked.... Bugger.
I didn't choose it, it chose me. That statement counts for just about every bike I've ever owned, except for my Guzzi Griso which I actively sought out. The ST2 came about as a swap for my Aprilia RSV, and the fuglystrada was a swap for my SV1000S. I came out top in both trades.
My Yamaha 350 lc/rgv hybrid, The lc and 916 are icon designs, had a few lc's and ypvs but not a 916 but want a 748 in Yellow :Cigar:
My first bike was a 650cc Kawasaki Versys. 2 years later, I took the 1000cc Versys out for a test ride and didn't really like the bike apart from the power. The thing I liked about my Versys was how it was pretty good at everything, so I started looking for a bike that is fantastic at everything and I ended up testing a Multistrada. I ordered a 1200S Touring when I got back to Ducati Manchester. Very happy with my choice.
Yep Streetfighter. Its being rebuilt by Rich Lewellyn at Louigi-Moto. Chris Steedman (CJS Performance) did a full ECU reprogramme earlier in the year and worked such a transformation on the bike that I've decided to go further. I'd had a couple of discussions with Chris and Rich and "big" Chris, his mechanic about the options. Its having a full rebuild with blueprinting and dynamic balancing, heads skimmed and ported (not polished) and cams dialled and of course another remap. Its running open Termis and the exhaust valve has been removed already. Its not a blind pursuit of horse power. The bike is a naked road bike at the end of the day and it has to retain the rideability, engine characteristics and durability for that purpose, (I want to ride it to some European tracks next year) so extensive changes to the internals isn't necessary or cost effective. (Its got 150 bhp at the back wheel now - over 160 bhp at the crank, so its already up there with current super-nakeds and Rich predicts the engine work will release at least another 10% in bhp and torque. That puts it up firmly up there with the best of the best. How much more do you want in a naked?) The performance gains of blue-printing aren't the sole reason for doing it. There's the improved character, service intervals and longevity of the engine from dynamic balancing and the headwork. Rich says a weak point on the 1098 engines, including the SF, are the main bearings which are known to fail at not terribly high mileages. They will replace the mains with older spec bearings which are much stronger. If you're going to do this it is much better and much cheaper to do it before something goes wrong rather than wait until something lets go. I should get a smoother, more powerful, more reliable bike with a brand new engine that is punchier and builds revs even quicker than it does now. Its going to cost a bit but I'm hoping it will be worth it.
Price. 11k for a brand new 1198, when 1098S were about that price 2nd hand in 2010 was enough to tempt me. Although I'd saved up the money for another 916 (an SP) but got tempted and haven't been disappointed. She's been a good old girl and reliable with it.
Sounds good. As you say, how much do you need. Those things look like they wheelie for fun. I was tempted to go crackers when rebuilding mine but was advised against it. You can end up with a temperamental, twitchy rocket ship that will let you down. I, like you, kept the tuning subtle. But subtle isn't a word I'd use to describe my 1098R. One thing I'd recommend whilst the cases are split is a gearbox rumble. Good mod, you'll like it. Bout £250 and worth every penny. Enjoy!
You lot can laugh with all of your super fast machines, but I chose my 1998 ST2 because it fits exactly with what I need. At the age of 18 I bought my first new BMW, a R75/7, and have owned BMWs ever since. I now have a classic 1991 K100RS 16v and my wife has a newish F800ST. The K was bought in bits and totally rebuilt, but now after a couple of years of riding her She is a little too tall for my short legs and bit heavy too. Someone was advertising the ST2 for not much money and although I did not want to lose the ABS and shaft drive of the BMW, I thought that it was worth a look, and the wife said that I should buy it for my Christmas present. It does have a chain, and does sound more like a tractor than anything else that i have owned in the 30+ years of biking, but has some charm and is well matched power wise with my wifes F800. I can reach the ground easily and it is lighter than the KRS. It is perfect for the windy scenic roads here in the south of France. Would I buy another Ducati? Well it is too early to say at the moment, but I don't need any more power and perhaps a newer ST2 would be ideal but the trouble is that with 3 big bikes in the garage there is no room left.
Sorry, what do you mean by a gearbox rumble - excuse my ignorance? SF's do wheelie for fun, mine even more so since was remapped. Its fatter in the middle now, the top end power starts about 500 revs earlier and the power curve is steeper than it was before. Above 8000 rpm in almost any gear the front is airborne off the slightest bump including catseyes. Its hilarious. BobT, nothing wrong with an ST2. I've thought about one myself (or maybe an ST4) as an all-weather bike. Lougi-Moto have an ST2 courtesy bike which they've tweaked. Rich has ridden it round tracks with panniers on it. Apparently most customers who use it don't want to give it back.
yip three hundred quid gamble plus my time. the real pisser of it was within days of buying it, i seen some place, maybee on here cant remember, was selling them for a ton.
A gearbox rumble is when your transmission gets stripped. Any new gears will be replaced (£45 each, aprox). Then the whole lot gets lobbed into a vibrating bucket full of ceramic chips. This gives all components a super finish. The process effectively puts a small radius on all leading edges. Voilà, you then have a creamy smooth Honda type gearbox. As Andy Gray would say 'take a bow, son'
And in 5 years time I'll buy the rusting hulks off of you lot for pennies, put 'em back on the road and make a small profit. Isn't life wonderful
999S......over the years I've had all sorts of Italians, Morini's, a Laverda Jota (awesome) , benelli 750/6, a Bimota YB10 (disappointing) and a couple of Ducati's (750ss and 900ss),finally settled on the T9 because of its beautiful totally different look and because I always go for the apparent underdog ,even though its not really an underdog anymore (never was IMO).....
Totally agree. And the 999R 05/06 is my favorite bike in the whole wide world.... Sold an 06 a couple of years back. Bad move, I want one back in my garage soon...
