- Joined
- May 12, 2016
- Messages
- 98
- Location
- Louisville, KY
I am a recent convert, had my 2007 R1 since buying it new as a hold over in the spring of 2008. Needless to say, my R1 is far from stock, and I haven't made the move to any other bike for the sheer fact of everything seemed to be more of a downgrade than anything else. For those curious, here is the details of the R1 .
I test rode the 1299 S about two weeks ago, and a Duc was on my short list of bikes to replace the R1 if I ever did, the others being an Yamaha R1M and BMW S1000RR, but they of course didn't have the character of the 1299, nor could I actually get my hands on the R1M. The S1000RR felt "old" and didn't feel much of an upgrade from the R1, except for some physical size and a little more power. Since really no parts would move to any new bike it, it opened up a lot of choices, thus the decision for the 1299 S, which I have had since last Friday.
I ride an average of 10-16k miles a year, so I spend a lot of time on a bike. I split it up to this point on a Yamaha FZ1 and my R1. With all that I did to my R1, riding the 1299 S for about 400 miles now, here are my initial thoughts:
What I don't like:
1. I can feel the weight, it's heavy at the controls, flicking in to corners, especially downhill corners. I can for sure feel the difference, and am in the process of getting new carriers on my CMC rotors, and will be getting a set of BST wheels as well. The additional rotating mass can be felt. I am figuring at a minimum of 10 pounds of rotating mass can be eliminated fairly quickly, which is huge, and although the weight of the BST isn't as much of a drop as on the R1 (which I dropped 27 pounds of rotating mass), it will be felt, and the fact that weight is center centered to the hub and not the rim, will make the mass savings more. Some could be the tires, but I have run these before and am used to a round profile turn in, which is what I prefer over a V shaped tire.
2. Brakes are just ok, the feedback is lacking, feels a bit like wood. I am still getting a feel for them though, and will be doing a brake fluid change this weekend, see if that helps a little. I will be installing new pads when moving the CMC rotors over, and I am sure that new pads with the stock rotors would improve initial bite, and that's part of what I am missing, but the modulation of the brakes are going to take a bit to get used to until upgrading.
3. Heat, we all know this, but coming from a bike with an undertail exhaust, I thought my old one was hot... I will be doing some things to help for sure, just hope the cost can be spent on more performance items over heat dissipation.
4. Vibration. I have had a V-Twin in the past (SV650), but transitioning back to a V from an I4, it's there, will need some additional bar end weights to help with long rides, not to mention seeing nothing in the mirrors over 25 MPH. But moving my CRG mirrors over will help for sure seeing what's behind me.
5. Aftermarket. Sure, lots of great parts, bad thing is, with such a niche market, prices are stupid for what you get. This is the one area that the Jap bikes have for sure, more production of aftermarket items means lower costs to make the money back. And as you can tell, I am not satisfied with a stock bike.
6. Suspension. I can't really go to deep, because I have more than a few pounds to lose (I am about 100 pounds lighter than my heaviest self), but it for sure needs new springs, and I am going to guess that the Progressive rear setting will be a bit more to my liking. I will revisit the electronic suspension once I upgrade the springs and get the sag set proper. Right now I have zero feel from the bike going in a corner, and don't have any feedback from the road.
Now with that said... I love the bike. Some is just me being a touch critical, but mostly I wanted to get my thoughts down for others that are looking to move from a well setup bike. From what I have been told from those riding with me, I seem to carry a bit more speed in corner entry and exit than I did on the R1, some of that might be that the heavier feel and having a bit more "stability" in the corner, when the R1 can be a touch twitchy, yet very fast on turn in. The other idea is the fact I am trying to get a feel for the edge of the bike as well, and I am probably pushing a touch harder than I did before, even though I feel I am riding a bit less due to learning the new bike.
How about a list of the things I love:
1. Power delivery. Consistent power delivery from 4k up. The R1 was top end driven, so below 8k it was a bit of a dog, but above 8k, hold on, it's a rocket ship. I plan to take the slack out of the throttle control, and with a TuneBoy on the way, plan to reprogram the throttle for the 70% short turn. I miss the short throw throttle on the R1 already.
2. Sound. It's a twin and a Duc, and with a full Akra exhaust on the way, it's going to get better. I have noticed more people looking towards the bike when taking off, and for the unique sound, just heaven to the ears.
3. Brotherhood. With buying a Ducati, you get that Duc brotherhood. Too bad they aren't running the GP at Indy this year... would have liked to park at Ducati island... For all those years that I went to GP, and visited, but wasn't "part" of it.
4. Character. For the lacking, it's got a soul. It is its own unique creature where all the other bikes I have owned just felt like a "bike", not something unique. The bike nearest to it is a Triumph 675, but it's soul was nearest to the dark side because of the constant little tweaks needed to just keep riding. I hope the character in this is better aligned to the light, I want to ride with a little soul.
Break in will be complete by the end of the week, and when I receive the Tuneboy and exhaust, I will be taking it for a professional dyno tune, and see what it will really get out of her. Brake rotors are being sent in the next couple of days, and then once I part the R1 a little a set of BST wheels will be put on. Some titanium here and there, a spring swap and suspension tweak, and I think I can resolve some of my dislikes.
By my estimation I can get this down to 390# fairly quickly. The R1 wet was 387 pounds in street trim, so I think I can get this lighter and improve on the R1, only time will tell.
I test rode the 1299 S about two weeks ago, and a Duc was on my short list of bikes to replace the R1 if I ever did, the others being an Yamaha R1M and BMW S1000RR, but they of course didn't have the character of the 1299, nor could I actually get my hands on the R1M. The S1000RR felt "old" and didn't feel much of an upgrade from the R1, except for some physical size and a little more power. Since really no parts would move to any new bike it, it opened up a lot of choices, thus the decision for the 1299 S, which I have had since last Friday.
I ride an average of 10-16k miles a year, so I spend a lot of time on a bike. I split it up to this point on a Yamaha FZ1 and my R1. With all that I did to my R1, riding the 1299 S for about 400 miles now, here are my initial thoughts:
What I don't like:
1. I can feel the weight, it's heavy at the controls, flicking in to corners, especially downhill corners. I can for sure feel the difference, and am in the process of getting new carriers on my CMC rotors, and will be getting a set of BST wheels as well. The additional rotating mass can be felt. I am figuring at a minimum of 10 pounds of rotating mass can be eliminated fairly quickly, which is huge, and although the weight of the BST isn't as much of a drop as on the R1 (which I dropped 27 pounds of rotating mass), it will be felt, and the fact that weight is center centered to the hub and not the rim, will make the mass savings more. Some could be the tires, but I have run these before and am used to a round profile turn in, which is what I prefer over a V shaped tire.
2. Brakes are just ok, the feedback is lacking, feels a bit like wood. I am still getting a feel for them though, and will be doing a brake fluid change this weekend, see if that helps a little. I will be installing new pads when moving the CMC rotors over, and I am sure that new pads with the stock rotors would improve initial bite, and that's part of what I am missing, but the modulation of the brakes are going to take a bit to get used to until upgrading.
3. Heat, we all know this, but coming from a bike with an undertail exhaust, I thought my old one was hot... I will be doing some things to help for sure, just hope the cost can be spent on more performance items over heat dissipation.
4. Vibration. I have had a V-Twin in the past (SV650), but transitioning back to a V from an I4, it's there, will need some additional bar end weights to help with long rides, not to mention seeing nothing in the mirrors over 25 MPH. But moving my CRG mirrors over will help for sure seeing what's behind me.
5. Aftermarket. Sure, lots of great parts, bad thing is, with such a niche market, prices are stupid for what you get. This is the one area that the Jap bikes have for sure, more production of aftermarket items means lower costs to make the money back. And as you can tell, I am not satisfied with a stock bike.
6. Suspension. I can't really go to deep, because I have more than a few pounds to lose (I am about 100 pounds lighter than my heaviest self), but it for sure needs new springs, and I am going to guess that the Progressive rear setting will be a bit more to my liking. I will revisit the electronic suspension once I upgrade the springs and get the sag set proper. Right now I have zero feel from the bike going in a corner, and don't have any feedback from the road.
Now with that said... I love the bike. Some is just me being a touch critical, but mostly I wanted to get my thoughts down for others that are looking to move from a well setup bike. From what I have been told from those riding with me, I seem to carry a bit more speed in corner entry and exit than I did on the R1, some of that might be that the heavier feel and having a bit more "stability" in the corner, when the R1 can be a touch twitchy, yet very fast on turn in. The other idea is the fact I am trying to get a feel for the edge of the bike as well, and I am probably pushing a touch harder than I did before, even though I feel I am riding a bit less due to learning the new bike.
How about a list of the things I love:
1. Power delivery. Consistent power delivery from 4k up. The R1 was top end driven, so below 8k it was a bit of a dog, but above 8k, hold on, it's a rocket ship. I plan to take the slack out of the throttle control, and with a TuneBoy on the way, plan to reprogram the throttle for the 70% short turn. I miss the short throw throttle on the R1 already.
2. Sound. It's a twin and a Duc, and with a full Akra exhaust on the way, it's going to get better. I have noticed more people looking towards the bike when taking off, and for the unique sound, just heaven to the ears.
3. Brotherhood. With buying a Ducati, you get that Duc brotherhood. Too bad they aren't running the GP at Indy this year... would have liked to park at Ducati island... For all those years that I went to GP, and visited, but wasn't "part" of it.
4. Character. For the lacking, it's got a soul. It is its own unique creature where all the other bikes I have owned just felt like a "bike", not something unique. The bike nearest to it is a Triumph 675, but it's soul was nearest to the dark side because of the constant little tweaks needed to just keep riding. I hope the character in this is better aligned to the light, I want to ride with a little soul.
Break in will be complete by the end of the week, and when I receive the Tuneboy and exhaust, I will be taking it for a professional dyno tune, and see what it will really get out of her. Brake rotors are being sent in the next couple of days, and then once I part the R1 a little a set of BST wheels will be put on. Some titanium here and there, a spring swap and suspension tweak, and I think I can resolve some of my dislikes.
By my estimation I can get this down to 390# fairly quickly. The R1 wet was 387 pounds in street trim, so I think I can get this lighter and improve on the R1, only time will tell.
