Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > 749S Is this a good price/ HP outstanding????

[Spank]

Here's a message for mr R1.
I just bought a new 749 Biposto because I wanted character.
I've owned R6's, R1's etc and they are a bit bland. The duke will out handle most of them and as for power compared to the tuned ZX12R I just traded in all R1's are feeble. Jumping off the 12 they're barely distinguishable from a 600.
I buy bikes that I think will improve me as a rider and at present I'm pretty crap on a twin but I think if I can master them I'll be a better rider generally.
On track days an R1 will rarely keep with a well ridden larger capacity Duke, so twins look like the way forward after all when did an R1 last win a British or World Superbike title?

[zhed44]

RCA states that a 749 is underpowered (presumably in comparison to his R1) - but this is bound to be the case given that the R1 has a 250cc capacity advantage and is a four pot. even if the capacity was the same, it is recognised that a four pot will make more power than a twin of the same capacity and racing eg: supersport rules reflect this by allowing 750 twins to race with 600 4 pots.

he misses the point somewhat i feel. ultimate power is not everything and in fact on an everyday road bike huge power can compromise the all round ability of the bike and certainly limits the enjoyment of it - low down grunt is where it's at on a road bike. i'm sure some of you must have read the magazine article which demonstrated that although the R6's bhp has gone up year on year (due to marketing pressures), this has been at the expense of midrange torque and driveability. the testers got readers to blind test a "detuned" R6 and a stock R6 back to back, and all of them thought that the detuned R6 was a better, faster bike. why? because road riding doesn't sit well with revving the living daylights out of a bike with a narrow powerband.

i digress...

nonetheless, if RCA is insecure enough to need the pub bragging rights provided by a couple of tenths off the 0 - 60 time or 15mph on the top speed which is never, ever going to be used, then good luck to him. we ducati owners are secure enough in the size of our tackle and our sexual orientation that we don't feel the need to rely on arbitary and largely meaningless bhp figures to bolster a nagging sense of self doubt which can only be assuaged by having the fastest, most powerful sportsbike on the market (which incidentally, the R1 is no longer, having been surpassed by the gixxer thou and, i think, the kwakker).

i seem to remember reading an interview with a certain mr v. rossi (apparently he rides bikes for a living) wherein he stated that his R1 is far too fast for the road and so he prefers riding his FJR1300 or his 450 supermoto. i'm sure than none of us would argue that rossi isn't capable of handling a powerful bike, so when he makes such a statement, we must treat the words falling from his godlike lips with something approaching reverence.

[Edited on 26-8-2005 by zhed44]

[Edited on 26-8-2005 by zhed44]

[pibbow]

RCA IS A PRATT of the first order

[wilf]

RCA...

You, Me, now! pick a track. (bet it's snetterton or the M1, R1 riders pray for straights)



Well, if biking is all about who has the most power, we would all have supercharged harleys. but, thank god, its not. some have jap bikes, some have soul.

Maybe the 1000cc jap IL4's on the road are just natures way of killing off the RCA's of this world??? mother nature has her ways..

[Spank]

Poor old RCA, that told him. But lets not forget Rossi isn't a road rider and a 1000cc four will always beat a 600cc four. Their both useable like a twin in their own way if you know how to get the best out of them. The problem is the 1000's as I found out don't go a lot faster over a given course of bends and straights or a track than the 600's. But to go not much faster and run a higher risk of highside you'll chew tyres out nearly 3 times faster and if you do take it easy they still use a lot of fuel, where a 600 can top 70mpg cruising at about 70mph on a long journey. Add in extra costs of insurance and purchase price the 600 makes far more sense unless your racing.
I don't yet know if it's the same with twins, I had a new SV650 a few years ago but it didn't do it for me so I chopped it in fairly quickly for a new R6.
I bought my 749 to give twins another go because I'm bored with 4's but I've no idea wether a 999 is better on the road or not taking all factors into consideration, but if I get on well with this bike I'll upgrade to the 999 even if only for a short time.

[RightSaidFred]

Guys, people like that RCA thrive on you all keep replying and winding it up more and more. Just ignore him is the best way I reckon. If he posts again don't credit it with a reply...