Superbike smackdown 2012 Track

husker1 · Jun 25, 2012

2012 Superbike Smackdown IX Track - Motorcycle USA

A shame: the Panigale 1199S with full Termi only finished 7th in their test.

Handling seems to be the biggest concern.

ttkarp · Jun 25, 2012

Again with the set up problems

husker1 · Jun 25, 2012

ttkarp said:
Again with the set up problems

They don't say which suspension linkage they used, but almost certainly it will be F.

It does seem to wobble a lot (in the limited clips they show).

ttkarp · Jun 25, 2012

husker1 said:
They don't say which suspension linkage they used, but almost certainly it will be F.

It does seem to wobble a lot (in the limited clips they show).

I thought that too..but then they said if was sprung too softly. You'd think it'd be the other way around right?

lsberrios1 · Jun 25, 2012

Wow the Pani got spanked hard! 1/10 in flickability?! you gotta be kidding me! I think it is the most wonderful bike out there but I guess that would speak volumes about how inexperinced I am... I do consider myself a pretty good rider though and the panigale is amazing in my eyes.

jjmontesanto · Jun 25, 2012

These guys never rank Ducati very high. I'm not surprised by these results. On the other hand, Waheed has said he would buy one, couple of times I think . . .

Steve B · Jun 25, 2012

Suspension's definitely holding the bike back. Can't speak from experience about the Ohlins, but I took delivery of my base model Friday and put about 300 miles on it over the weekend. Spent some time Sunday doing setup and back to back rides on a very nice bit of twisty mountain road close to home with the 1199 and it's garage mates, my '05 RC51 and an '07 675 Daytona. Love how light the Pani is, and you can carry a lot of entry speed, but on anything less than perfect pavement it was moving around a lot more than either of the others, even the Daytona which is similar in weight and not known for being a plush ride. I'm small and light at 5'8"/165 in-gear, but the base felt to me like it needed less spring and more damping, so it could sit down in the stroke and stay stable over pavement ripples and the like. I'd taken all the preload off the front (came with about 4-5 turns in, where the manual says all out is baseline) and about 4mm off the back (8 vs 12), and a couple of clicks off the comp/rebound. Helped a lot vs stock settings, but it wasn't terribly confidence inspiring and was wallowing a bit. Seemed like it wanted lighter springs and tighter damping, but the raw physics of the thing are there though, you can tell that. Just need to get the bump handling sorted out.

And some different handlebars! Jeez, to a scrawny guy like me those wide, flat things feel like they belong on a motocross bike. Kept wanting to put my foot out going into corners. No, not like Rossi - more like Bubba Stewart...

jjmontesanto · Jun 25, 2012

Steve B said:
Suspension's definitely holding the bike back. Can't speak from experience about the Ohlins, but I took delivery of my base model Friday and put about 300 miles on it over the weekend. Spent some time Sunday doing setup and back to back rides on a very nice bit of twisty mountain road close to home with the 1199 and it's garage mates, my '05 RC51 and an '07 675 Daytona. Love how light the Pani thing is, and you can carry a lot of entry speed, but on anything less than perfect pavement it was moving around a lot more than either of the others, even the Daytona which is similar in weight and not known for being a plush ride. I'm small and light at 5'8"/165 in-gear, but the base felt to me like it needed less spring and more damping, so it could sit down in the stroke and stay stable over pavement ripples and the like. I'd taken all the preload off the front (came with about 4-5 turns in, where the manual says all out is baseline) and about 4mm off the back (8 vs 12), and a couple of clicks off the comp/rebound. Helped a lot vs stock settings, but it wasn't terribly confidence inspiring and was wallowing a bit. Seemed like it wanted lighter springs and tighter damping, but the raw physics of the thing are there though, you can tell that - just need to get the bump handling sorted out.

And some different handlebars! Jeez, to a scrawny guy like me those wide, flat things feel like they belong on a motocross bike. Kept wanting to put my foot out going into corners. No, not like Rossi - more like Bubba Stewart...

Thanks for the feedback Steve. I'll taking delivery of my base in about 3 weeks, and I'll try to soften up the suspension like you have. Are you in F or P on the rear suspension linkage?

Love the foot out comment.

Steve B · Jun 25, 2012

Got it in F for now. I've seen the progression curves for the two and while going P may help bandaid the spring issue at the top of the travel, remember that on P the thing will get stiffer than F at the end of the stroke. Same problem my Daytona had with a very progressive rear end - it would sit down and pack. Fixed that with a custom set of link plates. I'll give P a go for sure; just part of the baselining thing, but my expectation is that at the end of the day you're going to want a flatter rate for solo riding, just with the right springing/damping to match.

Always keep in mind I am a pretty scrawny bugger, so for someone kitted out at around 185-200lbs, the stock springs are likely to be much closer to the mark. And of course I have no clue what the S boingers are like being a cheap .......!

Have to get around to posting some more impressions in another thread - lots of buttons and knobs to fiddle with on this thing. Spoiler; my fave so far is all the nannies... off! Like my motorbikes straight, no ice thanks...

jjmontesanto · Jun 25, 2012

I will take into account the weight difference, I'm about 185-190 gear'd up. I'm actually looking forward to the nannies. My last bike was an 09 1198 base, so no electronics there, and it frankly scared the .... out of me a few times!

Looking forward to your next set of observations - well written and accessible. Thanks!

doctorj · Jun 25, 2012

All I can say is, it was a waste of my time to read the shoot out. What ........ So subjective... did I say ........ already. Don't give it a second thought. Its not their fault, they're "Special"

jjmontesanto · Jun 25, 2012

doctorj said:
All I can say is, it was a waste of my time to read the shoot out. What ........ So subjective... did I say ........ already. Don't give it a second thought. Its not their fault, they're "Special"

ttkarp · Jun 25, 2012

doctorj said:
All I can say is, it was a waste of my time to read the shoot out. What ........ So subjective... did I say ........ already. Don't give it a second thought. Its not their fault, they're "Special"

Any reason in particular, or are you just pissed they rated it so low?

tstephenson · Jun 25, 2012

husker1 said:
They don't say which suspension linkage they used, but almost certainly it will be F.

It does seem to wobble a lot (in the limited clips they show).

They show flat rate in the call out box - and there complaint is rear end handling. Its a shame they don't switch and try to get the most out of it.

rm4two · Jun 25, 2012

When Checa, Savadori or La Marra says the bike handles like poo then I'll start listening lol

Phl · Jun 25, 2012

if one says, the bike was too skinny, that he couldn't hold on to it in the curves, it implies that he was going too slow, resulting in a lack of centrifugal force. so he had to hold himself, to avoid falling off the bike...

Vicious · Jun 25, 2012

phil said:
if one says, the bike was too skinny, that he couldn't hold on to it in the curves, it implies that he was going too slow, resulting in a lack of centrifugal force. So he had to hold himself, to avoid falling off the bike... :d

exactly!

zvez · Jun 25, 2012

I'll be honest. I rode a bmw s1000 at a track school for a couple days and I was smoother and more confident/comfortable than I am with the pani, keep in mind I'm a mediocre rider. But the pani is definately not nearly as easy to ride smoothly and fast as my aprilia rsv4 was that I had or the bmw.

That said, doing a track day sunday so will see what I can make of it. Suspension wiz will be there and going get him to give me some kind of a baseline setup. I know he's going to tell me I need lighter springs.

lsberrios1 · Jun 25, 2012

I guess this time around it pays off to be fat. Im 215 pounds and I think it is good enough for me. I know ive riden both sport and race aggresively and for street sport is better and more forgiving.

zvez · Jun 25, 2012

luis, you coming to barber this weekend?
sorry for the hijack!

lsberrios1 said:
I guess this time around it pays off to be fat. Im 215 pounds and I think it is good enough for me. I know ive riden both sport and race aggresively and for street sport is better and more forgiving.

Superbike smackdown 2012 Track

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