South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

Hi all has anyone on here test ridden the 1098 yet?

A mate from work had a 56 plate Fireblade and had never ridden a v-twin before, we went down to moto-rapido (local Ducati dealer) in Winchester he took one out for the day was so impressed he bought one and had a brand spanking new one in his garage 2 weeks later with Termis (about £12500 all in).

He is still running it in at the moment but the power even below 6000rpm is fantastic, however he is telling me that he is only getting approximately 70 miles before the fuel light is coming on (and thats below 6000 rpm) .

Anyone got one/test ridden one, what do you think of them?

stunning bikes and i personally love them, however my mate bought one from new pretty much when they first came out,since then he has had stuff falling off it, troubles with starting it etc etc.

I haven't ridden one, so my question is....

Can I borrow your mates?

watters wrote:stunning bikes and i personally love them, however my mate bought one from new pretty much when they first came out,since then he has had stuff falling off it, troubles with starting it etc etc.

What do you expect - its a Ducati!

I am still trying to blag a ride on it although i could just pop down the Ducati dealers and have a day out on their bike, i was due to test ride the 848 on the day he was testing the 1098 but i got called into work

i reckon you peeps may have your work cut out trying to chase the Ducatis around Pembury though especially if they are brave enough to trackday them.

GSXRsi wrote:I am still trying to blag a ride on it although i could just pop down the Ducati dealers and have a day out on their bike, i was due to test ride the 848 on the day he was testing the 1098 but i got called into work

i reckon you peeps may have your work cut out trying to chase the Ducatis around Pembury though especially if they are brave enough to trackday them.

Thats always assuming they can get em started and nowt has fallen off em on the way to the track.

I'm not that fussed by them personally. I know Ducati makes good bikes, they sell bikes by winning races and focus alot on doing so, Honda/Suzuki/Kwak etc are much more mass produced and dont come with the option of tarty Ohlins all round so it's not surprising they handle pretty well but you end up paying for it. I'm sure there are plenty of people who will still say the 916 is STILL the best handling bike in the world

And the good thing about the trackday is that the ego that comes with owning a Ducati wont allow them to be seen in the Novice group so we should have the track mostly to ourselves Besides a well ridden newish 600 would walk all over an normal 998 etc.

Id be lieing if I said I didnt want a go on a 1098.

but the ducs I have tried in the past (916, 996) I just could not enjoy. Not that this is something against ducati I found the Tl's (S and R) similarly unsatisfying when I rode them ( the TLR in particular , to me, felt like an utter pants sportsbike). But I always think this is because I cant adjust to riding twins so it is more me at fault than the bikes.

anyway forget the 1098...KTM are building an alternative and I would be wholly surprised if it wasnt the more fun bike to ride.

jason wrote:Id be lieing if I said I didnt want a go on a 1098.

but the ducs I have tried in the past (916, 996) I just could not enjoy. Not that this is something against ducati I found the Tl's (S and R) similarly unsatisfying when I rode them ( the TLR in particular , to me, felt like an utter pants sportsbike). But I always think this is because I cant adjust to riding twins so it is more me at fault than the bikes.

anyway forget the 1098...KTM are building an alternative and I would be wholly surprised if it wasnt the more fun bike to ride.

This month's PB sort of confirms your suspiscions ..... Still looks a bit "Tron" though ..

At least one journo has come out in favour of the R8 over the 1098 after riding it at the launch. Its quite a bit cheaper too but the styling is an aquired taste as is the colour scheme. No doubt about it, the 1098 looks better but I wouldn't buy one, not until Ducati start producing reliable bikes and selling them at a realistic price. I think I will stick to my SP2, no one has made a better V twin yet in my opinion. The rumours of Honda bringing out a 1200 RR V4 version of the VFR are interesting though.

Mike

i saw the rc8 at fowlers yesterday and wasnt impressed with the build quality of it, didnt look great and when i heard it on a test ride later it didnt sound good either.

i'd love a 1098 or even a 848 tbh, gav i'd have to disagree with you. a well ridden 998 will out perform a well ridden 600, a poorly ridden 998 may not though. some people love v-twins some dont and its even more apparent when its ducati's. you cant really knock a bike til youve tried it or sen one in action,we were fortunate enough to be at donington last year when mcn were testing against the sp2 and the mille factory r thing and it pee'd all over those 2 bikes and that was the 3 different journos onboard. as a top spec sportsbike or trackbike i think it could be perfect and would be even better with a slipper clutch fitted.

deej wrote:i saw the rc8 at fowlers yesterday and wasnt impressed with the build quality of it, didnt look great and when i heard it on a test ride later it didnt sound good either.

i'd love a 1098 or even a 848 tbh, gav i'd have to disagree with you. a well ridden 998 will out perform a well ridden 600, a poorly ridden 998 may not though. some people love v-twins some dont and its even more apparent when its ducati's. you cant really knock a bike til youve tried it or sen one in action,we were fortunate enough to be at donington last year when mcn were testing against the sp2 and the mille factory r thing and it pee'd all over those 2 bikes and that was the 3 different journos onboard. as a top spec sportsbike or trackbike i think it could be perfect and would be even better with a slipper clutch fitted.

Only a Ducati affictionado with red tinted visor would post that I think.

The build quality of the 998 doesn't compare well with the SP2 and the reliability or lack of it in Ducatis is stuff of legend as is the reliability of Hondas for entirely different reasons. The 998 wasn't a great success on the track either, but of course it didn't have the inbuilt rule advantage that all Ducatis seem to need.

Three or four years back one of the major US magazines did a simultaneous test on the Ducati 998, the Aprilia Mille R and the RC51. The test was conducted in two parts, on the road and on the track and the testers changed bikes throughout to allow equal time on each. The Aprilia came bottom in both categories, the RC51 was a clear winner on the road and the 998 won on the track. However, the report stated that had the RC51 had the suspension uprated to the race spec as the Ducati had then it would probably have come out top on the track and still been cheaper to buy. They all agreed that the build quality of the RC51 was the best and that the RC51 was the most reliable.

Interesting that when Honda decided to produce a V twin it won WSB in its first season and followed it up by winning again with the SP2. So much for the 998 being the perfect track bike.

When was the last time a Ducati won the senior TT or any enduro race?

At about £14,500 for a 1098 I reckon it is about £5000 over priced.

Sorry, but I wouldn't pay the premium for one.

Mike

LOL loving the posts........

Deej the 998 was that a standard 998 they tested or a 998s or 998r. I have only ever ridden the 749 did not know what to make of it the riding position was certainly wierd compared to the 2000 'X' plate R6 i had at the time.

Is a big v-twin an easier bike to ride around the track than an IL4 (for someone like say myself a novice/inter trackdayer).

I suppose until i own one i will never really know about the power delivery side of things but i seemed to recall that Age reckoned he was posting quicker times around Llandow on his Ducati than he did on his GSXR 750

[quote="Mike Rowley"]

Only a Ducati affictionado with red tinted visor would post that I think.

considering i own a zx10 i think thats harsh

yes i like my dukes,you either love or hate them,there is no middle ground.
ducati reliability is alot better now,what manufacturer had to recall all its bikes last year for faulty throttle position sensors,was it ducati no it was yamaha but as its a jap bike it doesnt get the same negative press.
the 998 was successful,if i remember rightly bayliss won 1 wsk title on it,reynolds,hislop and byrne both won bsb titles and wsb races on them so if thats unsuccessful i'd hate to see success. yes edwards won wsbk on a sp1 but it didnt win anything else did it

gsxrsi,it was a 1098 they tested against them,a 1098s yes but the factory mille runs ohlins and marchesinis so a fair test and very impressive to watch adm child backing it in and bruce dunn sliding it out the bends,awesome stuff. i have no interest in how a bike behaves on the road and the sp1/2 maybe a better road bike but as im inerested in track stuff the 1098 is the daddy to me,would have it over any old il4 anyday. i really fancied the rc8 especially in track trim but it didnt do it for me in the showroom or when it passed me and i expect when its tested against a 1098 the duke will win,hell next year the new bmw will probably beat it too.

Mike Rowley wrote:

deej wrote: gav i'd have to disagree with you. a well ridden 998 will out perform a well ridden 600, a poorly ridden 998 may not though

Three or four years back one of the major US magazines did a simultaneous test on the Ducati 998, the Aprilia Mille R and the RC51. The test was conducted in two parts, on the road and on the track and the testers changed bikes throughout to allow equal time on each. The Aprilia came bottom in both categories, the RC51 was a clear winner on the road and the 998 won on the track. However, the report stated that had the RC51 had the suspension uprated to the race spec as the Ducati had then it would probably have come out top on the track and still been cheaper to buy. They all agreed that the build quality of the RC51 was the best and that the RC51 was the most reliable.

998 with about 115-120BHP and 200kg vs a 600 with 110-115BHP and 160-165kg. Tarty Ohlins aside, I think with a decide rider on both a 600 would be a better track bike. I hang around the RC51 section of Speedzilla forums, alot of them are harden racers on all types of bikes and most of them (although still love the older V-Twins) are faster on more or less standard 600's over their fully kitted out SP2/998/TL etc etc. Dont get me wrong, I love my SP1 but I know its a fat pig

As for the shoot-out Mike said about. I actually have the write up. It was actually an 999S (with Ohlins all round and slightly uprated engine over the standard 999), an RSV Factory (with its Ohlins alround and lightweight wheels) and a SP2. The 999S was $22,995, RSV was $17,899 and the poor old SP2 was $11,599...more than $10,000 less than the 999S! (Check out the Dyno readings)

Anyway. Heres the Road Tests: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_P ... 131&Page=1
and the Track Tests: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_P ... 201&Page=1