Post by Big Blue on Nov 25, 2018 1:03:36 GMT
Well, it's been a week and a bit so perhaps I can tell you what it's like commuting on a what a fellow biker called "a thoroughbred". It's just a pretty bike to me but I can see that it's not a UJM (universal Japanese motorcycle, which is also what the BMW S1000RR is despite being German) and indeed an old friend pointed out this is the first non-Jap bike I've ever had if you discount my Lambretta, which was a scooter.
Let's start with the bad as there's a lot of it. None of it serious except one. I commute in some of the heaviest traffic in Europe so one vital feature is folding mirrors. The 899 had them; the 959 which replaced it doesn't. Fucker. First day commute was interesting: unfamiliar bike, not set the suspension up for me yet, no folding mirrors and the other issue I haven't yet mentioned.
So I ordered some very nice new ones from Italy and they were piss easy to fit.
They look more elegant and had some teething issues, like trying to torque the fixings so I can fold them in traffic but they don't just fold back on themselves at 50mph - which they did. I now carry a 4mm Allen with me at all times. In reality you can still see next to fuck all but they help a bit and the mirrors have the indicators in them so I can't just bin them and anyway I like mirrors.
Next up, suspension set up. Now, I'm not Colin Chapman but compared to whoever set the front end of this Ducati up I am a chassis guru akin to Erv Kanemoto (go look him up). That first trip in was horrifyingly bad: absolutely no feel from the front end whatsoever and I've had ironing boards that were more pliable. I got the settings manual and the sockets out as soon as I got home and the pre-load was wound up tighter than an Arab at a bar mitzvah and the compression and rebound were similarly way out. To compound the issue the rear end was set up as factory road-riding standard, so a complete mis-match. I set up pretty much as standard and the next day was much better.
Then comes the main issue and it's bad. The brakes are basically SHIT. Not shit as in they don't / can't stop - they're Brembos and the pads are looking not far off new. But there's no immediate bite from the first pull meaning a pump is required. Ah-ha, I hear you say. Air in the system. I bled the brakes the same night I did the suspension. No change. So this weekend I have changed the DOT4. No change. FFS! A glimpse through the Ducati forums suggests the early 959s had a rogue batch of master cylinders (still a Brembo item) so I will be taking advantage of the warranty and asking for a new one. It's hard to relax when you're thinking of the brakes all the time.
OK the good. Let's start with the fact that it's roomier than the R1 - a combination of the slimmer body because it's a V-twin and slightly different bodywork and seating position. The bars feel wider and I am putting more weight on the wrists than the R1 so we'll see how that goes over time.
It handles very very nicely. It's November so out and out handling won't be known for about 4 more months when I put the leathers on (I have a new Rukka winter suit and whilst it's dry and warm it's not designed for hanging off) and the roads are warmer. I've felt the front end turn in nicely and the bike has been very settled when leaned over. The one issue I'm having is gearing as the engine is a completely different beast to every other bike I've ever had. It's got gob loads of torque everywhere in the rev range so I'm unsure what gear I need to be in on certain corners I'm used to on my commute (Tibbets corner a case in point).
That narrowness is very handy: you can feel it in traffic and gaps look a bit easier. If the brakes worked I'd be flipping about Putney and Fulham like a dormouse. The torquey engine also helps with the slow speed balance, the whole bike can roll at 0.01mph with no input and feet up.
The engine. It's very good. As I say it has loads of torque and as a consequence I'm cruising down the Embankment effortlessly ahead of everyone else. It's as fuel efficient as the R1 was (36mpg thus far) but has a small tank, or rather the fuel light is keener to come on than the R1's was. It also resets the fuel mileage back to zero when you turn the engine off, so you don't know if you've done 0 miles or 15 since the light came on! The clutch is very easy to use but looking at the fluid I wish I'd changed that when I did the brakes! More tinkering to go with the mod I made to my charger bu hardwiring the Ducati fitting to it: there's a little cable under the rear seat so you just plug the charger to that and don't need to remove the bodywork. I will need to remove the fairings to top up coolant, however - something I could manage on the R1 without having to. When the bike runs at over 100o for over 50% of the journey you need to top up about 4 times a year.
That's it really - apart from the paddock stand points being too high to lift the bike up off the rear wheel enough. I haven't bonded with it at all yet, mainly because of the brakes issue. If they are addressed with the cylinder replaced and they have that instant bite I'm used to then there's hope, otherwise it's another bike in 2019.
