Had my first proper ride on my 1198S this morning since buying it at the beginning of last december, sunshine and warm dry roads have not been present for a while in my part of the world... anyway ,i have to say how impressed i am at the way the bike handles and sticks to a line, it somehow feels far more planted and stable in corners than my old T9 did and the stomp out of bends is truly staggering, i also have to say i was never really a fan of the 1098/1198 shape when it first arrived (maybe because i was enthralled by the look of my 999!), it seemed to me at the time as leaning too far towards Jap anonymity ,i even saw one in my car mirror once and mistook the front end for a Blade!...however opinions change with time and now when i open my garage door i'm confronted by a thing of pure beauty. Some great roads near to me so i took the back road from Grantham heading for Bourne and linked up with the Melton road at Corby Glen,glorious fast open sweepers on smooth tarmac through lush green countryside with hardly any traffic ....starting to sound like biking heaven, until i almost overcooked a tight left hander which brought me back to my senses!...carried on to Bourne and did the A15 loop back to base, only about 30ish miles in all but it was fantastic, also gave me a chance to start breaking in my new Knox Handroid Gloves, the feel from them is phenominal , not cheap but you gets what you pays for....Enjoy the weather while it lasts Peeps, it could be snowing in a coupla weeks!
Glad you like it! The 1198 motor (in my R) is a beast, I suspect yours is similar. Seeing that picture of your bike on large stony gravel sends a shudder down my spine though. Watch out for stones sticking to your tyre and ripping your mudguard lugs off your Ohlins at walking pace (from experience!).
Like yourself i was never a huge fan of the 10/1198. I leapfrogged 999 to 1199 and as much as I love the 1199 I do miss that low end shove. The more I look at 10/1198 they appeal to me far more than the V4. Can't beat a booming twin
Was at Silverstone over the weekend and without doubt, the 848s, 1098s and 1198s parked in the in-field area were the beauties on the day. Have to say though, I’m still amazed by the number of people who come up and talk to Carole about her 1st gen red Diavel. Andy
100% felt the same way, at the time, about the 1098 shape. Now though, it's the last model that looked any good, and looked designed in Italy, IMO. And the motor in the 1198s should be in a train, it's that brutal.
