Good post / poll Keith.
I love most Ducatis, perhaps I'm very easy to please, even the old bevels and 888 etc. The only two Dukes I'm not fond of are the Paso and the new GT1000. Although I love the Sport Classic / Paul Smart Reps, the GT does nothing for me, it just doesn’t float my boat. The GT reminds me of a Triumph Bonneville, nothing wrong with Bonnevilles, I like them, however if I wanted a Bonnie I'd buy one and not a GT. Maybe Ducati are attempting to fill a British and American niche. Still I suppose Tim Maccabee loves GT's, apparently he attended the 'Dinner & Dance' on one!! Like everyone else, he is entitled to his preference and opinion. I will never knock, slate or gibe a motorcyclist or his or her pride & joy, whether riding a Paso, GT or anything else for that matter, the fact that they’re on two wheels is enough for me, if they ride a Duke that is a bonus and besides his or her pride & joy maybe all they can afford.
I fail to comprehend why there are so many disagreements or differences of opinion over the ‘Best’ Ducati superbike, 916/96/98 v 999 v 1098 debate, perhaps some may say I don‘t have the ‘Ducati Passion‘ however I know I do.
IMHO I love all of them for very different reasons. I recall when I lived in London, riding to Chelsea Bridge most Friday evenings and High Beech or Box Hill on Sundays on my Stan Stephens tuned RD350LC YPVS with a few mates / bikers (usually nutters on Elsie’s who had a penchant for wheeling the length of Chelsea Bridge Road, which in hindsight was probably considerably longer than their life expectancy at the time) admiring and wishing I could afford the sexy new 916.
IMHO the 916 and its successors ooze everything great about Ducati and Italian styling. I love the 999 for different reasons, its angular shape, the box style exhaust, clocks etc, however unlike Derek (749er) and maybe some others I’m not keen on the early heavy cast swingarm and I much prefer the later lightweight black alloy swingarm. My overall preference regarding swingarms is the single sided jobbies and now its alloy on the 1098 even better, a step forward in my book.
Ducati UK have my details for a black mono 1098S, I think it looks awesome, in fact I think all of Ducati superbikes (916/96/98 / 999 / 1098) are awesome.
Although I like some of the ‘Rice Rockets’ most of which are far cheaper and have more BHP than a Ducati, but for me its more than £ for lbs and if that requires an explanation then one wouldn’t understand anyway. IMHO Ducati manufacture the best ’Superbikes’ in the world and possess a racing pedigree second to none.
I’ve held my bike license for 21 years and owned and ridden many bikes. My Multistrada 1000DS although I think are somewhat ugly, rode very well. It is a great all rounder, two up or solo, touring or commuting and no doubt great for trips like Normandy or the ‘Ring’ judging by Paul (Psychlist) and Roy (Dementor) comments. Aesthetics aside, the Numptystrada is certainly one of the best bikes I’ve owned and ridden.
I agree with some here, the new 1098 does appear to be a bit of a mix of its predecessors, but I think it works very well and if the performance statistics are anything to go by, it will ride and handle better than its ancestors. If I were to be extremely critical, I agree with the observations that the dinner plate alloy heat shield is too much, but as someone said previously, I’m sure there’ll be a smaller and lighter carbon fibre replacement available shortly. Lastly, I think the side / prop stand on the 749 / 999 looks great, its a shame this feature was not passed onto the 1098. One last opinion, I think one fairing mouth (Air intake) in the centre like the ‘Sedici’ would look better than two on the 1098, however I still think it looks great.
Ducati like any good company will listen to their consumers (Ducatisti) and watch enthusiast clubs and web sites like ours and others for ideas and input to help produce a product what they think will be popular and we the consumer wants to purchase. I think Ducati has done very well with the 1098 and I’m sure it will sell well.
CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL DONE DUCATI.
