Day 1 = 200 miles

So just got back from a awesome 200 mile ride on my S/ABS. Couple of observations:

GOOD:
-Ergonomics. Very nice seating position for a super bike. I am 6'2" and fit in very nicely. My legs are a little cramped but I only noticed it after about 150 miles. The handlebars are super easy to reach/nice and wide.

-Power. Still under the 6k break in limit but so far she is smooth and awesome. I can't wait till I can take her to 12k!

-Handling. Pretty dang awesome. I rode in the mountains all day and the bike is super stable and predictable.

-Sound. Wow.

-Stability. For such a light bike it is super stable and high speeds just cruising on the highway. Even with a stiff cross wind it was very planted.

- No smoke on startup.

BAD:

- The seat. For <50 mile rides the stock seat is great. After that I was constantly shifting positions to try to stay comfortable. Also the stock seat is very slippery. I found myself sliding around on it with just jeans on. With leathers its not as bad but still noticeable. I am planning on getting the comfort seat to remedy this.

- The heat. WIth full leathers on a 80 degree day here, I was getting pretty toasty. The exhaust pipe is literally inches from your butt, so I think some reflective material inside the heat shield would help.

-The aero. I have a long torso so at 75-80 mph the wind is trying to pull my helmet off my head. I think eventually I will end up with the ducati tall windscreen. Not a huge deal.

-Starting. Some hard starting after its hot and I turn it off for a while. Did it a few times early on in the day and then by the afternoon it had stopped being difficult. I hope it cured itself!

Conclusion: This thing is worth every penny. All of you who want to cancel your deposits.....DONT DO IT!

DITTO !!!!

ps. I have the comfort seat. You are going to notice a serious altitude change when you sit on it. No doubt it's more comfy but it will increase the lean angle a bit and raise you up so you feel like you are sitting "above" the bike instead of in it. Nice post!

Gunny Fitz said:

DITTO !!!!

ps. I have the comfort seat. You are going to notice a serious altitude change when you sit on it. No doubt it's more comfy but it will increase the lean angle a bit and raise you up so you feel like you are sitting "above" the bike instead of in it. Nice post!

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I figured that would be the case. That might make me want the tall windscreen sooner rather than later. Im gonna try the comfort seat and see how it goes before I change anything else though.

Good review.

I bought a comfort seat. Like mentioned it's a world of difference.

Ducati is working on a fix for the starting issue. The heat issue tends to go away as corners start to appear.

Just finished my first day of riding ! Put 170 miles on it ! I'm gonna have to grab a comfort seat also. Had a blast riding this thing , but my ... feels like it was reamed out by a 300 lb truck driver named Bubba !

Guys, have a think about the race seat... I bought both the race and the comfort seat, and the comfort seat hasn't even been out of the box yet, still have the race seat, which I find very comfortable, very sticky, as in your ... is planted to the thing, and you're not lifted so high of the bike as the comfort seat, therefore less pressure on those wrists....

I did a 300 mile round trip the other day and I had no comfort issues at all.

Just something else to consider, try sitting on a bike that has the race seat, may help your decision.

Thumbs up for the race seat! Tried it on and will never go back to the standard issue.

mat1529 said:

Guys, have a think about the race seat... I bought both the race and the comfort seat, and the comfort seat hasn't even been out of the box yet, still have the race seat, which I find very comfortable, very sticky, as in your ... is planted to the thing, and you're not lifted so high of the bike as the comfort seat, therefore less pressure on those wrists....

I did a 300 mile round trip the other day and I had no comfort issues at all.

Just something else to consider, try sitting on a bike that has the race seat, may help your decision.

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Hmmm good to know. The stock seat would not be so bad if it was not so slippery. Sounds like the race seat will change that. I may have to try both if the comfort seat is not cutting it.

You guys put me to shame. I've only managed a couple hundred km after 1-month of ownership, due to work and home commitments.

Promise to try harder over the next month.

Xbox said:

You guys put me to shame. I've only managed a couple hundred km after 1-month of ownership, due to work and home commitments.

Promise to try harder over the next month.

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1,500 miles since late afternoon on May 24th

First 625 miles on stock seat...comfort seat after that. I'm a big fan of the comfort seat!

Xbox said:

You guys put me to shame. I've only managed a couple hundred km after 1-month of ownership, due to work and home commitments.

Promise to try harder over the next month.

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Best you had xbox! Shame on you! If I wasn't working I would have run mine in, in 2 days if I could have done, unfortunately we, in the UK are also battling against the crap weather, and although I ride in all weathers, it isn't much fun in the rain on this beauty!

mat1529 said:

Best you had xbox! Shame on you! If I wasn't working I would have run mine in, in 2 days if I could have done, unfortunately we, in the UK are also battling against the crap weather, and although I ride in all weathers, it isn't much fun in the rain on this beauty!

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Dude, I did make time to fit the DP parts for you guys

Gotta count for something