- Joined
- Oct 23, 2012
- Messages
- 938
- Location
- Edmt, AB
So I finally got chance to take a 2015 R1 for a test ride from the guys at Argyll Motorsports. I know this is a Duc forum but I figured I'd shed some light of what I thought as I'm on the fence of whether I should get a 1299 base or a 15 r1.
I've owned 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2009 R1 as well as a ducati SFS, and the 1199S along with a few other bikes over the last 17 years. Here are my thoughts...
Ergonomics -
I hop on after just showing up on my 2012 r6 (flashed, full akra, steering dampener, filter setup nicely for the track) and I immediately notice it is not as aggressive as my r6 but not as comfortable as the 09 r1 used to be. I really like the up sweep of the tank, it give the boys some room to breath, you can definitely tell the bike is a bit narrower than the old r1 and my r6. The tach is very nice, I don't know why some people complain and say that its not as good as on the 1199. I'm 5'11.5" and the reach towards the bars was good, leg room was not too bad, but I could see the visibility to the tach being a issue for people over 6 feet. I just barely caught the top of it before the windshield came into the picture. Mirrors were pretty good, not as buzzy as on my old 1199.
Engine / Suspension
At first I thought the engine sounded like a lawnmower, with a very tall 1st gear. I was cruising at 80km/h in 3rd pretty comfortable, and immediately couldn't believe how light the bike felt. I thought my 600 was light, but this thing responded way quicker to lane changes. Very nice surprise. I got to take it out for an hour so I rode out to the clover leafs that I was comfortable with to see how it would handle, as that is the only set of corners we have here really. I pull up to the first on ramp at a good pace and let her ease into the corner swiftly. After about a half way thru the turn, I was thinking to my self "I'm gonna Marc Marquez this corner and put my elbow down"lol. I was blown away at how confident inspiring this bike felt immediately. Temperature was at around 17C and the tires were warmed up, so I head for the next one and boom I feel like I lean it in more and more, faster and faster chasing that exit. Whack the throttle open and it starts to pull very nicely as I was past the 7k rpm. The howl that comes off the intakes when they open up around 9k is just intoxicating. Honestly sounds like I'm watching JaLo or Rossi cam on their gp bikes. As I start to stand the bike up it starts to come up into a wheelie and I ride it out into 3rd where I have to get on the brakes as I didn't wanna get busted for speeding to much. Head over to the next set of 2 clovers with more and more confidence and as I open the throttle even more at the exit while being still leaned over, I feel the front end come up again. LIF Control was set to 1 I believe and not once did I feel uncomfortable as thought I would loose it or anything like that. Bike was so easy to adjust your line, the suspension was great, much better than on my r6 and I had it tuned at the track. After a few sessions, I head back with a big .... eating grin on my face and try to focus on what the bike feels like in traffic. Throttle was very on/off with just regular riding. Can't comment on the brakes as I don't think you can really put them to a real test unless you're on the track. There was a bit of too much engine braking for my liking. The 5-7k dead spot everyone keeps talking about didn't bug me too much, I thought the engine reved up very quick. Heat was not an issue at all, and I purposely rode thru the city to get the temps up. A flash would do this thing wonders.
The bike is wicked, and for the price, Like Chris mentioned in a different post its hard to beat. My only wish is that I could test a 1299 or my old 1199 back to back with it to compare.
I'm still torn as I want the 4th gear animal power wheelies that everyone says the 1299 has. But to save that much cash and put it towards some good mods this bike would be hard to pass up. Probably the smarter decision.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the quick shifter didn't feel as smooth as on the ducati, could be because the engine was not broken it yet at 550 kms. Just felt a bit jerky to me.
I've owned 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2009 R1 as well as a ducati SFS, and the 1199S along with a few other bikes over the last 17 years. Here are my thoughts...
Ergonomics -
I hop on after just showing up on my 2012 r6 (flashed, full akra, steering dampener, filter setup nicely for the track) and I immediately notice it is not as aggressive as my r6 but not as comfortable as the 09 r1 used to be. I really like the up sweep of the tank, it give the boys some room to breath, you can definitely tell the bike is a bit narrower than the old r1 and my r6. The tach is very nice, I don't know why some people complain and say that its not as good as on the 1199. I'm 5'11.5" and the reach towards the bars was good, leg room was not too bad, but I could see the visibility to the tach being a issue for people over 6 feet. I just barely caught the top of it before the windshield came into the picture. Mirrors were pretty good, not as buzzy as on my old 1199.
Engine / Suspension
At first I thought the engine sounded like a lawnmower, with a very tall 1st gear. I was cruising at 80km/h in 3rd pretty comfortable, and immediately couldn't believe how light the bike felt. I thought my 600 was light, but this thing responded way quicker to lane changes. Very nice surprise. I got to take it out for an hour so I rode out to the clover leafs that I was comfortable with to see how it would handle, as that is the only set of corners we have here really. I pull up to the first on ramp at a good pace and let her ease into the corner swiftly. After about a half way thru the turn, I was thinking to my self "I'm gonna Marc Marquez this corner and put my elbow down"lol. I was blown away at how confident inspiring this bike felt immediately. Temperature was at around 17C and the tires were warmed up, so I head for the next one and boom I feel like I lean it in more and more, faster and faster chasing that exit. Whack the throttle open and it starts to pull very nicely as I was past the 7k rpm. The howl that comes off the intakes when they open up around 9k is just intoxicating. Honestly sounds like I'm watching JaLo or Rossi cam on their gp bikes. As I start to stand the bike up it starts to come up into a wheelie and I ride it out into 3rd where I have to get on the brakes as I didn't wanna get busted for speeding to much. Head over to the next set of 2 clovers with more and more confidence and as I open the throttle even more at the exit while being still leaned over, I feel the front end come up again. LIF Control was set to 1 I believe and not once did I feel uncomfortable as thought I would loose it or anything like that. Bike was so easy to adjust your line, the suspension was great, much better than on my r6 and I had it tuned at the track. After a few sessions, I head back with a big .... eating grin on my face and try to focus on what the bike feels like in traffic. Throttle was very on/off with just regular riding. Can't comment on the brakes as I don't think you can really put them to a real test unless you're on the track. There was a bit of too much engine braking for my liking. The 5-7k dead spot everyone keeps talking about didn't bug me too much, I thought the engine reved up very quick. Heat was not an issue at all, and I purposely rode thru the city to get the temps up. A flash would do this thing wonders.
The bike is wicked, and for the price, Like Chris mentioned in a different post its hard to beat. My only wish is that I could test a 1299 or my old 1199 back to back with it to compare.
I'm still torn as I want the 4th gear animal power wheelies that everyone says the 1299 has. But to save that much cash and put it towards some good mods this bike would be hard to pass up. Probably the smarter decision.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the quick shifter didn't feel as smooth as on the ducati, could be because the engine was not broken it yet at 550 kms. Just felt a bit jerky to me.
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