Hmmm mebbe,but they did summat differant wi'it as the screen is differant.(And not interchangable)

Considerably lighter and more powerfull than yow!
(Harry Enfeild,......ask yer dad!)

Not just a jiggle on the figures then........again?

Do people still buy MCN?

:lol:

Not many, £1.80 and fewer pages by the week. I'm sure it going down. Rarely buy it myself whereas i used to every week.
Allways preferred "Motorcycle Weekly" anyway.

[quote=Gizmo]Sorry, grabbed 2 very worthy points from your post.

Thats the first time I've seen anyone mention the 2 different shape 999's, like you I prefer the first sleeker, lower narrow faired version, the 05 on was a watered down look with "better" ergonomics but it does appeal to more people.

QUOTE]

Same here.I have an 04 model and really like the twin vents in the front and the sleeker front fairing,though the new model in black looks good as the colour makes it looks smaller and the lack of vents less noticeable.

Following the 916 was going to be as hard as U2's follow up to the Joshua Tree. The 999/749 may not look as good as a 916,in sme peoples eyes, but it widely considered a better bike to ride, and IMHO still much better looking than pretty much every other current sports bike out there save the MV Augusta, and maybe Triumph Daytona 675.

900Man, I too would like to know the source of your info !!! Understand if it is all supposedly "off the record" but a clue as to it's origins would be nice, as we hear so many so called notions of what the new bike will be like and if this information were to have come from an official source then we can at least concentrate less on the mechanical changes and ponder more on the much awaited looks of the bike, which arguably will make or break future sales and sway many of us back onto the bigger superbikes. (I am surprised at the displacement though when much was made of making the new bike a 1200 - 1198cc. Doubtless this will mean in 2008, the factory will release an 1198 version and we all jump on the merry go round again, just as was the case with the 916 to 998 leap)

I had a string of 748's, 998s and 999S's but currently ride the Monster S4RS. I'm just waiting to see how the new bike shapes up, if I am going to switch back to more familiar territory.

Exchange rate
 

Pricing quoted by 900 Man seems favourable (optimistic). You sure these are right, given the cost of the 999 range at present (£9 - 20K)?

Prices given in US Dollars as:

$14,995 - 1098 Base: 160hp/80+tq
$19,995 - 1098S: adds carbon bits and Ohlins suspension pieces
$24,995 - 1098 Tri-Colore: adds race exhaust in the crate, red/white/green three-color paint

A quick conversion results in the following:

1098 base model: £7914.93
1098S: £10552.00
1098R Tricolore: £13195.00

If correct these are 'kin cheap by comparison. Methinks you mean Euros and not US dollars IMHO.

In euros the prices seem more in line with what we might expect

1098 base model: £10131.00
1098S: £13500.00
1098R Tricolore: £16889.00

Even so the "R" version seems priced way down from the norm. I think around €30,000 seems more on the money.

Just a thought mind.

Prices are in dollars, but the US have always had their auto's etc at prices us brits would kill for.
The source was from someone in the US who's an MV owner who happened to be in his dealer (also ducati) and gave him the info on a confidential basis after he's just got back from a dealer meeting in Salt lake city.

I'm sure more will come out in due course.

I am sure it will. Thanks for the update. If he got the info from a dealer meeting (albeit through the employee who attended) then it I suppose is safe to assume that other dealers (more importantly the UK dealers) willalso be party to the same information soon. I will have to take my thumbscrews down to my local dealer in the near future and see if I can't extract some more out of them too !!

Now that does sound interesting. Wonder what px I'll get on the 999 with 16k on the clock and a 52 reg... Just hope the mirrors work and the tanks larger...

Haha, you and me both, mines got 2k less than yours so reckon I'll be fine (joke).

Glad I sold my 999S when I did as methinks come November the ass is going to fall out the market for secondhand prices IMHO. If I was sure the replacement was going to be the looker we all hope for I would be selling mine now before the specualtion becomes knowledge to all and sundry

So is there an estimate release date yet, or an unveiling ?

Not from MCN, but it's the 1st time I've seen these piccies:-

I think the second of these will be closer to the mark

official release 14th november at the Milan bike show.
I will be there to see

I hope not as it looks like a poor man's Desmosedici with the rest resembling a lightly modified existing back end to the current 999. Besides which the picture is "back to front" unless Ducati know something we don't. I prefer the first of the two if I had to make a choice but I am not too keen on the CBR600 front end resemblance. Much of the original criticism of the 999 focused on the rear end of the bike and that awful untidy exhaust and underseat area, as well as the exposed rear cylinder, which on the 916 was neatly disguised by the sides of the airbox, the lines flowing from the lower edge of the tail unit down the airbox and across the split in the side fairings down towards the nose. Claudio Domenicali's interview states that as well as taking cues from the 916, the new bike will involve much more flowing lines and do away with awkward contours, and frankly none of the new artist impressions convey that. The raptors and rockets pictures are some months old now and look like a real lash up. I also hope they dispense with the controversial side air deflectors as well, as these do nothing for the lines of the bike IMHO. The only decent picture is the 1200R mock up (which was originally published in the German "Motorrad" magazine). Any indications that R & R might publish ,seem as far fetched as the MCN comical efforts. The spy shots published in Italian "Motosprint" magazine appear to offer little in the way of the final form of the bike, but in conclusion the only certainty we know of is the mechanical configuration which will be I imagine very close to 900Man's sourced info. Speculation reigns at present but it doesn't hurt to do so. With a little over ten weeks to go to EICMA 2006 in Milan, my guess is that the bike will have to break cover soon for final shakedown testing and it's only then, assuming there are some keen eyed snappers around at the time, we will finally get to see something resembling the final offering before the covers officially come off in Milan.

The "Motorrad" picture of the Ducati 1200R, is arguably the best computer generated image we have seen so far. With a restyling of the nose to liken it more to the Desmosedici and a single sided swing arm on the back, plus some reworking on the sides to perhaps incorporate a more enclosing airbox, to cover the exposed rear cylinder and allow the lines to flow up and back towards the tail unit, is much more preferable to the half baked MCN pictures and those published in "Motociclismo".

I hope with those kind of features, if you can imagine them grafted on to the pic of the 1200R, will more closely resemble something along the lines of what we might catch a glimpse of in the press over the next few weeks, as opposed to bored Adobe Photoshop artists efforts. We will see. 900 Man, you realise you have a duty now to email and post up the first pictures, when you are in Milan and beat MCN to it !!!!

Guess I will be beaten to it as I'm going on the 15th and the first day is the 14th, still a trade day so should be able to get up close

It's probably way too late but, Ducati - if you're reading this:

Make the bodywork easy and quick to remove/replace.
Make the fuel tank bigger.
Make the mirrors work.
Have little bit of storage under the seat, easily accessible - just enough for a lock or similar.
Make it lighter.

Beauty is in the eye etc.... it's funny, the exposed rear cylinder is the ONLY part of the 999 design that I personally like. But that's just me.

Anyway, it's getting close now. Fingers crossed everybody.

Spin

Why does everyone have a beef with the mirrors? I just dont see what the problem is or what the difference is between the 749/999 and other sports bikes I have ridden such as the ZX6R and the RSV1000R. yet only the 749/999 comes in for criticism in the press.

Its simple, wear a very tight fitting jacket, which works for me or just flick your elbow out and look thru the gap, which also works for me. You can see fine.

Same about the fuel tank range.....its a sports bike not a tourer.....

sometimes we can all be a bit too picky...design inevatibly means compromise, those good looks dont come for free I am afraid.

Removing the panels from a 916 or 999 is a doddle in comparison with a ZX6R, which has 13 allen bolts per side.749/999 has 4 DZUS clips, 2 studs, 2 allen bolts and 4 half turn clips total. It takes all of 5 minutes to get both sides off.

So come on give some credit where its due, Ducatis have some fantastic desgn features!!

I agree, my R6 mirrors were useless ! & UGLY unlike the 749R ones
just flick your elbow out when you need to, you can still hear sirens over a termig !!


Buy a 749R ! bigger, nicer tank.....sorted !


I once again, agree, the panels on my R come of real easy, the R6 took ages ,I'm sure there were more bolts in just the bellypan that the whole 749R fairing !
you could always velcro on all your panels to make it quicker !!! LOL


Design & style is one thing the Ducatis have in bucketloads !
748/9** vs 749/999 aesthetics arguements aside

they look better than any other bike

btw - I prefer mine !

and they make me grin when I ride 'em ! that's what's important isn't it ??

Spot on Sharpy,

Mirrors, great, just look through the gap under your elbows.

Tank range, fantastic on the 749R, best range of any bike I have owned.

Bodywork removal, easy, 4 allen bolts, 2 dzus fasteners, total removal time per side about 30 -40 seconds, jesus how fast do some people want the panels to come off !!

Looks, I have never owned a bike that attracts so much attention, there is always a crowd looking at my bike and no negative comments from any of them.How some people say that they are 'ugly' is beyond me but everyone like different things I suppose.

WE can't help being the "younger generation" of Ducati riders now can we Ian !

Soon to be the middle-aged generation!!!

Christ Graham, I am the 'middle age' generation as is Andy R.

I should be riding a harley by now !!!

I said younger ! not young !! don't go ageing yourselves !! LOL

youre as young as you feel......my 749R makes me feel like I'm 17 on my first LC again (without the jeans, flying jacket & hitec high tops)

just been out for a blast and some dinner at Boxhill

feeling good

Rykas Burgers
 

ventured out tonight too. thought about going to Box for a bit of grub, but with the dark visor turned and headed for home.

tipped it into a tightening bend at 80ish on the way home.That used to feel fast.....after my first TD at Cadwell, it seems a bit slow now

Aren't track days just plain evil? :-)

yes, stupidly I went out with my blue irridium one on DOH !
didn't half regret it on the way home at 9pm !!

note to self - use brain before leaving on bike, not just whilst riding

30 - 40 secs to take both sides off.

And seat unit, tank, top fairing, front mudguard?

Seat unit about 2 minutes, tank dont know never removed it, top fairing about 2 minutes ( only 2 bolts and mirrors ), front mudguard is a wheel out job but so are most bikes with the wider front part of the mudguard.

For a mono,the seat unit and tank can come away as one peice,and you seperate them off the bike (one bolt). From memory there is one large bolt and one small bolt either side. Undo these, the power supply to the fuel pump and the two quick release fuel lines, slide the whole tank and seat assembly backwards and its off.

Top fairing is unplug the cables for the indicators then a bolt either side.

It is very quick indeed,cant see how it could be made quicker.

2 Mins to remove seat but you have never removed the tank??? How does that work you have to remove the tank to get the seat unit off...

Why do you have to remove the tank to get the seat off ????

All I done was to undo the large bolt that attaches the seat unit to the tank and it comes straight off which takes 2 minutes maximum.

Ducatis are Very easy to take apart, its almost too easy.
my GSXR750 k2 was an absolute pig to work on, think yourselves lucky.

Pardon ,Speak for your self Grandad i'm still just a spring chick compared to you

1098 Specs
 

Ok, as far as the much publicised tech specs go for the 1098, there will it seems now definitely be three variants, the base model, the S and the R (Tri-Colore). There does however appear to be some debate over the pricing structure, as the RRPs released in the US are significantly lower than previous years and much has been made of Ducati addressing the power gap compared to a Japanese inline four of 1000cc to remain competitive, so the theory, it is safe to assume, is that the factory wants to further boost sales by bringing the prices down so as they are closer to those of their competitiors, thereby increasing their market share. Perhaps at the expense of exclusivity but I don't think that is a priority for them now given the poor sales of the 749/999 series following it's launch.


I still (as good a bike as it is) think £20,000 is not a justifiable price for a 999R, given that there are better performing and equally well handling bikes out there for several thousand pounds less. A fact reflected in so many articles in the press, when it comes to summarizing a bikes good and bad point. The usual, "it gets my vote, it is a great bike but it is not worth the extra £5000" is a common sight in model shootouts. Maybe Ducati finally realise the fact. There will always be those prepared to pay the extra regardless. (I am one of them having bought two full RRRP 999S in the past). All I do know as of today is the UK dealer conference is set for a fortnight's time and doubtless they will be privvy to the same info as the US dealers are from the Salt Lake conference. Paper pictures were shown to the attending dealers (retained by Ducati) so as to negate the chances of images ending up on the net. I can't blame Ducati for that, since they naturally do not want their thunder stolen when the new bike is unveiled in November at the Milan show. My dealer is potentially organising a trip to the factory to see the new model, for potential buyers but that will almost certainly be AFTER the launch for disclosure reasons. If the US pricing structure bears any relation to the UK sector (unlikely I know) that would make the S version around £11000, which is the same price as the 999 base model official RRP !! At that rate it would put some previous buyers in the realms of potentially affording the R (Tri-Colore) version. Power figures being touted are 160BHP 80lb torque for the base model (more than the current 999R !!), 170BHP for the S model and 180BHP for the R version, which is only twenty BHP less than the Desmosedici and at least £15,000 less !!

All that remains now is for some credible pictures to hit the world wide web, but Ducati are doing a superb job at keeping these under lock and key. I have a good relationship with my dealer and I don't want to jeopardize that in any way by posting anything up here, so as far as pictures go, looks like we are at the mercy of a stealthy press photographer, since absolutely nothing is leaking out of the factory gates at present. Until then speculation rules, but by all accounts the new bike is gorgeous with a capital G !!

Is This It ?
 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ducati-750-cus...QQcmdZViewItem

LOL