After a near 7 month wait (deposit placed Nov '11), I finally picked up my Panigale Tricolore yesterday.
It's not often in life that something you anticipate for so long is actually exceeded by the reality of it when it finally happens - but this bike did.
After spending 90 minutes at the dealership going through the preliminaries, I finally rode off and then proceeded to put 125km on the bike in one afternoon riding through the beautiful Adelaide Hills, on a perfect, sunny, late Autumn day.
I rode the whole way in Wet mode, which probably didn't do it justice, but I want to get to know the bike over time and build up to riding in Race mode.
The gearing is tall - I used mostly 2nd and 3rd gears, with some time in 4th and a short stint in 5th (doing 110 km/h). The sound is amazing, as one would expect from a Ducati SB. Definitely a different sound to the 1198 though, and I'm not referring to the lack of a dry clutch.
The handling is sublime. Cornering feels so stable and precise. Rolling on the throttle out of a corner is insane - the response is lightning quick and this thing is a torque monster. It almost feels like a diesel engine, it pulls so hard out of corners and from rolling starts. The low speed turning, when doing U-turns for example, is incredibly stable. The brakes are clean and have a nice bite.
Re the smoke issue: after the initial cold start at the dealership, there was substantial smoke on revving, however it was not noticeable at all once the engine had been warmed up. I stopped for a coffee and restarted the engine twice on my ride and did not see any smoke. I also didn't notice any problems with the engine restarting when hot either, as some people have commented on here.
Pics to follow shortly.
It's not often in life that something you anticipate for so long is actually exceeded by the reality of it when it finally happens - but this bike did.
After spending 90 minutes at the dealership going through the preliminaries, I finally rode off and then proceeded to put 125km on the bike in one afternoon riding through the beautiful Adelaide Hills, on a perfect, sunny, late Autumn day.
I rode the whole way in Wet mode, which probably didn't do it justice, but I want to get to know the bike over time and build up to riding in Race mode.
The gearing is tall - I used mostly 2nd and 3rd gears, with some time in 4th and a short stint in 5th (doing 110 km/h). The sound is amazing, as one would expect from a Ducati SB. Definitely a different sound to the 1198 though, and I'm not referring to the lack of a dry clutch.
The handling is sublime. Cornering feels so stable and precise. Rolling on the throttle out of a corner is insane - the response is lightning quick and this thing is a torque monster. It almost feels like a diesel engine, it pulls so hard out of corners and from rolling starts. The low speed turning, when doing U-turns for example, is incredibly stable. The brakes are clean and have a nice bite.
Re the smoke issue: after the initial cold start at the dealership, there was substantial smoke on revving, however it was not noticeable at all once the engine had been warmed up. I stopped for a coffee and restarted the engine twice on my ride and did not see any smoke. I also didn't notice any problems with the engine restarting when hot either, as some people have commented on here.
Pics to follow shortly.
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