Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > Why does there appear to be this hatred?

[749er]

Originally Posted by Monty

Dam right, I do remember that, and didn't Vauxhall capitalise on it-the Cortina was the de-facto company car, when they brought out the Sierra Ford lost most of that market overnight to the Cavalier-which in all honesty wasn't a bad car anyway. Now Sierra's are considered a classic-whereas the Mk4 Cortina was and IMHO still is a shed-MK1 and MK2 Cortina's though-now that's a different proposition, even the 'coke bottle' MK3 was a stylish car.

John-showing his age.

I think you are right John and I think time will do the same for the 749.999. its ahead of its time. Dunno if this is correct but I heard that the shape of the 999 came from a few things but mainly the wind tunnel and the need to improve rider comfort, both for the purposes of winning races, as the engines were at their limit. This seems to have been borne out by recent events

1) Bayliss being 9km/h straight slower than the Hondas down the straight at Silverstone
2) Ducati wanting to run larger engines
3) Yet, Lavilla, Bayliss and Haslam were all competitive on most circuits

Ducati need to be winning races, 10% of their staff are employed by Corse.

There are other factors of course and racing is not that simplistic, but the design is very much "form follows function" to enable them to compete with the clout that Honda etc have. For me the design represents the kind of ingenuity that has seen Bayliss win and Haslam come very close.

[ariel]

A lot of bike journos think the 9's are absolutely gorgeous. I wonder if a lot of the opinions about 916's and 999's are a case of people getting on the band waggon.
The 999 looks good. It is a brilliant bike and hopefully there will be lots of bargains waiting to be picked up when the new models hit the showrooms.

[Gbyte666]

I have still got my 996 and a 749s, I just caan not get rid of my 996 as it is too sexy. I go out on my 749s and love it to bits for its supurb handling / braking and really fun to ride. But then I get back and see the 996 parked up and it looks better, sounds better and more fun to ride as I have to work it more. I've had a go on a 999 as well, nearly, very nearly... but sorry my 996 still beats it for pure pleasure. I can see me keeping the 996 forever and still having a top sought after bike.

Craig

[bike mad]

you're right to wonder why the 916 lot **** the 999 when ever they get the chance, even doing it on the 999 site,
The 999 is the best looking Ducati I've seen but you have to ask why they made it look a bit ugly when they bought out the 05 one,
I think the 05 looks good with the race stickers but not so good when it's just red,
back to your point, I wonder if we will feel the same as the 916 lot when they bring out the new one,
It might be that unlike the jap bike we get too attached to our bikes, and as the saying goes love is blind and I think thats the answer,
Love is blind,
And why my 04 looks better than you 05,

[beancounter]

Originally Posted by bike mad

The 999 is the best looking Ducati

To a blind man in a welder's mask!

[keefer]

the 999 have come on a bit with the colour frame and decent swing arm
but when they 1st came out I think they looked pants
where as the 916 when it came out looked like it had just rolled of the race track
999 look good in race trim but that includes the extra frame brace under the tank for me

[749er]

taste is a funny thing. I really dont like the new swing arm on the 999. I really appreciate the craftmanship and texture of the original cast swing arm, for me its a real peice of engineering beauty, the shape, the finish, those radii, the newer welded one just doesn't have that for me. But I have a bias as I work in manufacturing and when I get the rare opportunity to work with castings I love it as you can do do much with them but the tooling costs a fortune and the castings have a limited life. Working with aluminium extrusions is much more common for me and I see them as a cheap method of construction, so because of that I am biased towards the cast arm. There is probably a performance benefit in the newer arm, but to be fair I am not a good enough rider to notice it, if it were there.

[phil_h]

actually, tbh, I now hate them cos I would like to try one, but dont like buying new(ish) bikes cos of all the depreciation.

[Redruth]

Originally Posted by beancounter

To a blind man in a welder's mask!

Mark, you have to have a go on my bike. Next BHCN rideout, let's swap bikes and you'll see what I mean.

[andyb]

Ive been full of love this evening as my baby returned safely from Almeria.
Shes now cleaned and polished blanketed, and snug back up her heated corner........