- Joined
- Apr 25, 2012
- Messages
- 12
- Location
- california
Took delivery July 3rd. Happy 4th of July to me. When I went to see my bike it was damaged in shipping, the top of the tail section was scratched all across the rear. My dealership, luckily, had an S version sitting on the sales floor, they were great about swapping the tail section out after I almost lost it. All of the folks involved from the sales manager, sales guy, and owner of the dealership were really awesome, the owner got back in the shop and was working on it himself. After all the paperwork and trading my beloved 2007 gsxr 750, I finally sat on my bike.
The seating position is fantastic, although the stock seat is brutally hard, slippery, and slopes toward the tank, fired it up and my first thought was holy .... this thing is loud. Not really any smoke as I have read about, but it has some nice vibs when revving. First ride in Sport Mode, trying to get a feel, now a little background, I'm 6'4 and 225lbs, the suspension seems to be set up for about 190lb rider, got to adjust it as i'm blowing through half the stroke on the rear just sitting on it.
Rear Sachs seems decent not as smooth as the Ohlins I've experienced before but totally fine for mostly street/canyon riding, by the way mine is set to F from the factory which after riding for two days takes a little adjustment coming from progressive setups all my life. In F, its hard in the first part of the stroke but even all the way through, this will be great when i'm flying around corners at 85-90 but I can see where folks will be pissed when cruising around town. I am trying to keep it under 6k rpm but have slipped up a few times and the power really comes on strong at 7k and up.
Ok the heat coming from under the seat is ridiculous, so hot I have to move back on the seat and spread my legs, this would be great if I was a gorgeous 24 yr old smoking hot female gymnast, but .... this thing is hot for a late 30's dude with bad knees. After 60 mph its tolerable and after 85 mph you really don't notice the heat but just in town frankly it sucks.
I got the race seat thrown into the deal and just put it on today. It is about 10mm higher than the stock seat but way more cushy and angled up by the tank which really is nice, the covering material is sticky, which I love and will definitely help to hold you on the bike better without having to hang on for dear life with just your wrists. Its way softer and will probably break down some with use so I don't feel that the increased height of the seat will be much of a problem. I like to sit down in a bike or at least get that feel so R6's and RSV4's are not really my thing. I'd highly recommend getting the race seat if comfort and control is your thing.
The pull down low from like 4-5 rpms is good but the sound and feel at 7k rpms is unbelievable, I'll report back once fully broken in to tell about the high rpm power but I don't think anyone will be disappointed at all. I love the dash, we are really getting spoiled with all this technology and I still need to play with all the settings and find my sweet spot. Race mode is great and for canyon riding, that is probably what I'll use but I need to play with it more once I can open her up.
The DQS is awesome, probably the best feature so far, I have to keep telling myself to hold a steady throttle and just snick up a gear. I'm still used to rolling off and flicking up with my dry-clutch 1100 monster. A couple of times I had some issues hitting neutral at lights but overall not really a big deal. This is probably the most user friendly Ducati I have ever ridden and with the looks, sound, and power I can honestly say we don't have to deal with the quirks of previous versions to enjoy the uniqueness and soul of Ducati twins.
Oh by the way ran out with a buddy that has an S1000rr and he could not believe that I was shifting at 6k both him and I can't wait till I'm at full power and with the handling, this just might be on.
The seating position is fantastic, although the stock seat is brutally hard, slippery, and slopes toward the tank, fired it up and my first thought was holy .... this thing is loud. Not really any smoke as I have read about, but it has some nice vibs when revving. First ride in Sport Mode, trying to get a feel, now a little background, I'm 6'4 and 225lbs, the suspension seems to be set up for about 190lb rider, got to adjust it as i'm blowing through half the stroke on the rear just sitting on it.
Rear Sachs seems decent not as smooth as the Ohlins I've experienced before but totally fine for mostly street/canyon riding, by the way mine is set to F from the factory which after riding for two days takes a little adjustment coming from progressive setups all my life. In F, its hard in the first part of the stroke but even all the way through, this will be great when i'm flying around corners at 85-90 but I can see where folks will be pissed when cruising around town. I am trying to keep it under 6k rpm but have slipped up a few times and the power really comes on strong at 7k and up.
Ok the heat coming from under the seat is ridiculous, so hot I have to move back on the seat and spread my legs, this would be great if I was a gorgeous 24 yr old smoking hot female gymnast, but .... this thing is hot for a late 30's dude with bad knees. After 60 mph its tolerable and after 85 mph you really don't notice the heat but just in town frankly it sucks.
I got the race seat thrown into the deal and just put it on today. It is about 10mm higher than the stock seat but way more cushy and angled up by the tank which really is nice, the covering material is sticky, which I love and will definitely help to hold you on the bike better without having to hang on for dear life with just your wrists. Its way softer and will probably break down some with use so I don't feel that the increased height of the seat will be much of a problem. I like to sit down in a bike or at least get that feel so R6's and RSV4's are not really my thing. I'd highly recommend getting the race seat if comfort and control is your thing.
The pull down low from like 4-5 rpms is good but the sound and feel at 7k rpms is unbelievable, I'll report back once fully broken in to tell about the high rpm power but I don't think anyone will be disappointed at all. I love the dash, we are really getting spoiled with all this technology and I still need to play with all the settings and find my sweet spot. Race mode is great and for canyon riding, that is probably what I'll use but I need to play with it more once I can open her up.
The DQS is awesome, probably the best feature so far, I have to keep telling myself to hold a steady throttle and just snick up a gear. I'm still used to rolling off and flicking up with my dry-clutch 1100 monster. A couple of times I had some issues hitting neutral at lights but overall not really a big deal. This is probably the most user friendly Ducati I have ever ridden and with the looks, sound, and power I can honestly say we don't have to deal with the quirks of previous versions to enjoy the uniqueness and soul of Ducati twins.
Oh by the way ran out with a buddy that has an S1000rr and he could not believe that I was shifting at 6k both him and I can't wait till I'm at full power and with the handling, this just might be on.
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