- Jul 3, 2003
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A friend of mine is selling his, it's a 2003 with 8600 miles on it (it isn't even broken in) so he let me take it out for a ride before he gets rid of it. He is buying a Ducati SportClassic. He's only had this bike for a year and a half but as long as I've known him he changes bikes every year or so...the Ducati will be the 4th bike he's had since I've known him which is only about 4 years.
Anyway, the bike has an 1150cc boxer engine and man do you feel those pistons thumping at idle. The bike rocks back and forth from the firing of the pistons but once you get going it really smoothes out. The bike has loads of torque and revs easily while it quickly propels you to redline, although I only managed to get within 1500 rpms of max on one occassion. You could easily leave all but the most extreme performance cars in the dust.
The stock exhaust system is, in my opinion, too quiet. I kind of like a bike that people can hear, not obnoxiously loud, but loud enough that drivers know you're there. Quiet is good for long distance touring but I think it's better to make oblivious drivers aware of your presence so I'll take a little more noise in that respect.
The brakes are fantastic on this bike. They haul you down very quickly and confidently but the rear brake was very strong, stronger than what I'm used to so I was a little concerned that I'd lock it up even though I never did. The big sticky Michelin tires he has on there probably helped with that.
The turn signals are kind of funky as is the turn signal cancel button, I would prefer to have the signals on one button with all the controls on the left with either a self cancel or you just center the switch to cancel. Riding position was fine though. Very comfortable. This is a bike I could ride for hours and not get tired.
The bike turns in easily but the suspension damper kind of makes initial turn in feel sluggish. I'm not sure I like that but my friend says you just have to get used to it.
I'll have to try out an R1200R with ABS when I'm ready to buy a new bike. The new R1200R is about 100lbs lighter, has more power, and it has ABS. My friend test rode this bike actually and loved it, he was touting that it was lifting the front wheel easily in every gear but you can do that on any Jap bike for half the cost...which was his complaint about the BMW.
I'm curious to see how the Ducati rides in comparison. He loves the sound and feel of the Duc but admits that the brakes aren't on par with the BMW. I'll have to give the Ducati a test ride after he's had it a while. Who knows, that might be my next bike when he gets sick of it in a year or so. :laugh:
Anyway, the bike has an 1150cc boxer engine and man do you feel those pistons thumping at idle. The bike rocks back and forth from the firing of the pistons but once you get going it really smoothes out. The bike has loads of torque and revs easily while it quickly propels you to redline, although I only managed to get within 1500 rpms of max on one occassion. You could easily leave all but the most extreme performance cars in the dust.
The stock exhaust system is, in my opinion, too quiet. I kind of like a bike that people can hear, not obnoxiously loud, but loud enough that drivers know you're there. Quiet is good for long distance touring but I think it's better to make oblivious drivers aware of your presence so I'll take a little more noise in that respect.
The brakes are fantastic on this bike. They haul you down very quickly and confidently but the rear brake was very strong, stronger than what I'm used to so I was a little concerned that I'd lock it up even though I never did. The big sticky Michelin tires he has on there probably helped with that.
The turn signals are kind of funky as is the turn signal cancel button, I would prefer to have the signals on one button with all the controls on the left with either a self cancel or you just center the switch to cancel. Riding position was fine though. Very comfortable. This is a bike I could ride for hours and not get tired.
The bike turns in easily but the suspension damper kind of makes initial turn in feel sluggish. I'm not sure I like that but my friend says you just have to get used to it.
I'll have to try out an R1200R with ABS when I'm ready to buy a new bike. The new R1200R is about 100lbs lighter, has more power, and it has ABS. My friend test rode this bike actually and loved it, he was touting that it was lifting the front wheel easily in every gear but you can do that on any Jap bike for half the cost...which was his complaint about the BMW.
I'm curious to see how the Ducati rides in comparison. He loves the sound and feel of the Duc but admits that the brakes aren't on par with the BMW. I'll have to give the Ducati a test ride after he's had it a while. Who knows, that might be my next bike when he gets sick of it in a year or so. :laugh:
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