First Time on Track 2012 1199S

I would like to say up front that I am but an upper intermediate rider, and a safe one at that....

So this weekend finally had a chance to taste the joy of the Panigale on track.. Given it was the first trackday to the season and I was RUSTY for sure, I took the Panigale out on my second session (my 675R 1st session). Without a doubt my findings on the street related to the track & then some... I LOVE THIS BIKE!

Barring the gorilla humping a football comparison, my friends cracking jokes about how i can bench press the bike, and I must weigh more than it.. I had lots of fun! It felt like very natural to ride and I was up to a quick for me pace in 3 laps.. Felt better on it than I did my Daytona 675R from the last 3 years.

The handling was pretty damn good, although more work than the 675R it would cut whatever line i was working on. The feedback to me was better than my 675R, the lack of chassis flex and stiffer suspension components suited my weight better also. It actually felt like the suspension was working as intended, not the chassis flexing.

The brakes although i have swapped over to a brembo rcs 17 were just amazing, I could not ask for anything more.. Great feel, power and easy to modulate...

The only complaint I can find was that holding on under accelerations was a chore! Also the slipper clutch has much to be desired compared to the ones I have had in my ZX's & aftermarket slippers in my 675's. But some more seat time and rev matching would help for sure.

Really enjoyed myself, and look forward to seeing what I can do with the bike this year on track!...

Sounds like you had a great time with it. I'm also new to the 1199S. never really rode mine street, just put some glass on it and raced it at Daytona last month with CCS lol..... was a whole different bike compared to Inline 4's!

Last Week said:

Sounds like you had a great time with it. I'm also new to the 1199S. never really rode mine street, just put some glass on it and raced it at Daytona last month with CCS lol..... was a whole different bike compared to Inline 4's!

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Whole different bike compared to my 675R also.. Have another month to actually get the suspension baseline set-up before the next trackday.

That's what I'm currently doing. I bought the rake kit for it to help out with the geo.

I did the woodcraft GP rearsets, the complete light, servo, fan, and kickstand delete. Put on some case protection, frame, and tank sliders before Daytona.

I installed the sprint 16 filter before the second round of races at CMP this weekend. Huge difference! 2nd gear coming out of the carousel or the last turn before the start finish....nothing but power wheelies lol had a hard time keeping the front down.

I still race my GsxR 750 in Heavyweights, so I switch back n forth between the two bikes throughout the race event. I'm getting used to adjusting between them. It's taken a bit tho.



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