1299 v its dad

I am old enough to go behind my wife's back and steal the cash from the account and buy whatever 2015 bike, I am fortunate to be a mechanic and I do realise that not all can modify their kit alone. I am sure I am in for a grade A ... kicking.
I just read the test from Performace Bikes UK on the new R, they say in short and I am not quoting just the general gist, its how a Ducati should be, a crazy ride, great feed back from the suspension and so on,they say with the electronics of the 1299 you don't get cause they say its tamed it, and how the R top end is like the last R "a bit of attitude" blah blah, they say that the past 1199 R was a let down, nothing special in short.
I have a base 1199, full Ohlins, and as time goes on I will fit more upgrades, I reckon then it would put is close to the 1299, maybe better as the Ohlins I have is the same as the R and they say in fast bikes that the R is better for feed back than the electronic!
Point is now days all I see is negative reports on the 1199 and now the 1299 has showed up to fix its faults, but now the R has the crazy side put in it, it all seems to me that its all a contradiction and writing for writings sake.
I watched a superstock race last night Portimao from 2013 off youtube last night, seems to me that the 1199R that they say sucked wasn't so bad when raced in its class, in fact superstock world champ last year, I can go on, I have not ridden the 1299 and I guess its great but so is the 1199, ground breaking and still with a few mods will put it on par with everything else, in fact isn't the R is just that. I could go on forever, but these people who write seem to have run out of ideas and are just recycling old opinions. So this is my bike talking "get off my back, I was born this way"!

Yeah, mostly bs i reckon. When 1199 came out they all sing in praises left and right. Now just because something better came out it suddenly became 'a disappointment'

Mostly all the motoring and motorcycle magazines are in the pockets of the manufacturers. If they do not serve up ........ to sell the latest products the manufacturers may withdraw their ads or support... Basically a bunch of journalistic prostitutes.

Unless you are a high level pro rider you probably won't go any faster on a 1299 than a 1199. Here in Norway we had a big tax fee reduction on displacement and horsepower this year, so a new 1299 was suddenly cheaper than a used 1199 (or an unsold new 1199 for that matter) and that made my choice..

I completely agree with you..and may be its old timers like us who can truly appreciate how contradicting and biased 99.9% of "journalists" can be.

Those of us who have been involved in this sport and hobby for 20-30 years and have seen the evolution of the "sport bike" itself, have seen "reviews" and comparisons printed over a span of 25 years can more easily see through the smoke screen.

Just recently, I was made aware of this fact yet again. After 8 years of hiatus from street riding I decided to buy a street bike again. May be I will come to regret this decision because the memories of SUV/Pick up drivers on cell phones, soccer moms applying make up and SQUIDS riding their bikes like pure .........s are still fresh in my mind even after 8 years of zero street riding.

Long story short I always missed my 998 that I owned between 2003 and 2007, in my view the best looking bike ever produced (may be till the panigale showed up - I knew I wanted a ducati but I thought the Panigale was out of my price range. So I started spending hours a day reading "professional" reviews on the 848/1098.
It was amazing to read reviews by the SAME so-called moto-journalists who were raving about the 848/1098 at one point..and then shitting on the same exact bike just 24 months later. I get that humans do evolve, both in skill and in approach, but no veteran rider will improve so much on 24 months that the same 848 he LOVED 2 years ago is all of a sudden just not fact enough, is dated and doesn't do most things right..
Give us a break guys... I know the multimillion dollar factories have to make a profit, we know they send you guys on vacation retreats so you can "test" their bikes in exotic locations, we know there is a hierarchy of "most loved" to "mostly ignored" journalists that each factory calls upon whenever their new model is about to be released...

All I know is that I have been riding for nearly 27 years.. Raced wera/ccs for nearly 10 years, was a control rider for MAARC riding schools and yet I am certain I will never ride even a 5 year old, base 848 to its true potential.. and thats a fact

with proper mods the 1199 became an easy bike quite quick.

power curve dip? proper exhaust and mapping
rear suspension? well a lot of testers tracked the bikes in Progressive setting
heat? haha, LOL , good one.

what else?


sure, 1299 is the latest and greatest, but show me that average rider who's faster on it than me on the 1199 in the twisties or at the track

TurboLag said:

Unless you are a high level pro rider you probably won't go any faster on a 1299 than a 1199.

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Actually it's just the opposite from all reports I've seen - the 1299 is easier to ride and an average rider will go faster on it in most conditions. Peaky powerbands are never street/mountain road friendly, which is why I bought the 1299

If I wanted the smooth easy ride I would buy one of a multitude of other great bikes out there, I like the just been ..... feeling I get from mine,

farmind said:

so called journalists slaughtered that bike when it came out, read the same mags now and they all run pro 999/749 articles, all start with the same ........ that"when it came out blah blah, but now it doesn't show its age blah blah)

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No surprise there. It came out ugly. And 12 years on it's still ugly. Ugly doesn't age - it just stays ugly.

Charliem90 said:

No surprise there. It came out ugly. And 12 years on it's still ugly. Ugly doesn't age - it just stays ugly.

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LOL..No offense to anyone who might own one of those but I agree.. they were the ugliest thing I had ever set my eyes on..

I drooled over the 916 and 996 until I was finally able to get a 998 in 2003 - When the 749/999 came out I was speechless. I literally send spy shots to a friend betting him that it was a publicity stunt on Ducati's part and that there was no way they could follow 916/996/998 lineup with THAT

Sadly, I was wrong..

Wish I didn't use that as an example cause your;re missing the point of the thread, but seeing you guys have an issue with it I will try and delete the example, and by the way I do have an issue, I like my 749 and I bet if someone said your bike was .... you would be offended!

farmind said:

Wish I didn't use that as an example cause your;re missing the point of the thread, but seeing you guys have an issue with it I will try and delete the example, and by the way I do have an issue, I like my 749 and I bet if someone said your bike was .... you would be offended!

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the 749 is an immense bike really really great handling but as people have pointed out bikes progress and what's great today may not be fantastic in 12-24mths.

I think with the current stable the 1299 they have made a much better street bike with torque in the right places whereas the 1199 is not the easiest bike to ride fast and the the R model even less so, so i guess it's a pretty good step up.

I'm hearing good things about the 2015R and was about to buy one but my issue is the amount of usable power with the tracks in the NE being tight and it's somethink i sometimes struggle with the 2013 R. However as a package the 2015 R is a better bike and from what i'm told very close to the Sl which makes it a relative bargain.

I agree that 1299 is a better bike and easier to ride, and easier to ride fast. But dammit 1199 is NOT "a disappointment" that a bunch of journo-peostitutes are suddenly saying, after the same guys sung praises when 1199 launched saying how easy it was to ride it fast.

TurboLag said:

Unless you are a high level pro rider you probably won't go any faster on a 1299 than a 1199. Here in Norway we had a big tax fee reduction on displacement and horsepower this year, so a new 1299 was suddenly cheaper than a used 1199 (or an unsold new 1199 for that matter) and that made my choice..

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You know, you 100% right, the difference between these 2, for me and many average riders, will never ever actually feel the difference in power.

Marmoot said:

I agree that 1299 is a better bike and easier to ride, and easier to ride fast. But dammit 1199 is NOT "a disappointment" that a bunch of journo-peostitutes are suddenly saying, after the same guys sung praises when 1199 launched saying how easy it was to ride it fast.

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Perhaps we are all reading different magazines. But the various magazines I read stated the 1199 was NOT easy to ride fast. They stated it was unstable, "edgy" and had a very narrow "sweetspot". In other words, it had to be ridden at 10/10ths, by a very good rider, in order for it to perform well.

That wasn't just due to the motor (lack of midrange), it was also (and mostly) due to the chassis and geometry.

And those things were addressed with the 1299. The midrange was boosted by ~15% and the chassis geometry was changed. They also improved the electronics and added more features.

They basically made it so anyone, even the average rider, will be able to go faster...easier...on the 1299.

But these types of threads/comments are common every time a new model of anything comes out. I remember when Cadillac released the new Escalade in 2007, there were tons of threads on the Escalade forum from 2006 and prior owners talking about how they think the new one is ugly, and it performs the same, and there are no real differences, and how theirs is just as good or better, so on and so forth. When every spec sheet, report, review and performance test proved otherwise (except for looks, which are subjective).

When Yamaha came out with the 2006 R6, there were tons of '05 owners who "hated on" the new one, talked about how there is no real difference and they made a point of commenting in every 2006+ thread just to point out how their 05 can do the same things, or is capable of the same stuff, etc. But in reality, the '06 was a "game changer" and that same platform is still winning races today.

There is always animosity from previous generation owners when something new comes out. I see it on every forum (cars and bikes), worldwide. It should be expected because everyone loves their car/truck/bike and nobody wants to be told the new one is better.

And following on from above. A lot of these minor tweaks and improvements may make a small amount of difference to the average rider, but just as easily may not.

Folk dont seem to be able to admit, that if you are next level quick, you will be next level quick on most machines, but if you are joe average, then buying a new bike every year to get the improved models will still have you as joe average, but on a more expensive bike.

We are all lucky in the respect that we aint seen many bad bikes in the last 10 years or more. We just need to go out and learn to ride them properly, and forget what everyone else is doing. Buy your bike for you, and ride it for you and you will be far more satisfied than buying other folks choices for other folks reasons.

Marmoot said:

I agree that 1299 is a better bike and easier to ride, and easier to ride fast. But dammit 1199 is NOT "a disappointment" that a bunch of journo-peostitutes are suddenly saying, after the same guys sung praises when 1199 launched saying how easy it was to ride it fast.

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And the exact same journos will be calling the 1299 a disappointment in roughly 24 months....... FACT!

CaliRosso said:

And the exact same journos will be calling the 1299 a disappointment in roughly 24 months....... FACT!

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And half the people here with 1299s will have dumped them and be off chasing whatever the Journos call out for bike of the week.

Charliem90 said:

And half the people here with 1299s will have dumped them and be off chasing whatever the Journos call out for bike of the week.

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While I will still be enjoying the Dragon Lady.