I’m drooling , but do tubes concern you , because they concern me ?
Desert X
- Thread starter Arsey
- Start date
Wait till you’re on a Welsh hillside miles from anywhere with a sidewall tear in a tubeless tyre. Then you’ll be happy with tubes (or a mousse).
Not particularly - I carry a bottle of Slime and a small electric pump and if that does not work I call the breakdown service.
When I get round to changing the tyres will use Gorilla tape over the spoke ends instead of the rim band which helps slow down deflation after a puncture.
Picking up a set of Barkbusters off Tetley on Saturday
Undecided about engine bars at the moment
Today managed to sort out the Sat Nav (Rally comes with a sat nav bar as standard), fitted the Perun rack which as always is quality kit and fitted my Cobbra chain oiler.
Then committed the ultimate sin and fitted Givi adapters to the Perun rack and mounted my 30 litre Givi Dolomite top box
I know what you mean. I have a pizza delivery top box fitted to my 1290 SAR. Looks shit, but so useful.
Be interested how you get on, whether you miss that 1290 power.
Be interested how you get on, whether you miss that 1290 power.
Fist decent run out to Lincolnshire on the Ducati today and managed to bump into Tetley on the way back at Chris Walkers in Grantham
Done 250 miles on it now and very little not to like. Clearly not got the brutal punch of the 1290 SAR but still very quick and torquey and substantially lighter.
Important for me is that it has a very roomy riding position (better than the KTM which I had to drop the pegs and fit a taller seat).
Suspension is superior to the WP on the KTM - perfect on Lincolnshire's crumbling roads!
Only thing I am missing is the Conti Trail Attack 3's I was running on the KTM and on my Triumph 1200 Scrambler.
Also a bit of wind noise from the screen which I have minimised with my MRA spoiler.
Ducati very stable at speed even with top box in place more so than the KTM.
So far so good
........and a healthy salad for lunch!
Done 250 miles on it now and very little not to like. Clearly not got the brutal punch of the 1290 SAR but still very quick and torquey and substantially lighter.
Important for me is that it has a very roomy riding position (better than the KTM which I had to drop the pegs and fit a taller seat).
Suspension is superior to the WP on the KTM - perfect on Lincolnshire's crumbling roads!
Only thing I am missing is the Conti Trail Attack 3's I was running on the KTM and on my Triumph 1200 Scrambler.
Also a bit of wind noise from the screen which I have minimised with my MRA spoiler.
Ducati very stable at speed even with top box in place more so than the KTM.
So far so good
........and a healthy salad for lunch!
Saw a beauty whilst out today 
"Only thing I am missing is the Conti Trail Attack 3's I was running on the KTM and on my Triumph 1200 Scrambler."
Aren't we all funny with our choices of tyres. First thing I did when I got the 1290 S was take off the crap stock tyres and fit some Pirelli Scorpion Rally's
I absolutely love them and as I've said in here before, they allow your butt to relax when going down snotty gravelly back roads. They tip in slowly but progressively and there's zero issues taking them to the edges of the tyre. They won't be as quick steering as the Conti's but these days....when do I want super quick steering? In reality, almost never. The Rally tyre advantages weigh out any disadvantages by miles. My only criticism is they tend to flat the middle if you do long stints of A roads or motorways.
Aren't we all funny with our choices of tyres. First thing I did when I got the 1290 S was take off the crap stock tyres and fit some Pirelli Scorpion Rally's
I absolutely love them and as I've said in here before, they allow your butt to relax when going down snotty gravelly back roads. They tip in slowly but progressively and there's zero issues taking them to the edges of the tyre. They won't be as quick steering as the Conti's but these days....when do I want super quick steering? In reality, almost never. The Rally tyre advantages weigh out any disadvantages by miles. My only criticism is they tend to flat the middle if you do long stints of A roads or motorways.
I’ve had my Desert X now for a few weeks and it’s a real pleasure to ride. I came from a Tenere. I was surprised to find the seat on the Ducati was lower and I personally find it to be much more comfortable. Some say the worst of the screen buffeting is down to the mirrors so I have fitted my doubletakes to play around with the positioning but I’ve only pottered around the Peak District so far so have done no serious motorway miles yet. It’s also very economical and uses less fuel than the Tenere although that had been decatted and remapped. Can’t wait to take it to the IOM for the Manx/Classic in August.
Is it really much lighter than 1290 SAR? I thought the 1290 was 217kg dry, not bad for a big old lump.
I agree about the top box though, with the top box on it does get head shake slowing down
I agree about the top box though, with the top box on it does get head shake slowing down
My 2023 1290 SAR: Weight (without fuel)228 kg.
Ducati claim 211 KG for the Rally (wet weight without fuel).
So circa 17KG and certainly feels substantially lighter
Ah...you had the R. That explains why the suspension on your new beast seems better. There's no way (I thought) that the Ducati can be better suspended that the 1290 adv S. That would be almost impossible as the 1290 S has the best suspension of any bike I've ever ridden to date. Bentley smooth, no dive, absorbs the worst road holes. Sublime.
That is a big difference- for some reason I had 223kg in my head, but even then it’s 12kg.
I actually reckon the suspension on the R is better. I tried an S and found it harsh, compared to the R. The R needs the clickers twiddling a bit, but I reckon the suspension is very good.
Haven’t ridden a desert x though
Picking up a set of Barkbusters off Tetley on Saturday
Undecided about engine bars at the moment
Today managed to sort out the Sat Nav (Rally comes with a sat nav bar as standard), fitted the Perun rack which as always is quality kit and fitted my Cobbra chain oiler.
Then committed the ultimate sin and fitted Givi adapters to the Perun rack and mounted my 30 litre Givi Dolomite top box
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View attachment 397972Interested in the Cobbra for my DDX. Any top tips/ recommendations gratefully received.
Not that difficult - use a spacer to get the reservoir in the correct position on the mirror mount and route the delivery tube along the the cables and thread under the tank. Part to think about is how to position the delivery tube against the rear sprocket - used on old Scottoiler bracket on mine and when I helped Tuffty on his drilled a small hole through the bottom chain guide. Just take your time
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Strangely enough had a 2021 1290 SAS and liked the suspension and anti dive but actually preferred the SAR. Good manual suspension takes some beating when set up right.
You say you’re missing the Conti TA3s but it looks like you’ve got Pirelli Scorpion STRs on the bike .Fist decent run out to Lincolnshire on the Ducati today and managed to bump into Tetley on the way back at Chris Walkers in Grantham
Done 250 miles on it now and very little not to like. Clearly not got the brutal punch of the 1290 SAR but still very quick and torquey and substantially lighter.
Important for me is that it has a very roomy riding position (better than the KTM which I had to drop the pegs and fit a taller seat).
Suspension is superior to the WP on the KTM - perfect on Lincolnshire's crumbling roads!
Only thing I am missing is the Conti Trail Attack 3's I was running on the KTM and on my Triumph 1200 Scrambler.
Also a bit of wind noise from the screen which I have minimised with my MRA spoiler.
Ducati very stable at speed even with top box in place more so than the KTM.
So far so good
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........and a healthy salad for lunch!
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Personal choice obviously but having used STRs on quite a few bikes and TA3s on a couple , I much prefer the former for feel and handling .
Guess we all have our preferences
Got a spare set of TA3's I was going to put on the 1290 which will go on the DDX at some point and so will see how they compare on this bike.
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