Took it out on a longer ride, mostly A and B roads today. It's a blast, definitely a better road bike than the Panigale I tried. Paper specs count for nothing, it's a genuinely rapid machine and you do have to keep an eye on the speedo as it's all too easy to see yourself going way too quickly. Some suspension tweaking needed, mainly rebound damping but even factory standard settings are almost bang on for my 11 1/2 stone weight. Fuelling makes town work a bit of a pain in sports mode, but the urban mode addresses this nicely and it's much more pleasant to ride in slower speed restricted areas when set, but still best to keep it above 2.5K revs. Touring mode only softens the dynamics a little and is the preferred all round setting for me.
Compared with the RT, busy town work is easier on the RT and more comfortable, but out on the open road, the Ducati has it on handling and performance. It feels significantly quicker than the 1250RT and RS models to ride, and on paper the quarter mile times are in the ducatis' favour. Just loads of mid range shove where you need it most. 2nd gear 40-70 mph is under 2 seconds. I have no doubt it'd be as, if not more pleasurable than the 1300RS too as it's considerably lighter. It's also quicker in the 0-60 sprint by around 0.2 seconds and matches it on the quarter mile without the reported dip/flat spot of the R1300 at around 5K revs. 6th gear is almost redundant unless M-way or dual carriageway cruising. For the most part, 3rd and 4th gear are all you need with the occasional flick into 5th. It's beautifully poised on A and B roads, a real ballerina with such precise and smooth handling which is effortless. Brakes are brand new so need some bedding in yet.
Economy seems to average around 45mpg which is what I expected, allowing for a realistic tank range of around 160 miles, or closer to 170 if less spirited riding is adopted, and That's plenty for me as I like to stretch my legs every hour and a half anyway.
All in all a fabulous machine ideally suited to UK roads. Longer term ownership will no doubt throw up some warts and all issues. First annoyance is the teeny battery which at 3 yrs old doesn't seem to be holding charge properly so a new one is sat here ready to fit. Sadly, retrofitting a YT12B batttery is out as ducati redesigned the cradle a few years ago, preventing this on post '21 models. A work around may be to fit an earlier cradle, we'll see. They only use a YT7 sized battery, as with some of the V4's now, all in a bid to shed weight. There is reportedly an upgraded battery terminal cabling set available for them, which helps with the hesitant starting as oem ones are really a little on the thin side. The mirrors are useless above 30mph due to mirror vibes. I packed some neoprene strips between the housing and mirror glass and this has helped a bit but I reckon the best thing is once the mirrors are set to the optimum position, some black silicone sealant carefully applied between mirror and mirror housing might do the trick.
The next thing is the screen. It's just too low and on high makes turbulence worse, so I'll be fitting a taller screen at some stage with a flip up to the top to direct air over the helmet. Finally, my arthritic fingers are crying out for some grip puppies to be fitted. Some don't get on with these but I like them fitted on all of my bikes and they reduce vibes a little.
All in all though, a fabulous bike and it injects some real fun back into riding in a way that leaves you with a grin on your face after every ride. Addictive, fun and a really surprisingly capable bike. You could jump straight off an MT10 or S1000R and really you wouldn't notice the loss of power where it matters....oh, and it sounds a lot better too!
Compared with the RT, busy town work is easier on the RT and more comfortable, but out on the open road, the Ducati has it on handling and performance. It feels significantly quicker than the 1250RT and RS models to ride, and on paper the quarter mile times are in the ducatis' favour. Just loads of mid range shove where you need it most. 2nd gear 40-70 mph is under 2 seconds. I have no doubt it'd be as, if not more pleasurable than the 1300RS too as it's considerably lighter. It's also quicker in the 0-60 sprint by around 0.2 seconds and matches it on the quarter mile without the reported dip/flat spot of the R1300 at around 5K revs. 6th gear is almost redundant unless M-way or dual carriageway cruising. For the most part, 3rd and 4th gear are all you need with the occasional flick into 5th. It's beautifully poised on A and B roads, a real ballerina with such precise and smooth handling which is effortless. Brakes are brand new so need some bedding in yet.
Economy seems to average around 45mpg which is what I expected, allowing for a realistic tank range of around 160 miles, or closer to 170 if less spirited riding is adopted, and That's plenty for me as I like to stretch my legs every hour and a half anyway.
All in all a fabulous machine ideally suited to UK roads. Longer term ownership will no doubt throw up some warts and all issues. First annoyance is the teeny battery which at 3 yrs old doesn't seem to be holding charge properly so a new one is sat here ready to fit. Sadly, retrofitting a YT12B batttery is out as ducati redesigned the cradle a few years ago, preventing this on post '21 models. A work around may be to fit an earlier cradle, we'll see. They only use a YT7 sized battery, as with some of the V4's now, all in a bid to shed weight. There is reportedly an upgraded battery terminal cabling set available for them, which helps with the hesitant starting as oem ones are really a little on the thin side. The mirrors are useless above 30mph due to mirror vibes. I packed some neoprene strips between the housing and mirror glass and this has helped a bit but I reckon the best thing is once the mirrors are set to the optimum position, some black silicone sealant carefully applied between mirror and mirror housing might do the trick.
The next thing is the screen. It's just too low and on high makes turbulence worse, so I'll be fitting a taller screen at some stage with a flip up to the top to direct air over the helmet. Finally, my arthritic fingers are crying out for some grip puppies to be fitted. Some don't get on with these but I like them fitted on all of my bikes and they reduce vibes a little.
All in all though, a fabulous bike and it injects some real fun back into riding in a way that leaves you with a grin on your face after every ride. Addictive, fun and a really surprisingly capable bike. You could jump straight off an MT10 or S1000R and really you wouldn't notice the loss of power where it matters....oh, and it sounds a lot better too!
