Spent the day with the Ducati 1199

OMG The Panigale 1199 really is a beautiful, innovative machine
It just takes your breath away when you sit and stare at it and I didnt even see the engine
When you sit on it it feels very very light, slim and well balanced, the seat height is taller than the 1198 very much like the RSV4. The tank is stunning to look at and when sat on the bike you sort of mould around it. Bars are wide,as has been said but still very comfortable.
Didin`t get to see the "aero kit" which comes as standard on the Tricolore but I can imagine it will be pods on the sides in front of the bars.
A big benefit of the narrowness of the fairing and wider bars is the novelty of having your knuckles trapped by the fairing when the bars are at full lock, someting that every 1098/848/1198 owner will b will be supplied with be glad of.
The seat unit is ultra slim but seemed very comfortable and the pillion pad was remarkably big, not that you`d get me on it!!!!!
The footpegs are well positioned and not the slippery type as used on previous models. Pillion pegs and the number plate hanger are quickly removeable as are the mirrors , so a quick process to make it track ready.
There were mirror blanking plates fitted to the S we had on show and I dont know if these will come supplied with the bike but they might.
There will be no carbon exhausts as they will not cope with the extreme heat generated under the engine so it`s Ti only from Termignoni. There is a screw hole in the silencers so baffles will be removable.
The exhaust valve is just in front of the rear wheel and will be bypassed with the full system.
The mapping for the cans and the full system is loaded by the dealer through the new DDS and you will have an unlock key with the kit. This will cut down on exhaust setup from previous models where the whole ECU had to be changed.
During run in and also at warm up the dash displays a different red line, 6k for run-in mileage. It will not limit the engine but is there as a reference to where the bike should be run to.
In Race mode the dash rev counter shows lap times and other track orientated data on the screen. Also the rev counter will start at 5k as opposed to 2k in Road/Rain.
You can see the video I took today of the demo of the dash functions in the pictures thread.


Learned basics about most of the functions and a lot of background development, market growth (not for the japanese markets who have suffered massive drop in sales up to -68% )
Today was really a pre viewing before the NEC show, the biggest in the UK, as we will without doubt be flooded with enquiries following the public days.
Deliveries will commence from late March, early April AND NO EARLIER
NO non-ABS models for the UK available.
ABS can be dissabled permantly in all modes EXCEPT for rain (makes sense really)
DES has over a million combinations of settings!!!!!! OMG.
Interestingly the Superstock bike on show had Ohlins FG R&T forks and a non electronicly adjustable rear shock, also had all the data logging kit installed which all comes in a package in available to all in the accessories catalogue.
Updated DDA+ has the GPS option which overlaps track data and is standard on the Tricolore.
If you want a tricolore get your orders in ASAP as they will be made for a limited period so DONT hesitate..........
So to summarise, if its a track tool you want then a STD with ABS fitted with a full system, FG R&T forks and TTX rear, DDA+ and GPS and SSTK dataloggong kit, rearsets and SSTK Bodywork and you`ll be like a dog with 2 tails.
Pub/gathering bragging rights best to have in the garage: a Tiricolore
Useful road rider with little tracktime: 1199 S.

The aim of Ducati is to capture a large proportion of Jap IL4 riders who want something different and who are dissapointed with the latest offerings from the big 4.......it will blow the competion away with the spec of even the base model let alone the Tricolore

All said and done, Ducati Corse will not be running this bike in 2012 as they want to develop it even more. Also I understand that the other manufacturers are very worried about it and there was rumour of a rule change to eliminate it from the series........oh well, the 5 year old 1098/1198 design beat them all last year so its World Superstock (as BMW did) for the 1199 in it`s first year
Do I think it will exceed all expectations........without fail
Roll on 2012 and lets hope for a summer of good weather.

wow man thanks for the detailed description, really appreciated

Did you get any more specifics about the ABS? I understand that it can be disabled but that's not what worries me.

What I'm concerned about is how the brake feel and control is affected by all of the additional hardware.
I know on the MTS its vague and squishy even with the ABS switched off, There's just no getting around all those valves and extra brake-line.

Dave, your post was moved out of the 1199 picture thread into this new thread so your post doesn't get lost. Seeing as you're the only one on the site who has spent some in-person time with the 1199, I wanted to make sure others could see and read your feedback.

Thanks!

Dave I have other questions ( big surprise huh)

Do you know if the mode selections can be mixed and matched, if they are adjustable or tunable?

For example; can I select sport suspension and race throttle response - or the other way around, sport throttle with race suspension?
I can see where a smoother throttle would be beneficial on the track when accelerating out of a turn.

I fly remote control planes. On our computer controllers we can adjust the amount and position of exponential control on every servo whether it's a control surface or the throttle.
We have a digital graph that allows complete control of the relationship between the position of the stick and the movement of the servo.
The entire graph is adjustable in two dimensions, It's amazing how sweet we can dial in throttle response. I can see this type of adjustability being very useful on a bike.

Thanks for moving it Duc.
As for the ABS question, until I ride it I cant really answer this but until I ride it I have no idea of the `feel`.

With the power mode settings and relation to the DES they can be set as per your needs so, if you want a really stiff track setting with XX comp XX rebound then yes this can be done.
What we do with customer Diavels is set the modes as per their needs so this gives them a known setting for say fast road, rain etc etc and set it to the 3 options of Sport, Touring and urban.
With MTS owners we do the same if required but use Enduro for Rain, sport for a basic track setting etc etc.
With over a million different options in the DES system your choice is endless.....
I haven`t seen the options with the fly-by-wire throttle and I cant say if there is any but I will try to find out and let you know.
Here is a picture of the throttle unit and as you can see NO cables at all

Also the new Ducati Diagnostic System is rolling out worldwide and when the training for this is completed it may have an option there to adjust throttle response but, until I see it I cant say.

Sorry if this sounds a bit vague but it`s the best I can do.

Desmo Dave said:

Thanks for moving it Duc.
As for the ABS question, until I ride it I cant really answer this but until I ride it I have no idea of the `feel`.


Sorry if this sounds a bit vague but it`s the best I can do.

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That's OK, thanks very much for your input and knowledge. We'll all learn as we get more info.

Thanks for all the detail Desmo Dave. I am soaking up as much info as I can find since I can't see the bike in person

I'm hoping to see any model of the 1199 here in the US at the International Motorcycle Show tomorrow.

And thanks to Ducati for the less slippery foot pegs.

Dave
Can you put a set of desmo forks on the front or will this show up as a fault?
The super stock bike has different forks.

deano

I`m not sure if the DES can be disabled but if you had a standard 1199 then as long as the yokes are the same size then yes the D16rr forks would be a great option.
The ones on the SSTK bike are Ohlins FG R&t`s

Desmo Dave said:

I`m not sure if the DES can be disabled but if you had a standard 1199 then as long as the yokes are the same size then yes the D16rr forks would be a great option.
The ones on the SSTK bike are Ohlins FG R&t`s

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ordered a 1199s tricolore so hopefully they will fit