The 1199 in traffic

Maybe you guys don't understand what I'm trying to tell you...

I've owned a new Ducati almost every year since 06, I know how these bike work, I'm not saying you're wrong in wanting to own one for everyday use, I'm saying they suck for everyday use, for city driving, and in traffic.

They get hot, really hot, the fueling on the bottom is ....., and visibility on a leaned over sbk is not conducive to riding in a congested area.

Bottom line is they just suck for that purpose IMO

If I could only have one bike and I needed to be in traffic for significant amount of my riding I just wouldn't choose a super bike and it surely wouldn't be a Ducati SBK.

There are much better choices

I have ownded Ducatis for years as well and I dont mind them in the city, yes they get hot and are a little more work.. but fun, Sound great, turn heads and I get to work and feel alive.
Im not sure a SV650 would put a smile on my face in the morning. I also take the long way home on sunny days

carldickson said:

I have ownded Ducatis for years as well and I dont mind them in the city, yes they get hot and are a little more work.. but fun, Sound great, turn heads and I get to work and feel alive.
Im not sure a SV650 would put a smile on my face in the morning. I also take the long way home on sunny days

Click to expand...

An MTS1200 would put nice grin on your face! like that!
Jeeze it's such an awesome bike, fun, fast, perfect fueling down low, great visibility, and a blast in the twisties too!

To me a much better bike for that job.

Hey, Don't knock the sv till you've tried it, it's a pretty awesome little bike too
It's just fun to ride

flynbulldog said:

Maybe you guys don't understand what I'm trying to tell you...

I've owned a new Ducati almost every year since 06, I know how these bike work, I'm not saying you're wrong in wanting to own one for everyday use, I'm saying they suck for everyday use, for city driving, and in traffic.

They get hot, really hot, the fueling on the bottom is ....., and visibility on a leaned over sbk is not conducive to riding in a congested area.

Bottom line is they just suck for that purpose IMO

If I could only have one bike and I needed to be in traffic for significant amount of my riding I just wouldn't choose a super bike and it surely wouldn't be a Ducati SBK.

There are much better choices

Click to expand...

You're quite correct.. there are many other bikes more suited to daily commuting, but none that have the "pulling" power of the 1199.
Plenty of function but lack form. (this is very subjective of course). There are very few bikes on the market that have made me stop and say "woooooow".
I did take a bit of a shine to the RSV4 and the 1198. But both sort of wore off me after a couple of months. The Busa and S1000RR wore off even quicker.
Thus far, the 1199 is the only one that has held my lust for more than 6 months.

So for all it's functional deficiencies as a daily commuter, it makes up for it and more in form.

Depends on your definition of 'suck'. The 1198 sucked in traffic no doubt but I had to just get into and out of the city centre if I used it for work. The 16 mile blast down the A roads afterwards didnt suck, hence I just got on with it knowing it was 10 mins of traffic for a good blast.

Talking of commuting on a Ducati, I bought a new 748R, back in the day, first three years I did 27k miles on it, through winters the lot, mostly commuting and whilst not ideal, it was fine even for me at 6'2". You get used to it. Anything that's good in life requires a bit of effort. Want an easy commute? Buy a Range Rover.

The tri is fine through the traffic, in fact it's really easy, the lighter clutch the better seating position, the tank, the smooth fuelling at low revs, trust me its a revelation. I'm going to work on mine again today. If it came to having to go to work on an SV, er I'd rather take the car thanks.

On the HP jump, funny you should mention that, I was thinking while flinging around Wales the other day in wet mode in the pissing down rain, this bike is so gentle at the bottom end and so easy to ride that you could jump off a 400 and be comfortable with it, it's not like the 1198s which was quite frankly a bit mad and awkward to ride too.

If you were going from a 749, I'd say no problem, first few rides out change the sport setting to give you 120 hp which is easy to do on the menu and I bet you would think it was just like your 749 only with better handling, brakes and riding position. The once your happy bring it back to 195. To be honest it's even a pussycat in that mode. Of course if your going to sit on it, get through first gear and then nail it in second until the rev limiter flashes, your going to scare your self witless so it's your choice.

The thing about that engine is you can really rattle along at a great pace without being anywhere near all the silly power so it's not an issue.

And the 848, great bike I'm sure but if it fuels like a 1198 and the riding position is the same which it is, I'd pass, go for the 1199. I'm in the lucky position to have done some miles on both and I can tell you the 1198/848 is ancient history in comparison with the 1199.

On a side note, the missus has asked me to keep it in the living room because she thinks it's a work of art, normally if I stuck the 1198 anywhere near the house, I got a bollocking, so if she likes it, it must be good!

I cruise down the beach in little traffic on my way to work. So can't wait to get the 1199 and commute on it a bit. Won't replace my commuting bike

carldickson said:

Because I can afford one, love Ducati's and also go on long rides over twisty mountains

How many people that own a Porshe race it vs drive it 2 work?

Click to expand...

Um, I do. And my other exotics as well.

Yeah to be honest, I would use it as my daily commuter too if I didnt live in central london.....hotspot for thefts really, and nowhere really secure to put it during the day. Also the likelihood of it getting bashed about when its parked up with everyone else.

That's why I also have a cheap little CB400 to run around on and scrape up the side of taxis and buses.... ;-)

Ive never complain about riding a SBK in traffic and I've had 4 in 6 yrs, cuz even then all eyes on me .

What I plan to do if caught in traffic....LEFT THUMB, FLICK INTO WET MODE...that'll fix your fuel consumption and throttle response won't be so touchy . Get in 2nd or 3rd gear if Possible to keep engine cooler

Cheers

Much more sensible to ride than the Dry Clutch SBK.....Had fun flicking the mode button too...Way Kool...Thanks Ducati !!!!

FWIW....

The bike is very easy going in town:

- light clutch
- slick gearbox
- easy to find N
- useable mirrors
- light weight
- smooth low rpm torque
- ..... and quick enough to outrun the average tin box

Only negative is heat that hits you around shin level. I'll be sending my jeans back to Dainese for an extra kevlar panel in that area

McLaren12C said:

Um, I do. And my other exotics as well.

Click to expand...

.....given one of those exotics is a Mclaren I'd say you'd be in a fortunate minority??

Got stuck in heavy traffic on the 1199s today and it was very civilized, much better then the 1098 by far! Only thing that got my attention that I could complain about if I wanted to complain about something would be the heat from the exhaust under the seat. Other then that it was great!

no commuting for me! thats what the company car,s for.
Mine will be purely for weekend blast,s,and the odd track day.

JONAH said:

no commuting for me! thats what the company car,s for.
Mine will be purely for weekend blast,s,and the odd track day.

Click to expand...

Yeah.. I have one of those too... but why limit use of a nice toy to just weekends?
It's nice to be able to take the scenic route home every now and then

My Diavel is perfect for city traffic, and I found the Panigale is even better.

Haven't noticed any heat from the exhaust, but have noticed that with left leg on floor, the shock is poking into the inside of the thigh.

Only done a couple of hundred miles on the bike, but at low revs it does have a tendancy to flit the exhaust from loud to quiet quiet a bit, and also has a tendancy not to react to small throttle changes at low revs. It really isn't made to be doing 2-3k revs is it, so for the amount of time its going to happen after running in is complete, don't think its an issue. Saying that, may be if on about being in built up traffic all time.

Awesome though.

flynbulldog said:

An MTS1200 would put nice grin on your face! like that!
Jeeze it's such an awesome bike, fun, fast, perfect fueling down low, great visibility, and a blast in the twisties too!

To me a much better bike for that job.

Hey, Don't knock the sv till you've tried it, it's a pretty awesome little bike too
It's just fun to ride

Click to expand...

I really love that Pikes Peak Multi Stroodle as I like to call it. If I could afford both right now I'd have both....but would rather get the hot girlfriend bike now and get the wife bike later lol.

Guys - let's answer the original question. How does it work in traffic "without" Termis and a chip / remap?? I also want to know if it has the typical surging problems under 4,000 RPM's? I was hoping to avoid having to put Termis and a re-map on it to behave normally. Thanks.

MAD DUC said:

Guys - let's answer the original question. How does it work in traffic "without" Termis and a chip / remap?? I also want to know if it has the typical surging problems under 4,000 RPM's? I was hoping to avoid having to put Termis and a re-map on it to behave normally. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I've only rode once after the term's and remap, but it now seems to have a few torque lumps that weren't present before.

Previously, the torque was very linear from pick up to say 3k rpm, with no surging, but remember around town, this is all 1st gear work.