1199 around town, 2014 edition

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No problems for me around town, either. Here in Albuquerque I live in the far NW corner of town and work in the south central area near the airport, so my trips to work are usually 45m in the morning and a little longer in the afternoon.

With OE gearing my early production 2012 model (39t) is actually like having two bikes in one. Below 8k it rides much like a two-valver. It pulls OK and doesn't ..... or whine about not being in its "happy zone". Above 8k it's an honest-to-Dog firebreathing dragon ..... superbike and a joy to beat on in the twisties, beyond my wildest expectations.

I've heard people ..... about heat (yeah...I know....) but it hasn't been a problem to me except in the middle of summer in 20 mph stop-and-go traffic, which I avoid like the plague, anyway.

I don't ride to work often, but when I do.......
 
dznutz said:
Its a 1200CC Vtwin puttin out 200hp... you bought the wrong bike if pleasant was a concern
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The Dragon Lady has a 42 tooth rear sprocket, pro stock mapping and a Power Commander V with auto tune and MWR high performance filter among others and has always been pleasant to ride about town. :D
 
If you want comfort around town but still own a kick ... superbike. Here's one solution. Sell the lights, mirror, tail from the Panigale, that'll get you a used scooter and pair of capri pants for around town. Don't abuse the Panigale in stop and go traffic, that bike is not build for it. You need to set it free, stretch its legs.
 
JosephManderley said:
There is also some rumbling about the 899 being more fun because you can beat the .... out of it more, less horsepower so more time/opportunity to crack the throttle. What's been your experience with the 1199?
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A big part of the 899 is that it's geared differently from the 1199, it accelerates MUCH quicker on the low end. 899 has a zero-60 of only 2.5sec compared to the 1199 at 2.9sec. It just makes it more fun in town light to light, but also more fun in the canyons personally. The 899 is a hella fun little .... to ride hard just because you can and not worry about being too outta hand on the street.
 
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Wow I'm sick of the "that's not what the bike is meant for" crap. It's meant for whatever the hell the person who bought it wants it to be meant for. There are plenty of reasons to want such a bike, and still have reason to ride it in town and there's nothing wrong with the desire to make it fit your particular needs. If fact, one of the big perks of the bike is how customizable it is. Yes, mapping has helped low speed a bit. And yes, from other strings on here, 41T makes it smoother at low speeds.
 
I love this bike. I have no idea what the problem around town is unless you live in a major city with hella stop & go traffic. But that's going to suck on almost every bike you ride.
 
I sold my 1199 for a 899. I miss the grunt and the feeling of the 1199 - still no regrets for downgrading. I'll probably buy another 1199 in the future as i do miss it. The comfort level is subjective to a certain extent. The 899 is silky smooth but lacks power. The 1199 wet mode in 2nd gear is very ride able around town but i still rather have the linear power band of the 899 for my needs.
 
I get stuck in traffic every now n then. Not sure why you would want a motorcycle for a bumper to bumper commute.Clutch hand can get tired in that mess.

To keep me entertained I let the car in front of me get ahead then I pop a wheelie and close the gap. Let them know the 1199 is boss.
 
Alleykat said:
I get stuck in traffic every now n then. Not sure why you would want a motorcycle for a bumper to bumper commute.Clutch hand can get tired in that mess.

To keep me entertained I let the car in front of me get ahead then I pop a wheelie and close the gap. Let them know the 1199 is boss.
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Its why I love living in California. You can filter through lanes ("lane sharing") so I'm not stopping and going as much as you would in another state.

I was going to move to Texas but riding in cali is just too good to give up. :D
 
I've been riding various bikes for 20 years. It's fine around town. Ignore the trolls. That said, it is a bit frustrating to ride a bike in town when it is always straining at the leash, wanting to do triple digits after only a few (single digits) seconds of throttle application.

Best "around town" bike I ever had was my KTM Duke II. Sit up high, gas it everywhere ... point-and-shoot riding. But ugly as sin compared to the 1199.
 
Heat off this bike never bothered me in the city. In fact I quite like it. In full leathers it just feels like a girl with warm hands giving your junk a hot oil massage. Ducati should probably include this as a bonus feature in their marketing material.
 
jyli19 said:
If you want comfort around town but still own a kick ... superbike. Here's one solution. Sell the lights, mirror, tail from the Panigale, that'll get you a used scooter and pair of capri pants for around town. Don't abuse the Panigale in stop and go traffic, that bike is not build for it. You need to set it free, stretch its legs.
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that's why I quit taking it to work
 
I have found that putting the bike in Wet Mode and adjusting the traction control so that it's less intrusive can often help whilst riding in town. I have used in in London and the bike handles smoothly. Try it. Worked for me.
 
Works fine i any condition, but best at speed. Never use Wet, the the 195 HI and LO work fine around town as well. Heat can be an issue, but depends on ambient temp and clothing (layers help). In cold climate areas the "heated seat" function is a must ;-). Should see track use, otherwise consider something else all together.

I ´m getting a bit old (50) for the 1199R and may consider another duc, but the power above 8000 rpm is very addictive so then again maybe not.
 
+1 - the bike is running great for me in all conditions now. Previously I had a big problem with it bucking and surging esp in first gear. The last time I took it in I had termi slips installed so I don't know if it is specifically the termi upmap or perhaps some other new map (there's a whole thread on whether or not this actually exists), but the termis and upmap have had a remarkable effect on the bike. I can now ride it comfortably even in traffic and in first gear. I also adopted the wet mode solution to make the throttle less twitchy and that works well for me too. I generally ride the bike in wet mode until I get to where I am actually "riding" and then flip it into sport or race. Then I use wet mode to slab it home again. I basically use wet mode as commute or travel mode and the others as fun modes. :)
 
The OP is absolutely right.We should start a petition for Ducati to start putting air conditioned seating, automatic cvt gearbox and a water purifier on board to make this bike more comfortable in traffic.I can't believe they haven't already done this on their own.

C'mon guys you can't tell me you're buying street legal race bikes and can live without those creature comforts. :)
 
Buy the 1199 R if you're worried. It has great road manners compared to the fairly hard edged S. Or get the optional mod for the S?
 
92GTA said:
A big part of the 899 is that it's geared differently from the 1199, it accelerates MUCH quicker on the low end. 899 has a zero-60 of only 2.5sec compared to the 1199 at 2.9sec. It just makes it more fun in town light to light, but also more fun in the canyons personally. The 899 is a hella fun little .... to ride hard just because you can and not worry about being too outta hand on the street.
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I wonder if going to the 41 tooth rear on the 1199 brings the low end acceleration up to the times of the 899. Has anyone gone beyond a 42 tooth rear? Is it ride-able?

I personally daily mine and don't see an issue with the stock 15/39, but you do have to do extra clutch work at low speeds to keep things smooth.
 
Hello

Like the most other 1199 users here... No problem in traffic, only thing is the bad heat that come from under the seat if you do not roll. But hey, with the s1000rr it was the same, but there was the heat coming from the front, but also so hot when the secondary fan kicks in...

About problems with the gear: none. You just have to drive it 1-3 gears lower than a 4 cylinder bike, then it is smooth :)

About the 899 is faster than the 1199 on the 0-60 times, is there a test about that? I can not imagine that really because of the more grip the 1199 has etc...?!
 

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