Ducati 899 'advantages'

Hello there, I've been reading through the 899 sub forum and can't help but see that the majority of posts and threads are just to taint the reputation, albeit a short one of the 899 considering most people have never seen nor ridden the bike but seem to just write it off as a fail by Ducati. so I thought why not have a thread showing the benefits/advantages of the 899. I'll start.

My self being a 20 year old male and looking at the 899 as my first bike to enter the super sport market, I absolutely love it. I have ridden an 1199 and all I thought to myself was how the heck am I supposed to use all this power on the street? (the street being the only place I intend on using the bike)

Advantage;
- $7,000 cheaper than starting price for the 1199 base. (here in Aust. source - Bikesales.com.au)
- A bike that looks 1000x better than any Japanese bike from 250-1000cc
- Still retains all the electronic features as the 1199 (ABS, DTC, EBC) etc.

I can't wait to test ride the 899 and hopefully it is as amazing as I hope it to be!

good looking bike no doubt, but the double swingarm might give some a soft ......

I like the 899. I think it's a better balanced bike between street and track.

The guys here are a bit biased, obviously. The 899 absolutely has some huge advantages.

1) Smaller pistons means less gyroscopic force trying to keep you upright. This means the bike doesn't fight back against your input as much. The big Panigale is no turning slouch but it you can definitely feel it.

2) Steeper steering geometry means the bike reacts more dramatically to steering inputs again giving it an edge in the handling department.

3) Less power means you can focus less energy on throttle control and more on other important aspects such as braking and turning. This extra available focus will let you concentrate on honing your skills instead of trying to keep the front down or the back end from sliding. This will make you a better rider faster than an equally experienced person starting on the 1199.


I love my 1199 but it is a handful at most times. The 899 is just the right amount of bike for most people and that really makes all the difference in the world.

Prince Albert said:

good looking bike no doubt, but the double swingarm might give some a soft ......

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What is it with your ..... obsession?

jasinner said:

I love my 1199 but it is a handful at most times. The 899 is just the right amount of bike for most people and that really makes all the difference in the world.

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Exactly, don't get me wrong at all the 1199 is a phenomenal machine but I just wouldn't be able to use it to its full potential, which would discourage me from dropping that amount of money on the bike, thus sending me in a different direction, i.e Japanese mid class sport bike. But now that the 899 is available, Ducati has ticked all the right boxes for me to own a Panigale of my own.


Something interesting I stumbled across on another forum;

The Visor Down reviewer put it nicely:

"The 899 is 5kg heavier than the 1199, which might make you think ‘wow, it’s heavy’ but the 1199 is an incredibly light motorcycle. If you look at it another way, the 899 is 5kg lighter than an 848 Evo and that’s with the 899 carrying ABS. No-one ever accused the 187kg 848 Evo of being heavy. The 899, at 182kg, is a tight package."

davlux said:

Exactly, don't get me wrong at all the 1199 is a phenomenal machine but I just wouldn't be able to use it to its full potential, which would discourage me from dropping that amount of money on the bike, thus sending me in a different direction, i.e Japanese mid class sport bike. But now that the 899 is available, Ducati has ticked all the right boxes for me to own a Panigale of my own.


Something interesting I stumbled across on another forum;

The Visor Down reviewer put it nicely:

"The 899 is 5kg heavier than the 1199, which might make you think ‘wow, it’s heavy’ but the 1199 is an incredibly light motorcycle. If you look at it another way, the 899 is 5kg lighter than an 848 Evo and that’s with the 899 carrying ABS. No-one ever accused the 187kg 848 Evo of being heavy. The 899, at 182kg, is a tight package."

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Precisely

I believe if we are honest with our selves the middle weight bikes these days are more than we will ever be able to fully utilize on the street.

As I've said before on this forum.
I think it's a much better balanced machine than the 1199 in terms of fitness for purpose.

Ditch the base model wheels for some OZ racing magnesium wheels, and there's not many people on this forum that will get away from you in the twisties, let alone catch up to you after you've passed them on their 1199's.

How fast one is in the canyons has more to do with ability and talent more so then HP and torque.


But take two really fast guys and the 899 will not be in the front if you hit any fast sections.

outhouse said:

How fast one is in the canyons has more to do with ability and talent more so then HP and torque.


But take two really fast guys and the 899 will not be in the front if you hit any fast sections.

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it's a public road so how fast are you actually going to push it, for me the 899 makes more sense as how often is the throttle wide open on the 1199.

ttkarp said:

What is it with your ..... obsession?

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I will PM him.

Obviously, several members are massively annoied by his ANALogies.

reganc said:

it's a public road so how fast are you actually going to push it,
.

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fast as the corner allows always leaving a little left for error.

for me the 899 makes more sense as how often is the throttle wide open on the 1199

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WE have fast canyon runs, and we have tight and technical canyons.

1rst and second gear are pushed hard on liter bikes as they are on a track. We just dont get "all" the 3rd and no 4rth gear action the track guys do.

I almost never see 4rth pushing it, and for the most part, the bottom of 3rd.




My 848 was almost identical in nature. Its all about 2nd gear. The 899 will be the same.

Anyway.

I believe "I" could ride faster on any given day in the twisties on an 899 as opposed to my 1199 with both bikes (for all intents and purposes) being set up identically.

If I was 20 I would buy a used bike to keep insurance costs down and repair costs lower.
899 is great but this is an 1199 forum so we will be biased.
Now if you are 20 and very skilled rider, I retract my comments.

turnone said:

If I was 20 I would buy a used bike to keep insurance costs down and repair costs lower.
899 is great but this is an 1199 forum so we will be biased.
Now if you are 20 and very skilled rider, I retract my comments.

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Well 17 years of dirt bike riding and racing, along with 18 months or so of using my friends bikes on the road (cbr250, yamaha r6). I have considered going for a used bike but don't see the point of dropping a decent amount of coin on a bike that I would probably become bored with after a short period of time. Not to mention the amount of money I would spend on aftermarket accessories in the mean time. I'm extremely confident in my own abilities, with out being arrogant on the road. In saying that though I will be definitely taking the 899 for a test ride just to see how comfortable I feel.