Alrighty! I'm back from my second ride.. so I'll give my first impressions based on my ride home yesterday, and the lovely trip I just took.
**Quick tangent: It is "love bug" season here... You florida people know what I'm talking about. I just spent the last 30 minutes washing their stinky carcasses off of my bike and helmet! Amazingly, they smell exactly like snake shiat. I had played with my snake earlier today, and thought maybe he crapped on me and I didn't notice... but nope, dead lovebugs smell like snake crap.**
My stats:
Height: 6'0, 30inch inseam
Weight: between 220 and 235 depending on the week
Climbing on to this bike, the first thing you notice is the riding position. It is a good deal more extreme than my VFR, and I think it might even be more of a stretch than the 749. The SS1000DS feels fairly long from the saddle. With myself being a very torso-tall person (instead of having long legs), this actually works out best for me, and made it more comfortable than the 749. From the seat, I am not cramped, and I am able to lean forwards and backwards to an acceptable degree.
The seat is actually VERY comfortable, even moreso than my VFR. The way the tank is designed, the tank-guard is in a position to where you can lean your stomach on it very easily (and comfortably), taking pressure off your wrists and back. The tank itself is also very narrow where your legs sit on the pegs, allowing you to also hold yourself up with your legs. During my ride, I alternated between holding myself up with my legs, lower back, stomach, and wrists. This allowed for a pretty comfortable ride (more comfortable than any RR bike I have ever been on anyway.. but most of them cramp me to start with). I doubt I would be able to go the same distance I could on my VFR, but I think it is definitely possible to finish out a tank full of gas. The tank is 4.1 gallons, you get roughly 45mpg, and the fuel light comes on at 1.1gal.. so about 135 miles if you fill up at the light). Being off the bike now, nothing is sore that wasn't sore previously, but to be fair, it was only about an hour long ride.
To sum up the comfort of the bike: Not so great around town, but acceptable... while under braking to a complete stop, my wrists felt it. This might get better as I find better techniques to keep the pressure off them. That was my main complaint though. Once up to speed, the wind did a great job of holding me up and keeping me comfortable. At no time was my rear end ever sore or uncomfortable (GREAT SEAT!). And the bike feels absolutely great in corners. It is most comfortable in twisties
Back to climbing on the bike! Once situated, I put the bike in neutral and turned the key. With a turn of the key, you hear the fuel pump initiate (sounds like the beginning of a turbine starting up), the speedo and tachometer dance to the top of their range and back, and all of the lights show you that they work. After this impressive start up sequence, you are shown the odometer (or trip meter) on the left, and the temperature (which can be alternated to the clock) on the right.
Push the button!! Do it!... The bike purrs to life. The idle is pretty quiet, but you can tell there is more rumble than it lets on. At this point, the tempurature says "LO", which means it is under 122 degrees F. So I let it idle....and idle...and idle... It took about 5 minutes to get up to operating temperature. I'm sure I would have been fine to just get started and keep the revs down like any other bike, but I wanted to see how long it took.
Once the tempurature showed me a number, I was underway! ...mmm, did I mention the sound of the Ducati dry clutch? I didn't? Well, it was there while idling it neutral. It exudes a charming "clack clack clack". I've heard both the VFR750's my roommate's VFR800's clutch do it a little bit, but *this* clack is deliberate
I think most people will ask if there is something wrong with my bike, unless they are expecting it.
I backtracked to the clutch sound because I was about to talk about my launch.. which reminded me of the interesting clutch. I really don't know how to properly get this bike to go from a stop yet. I've never used a dry clutch (since I've never driven a manual car). If I let it out too slow, it kind of bogs, but if I let it out too fast, it makes kind of a rubbing squeal (very small). It is also because I'm trying not to ride it like I would a wet clutch.
The heart of the issue is that this bike really doesn't go under 15mph... at all. So brisk starts are a lot easier. The slowest I got the bike without clutch action was honestly 15-17mph. It just won't go any slower. Hence, I had a few issues getting used to slow starts (like when I'm at a light with a car in front of me...). I know a lot of people change sprockets to a 15/(41-45) instead of the stock 15/38. I'm thinking it will be fine once I get used to it though.
Also, I LOVE THIS BIKE'S MIDRANGE. Love might not even be strong enough a word. The pull, the effortlessness, the sound... everything about it. This bike operates best above 3500rpms, most of my time was spent between 4k and 6k (with a little over that in between, being that the bike is already broke in). While we are on gearing, this bike wants to go fast. It really does. In 3rd gear, I cruise at 55mph around 4500rpms, and if I get up to 7500rpms I'm past 80mph!! So basically, I used 4th gear for maybe a minute of this trip. You really can't use 6th gear under 80mph.
The rev limiter is set at 9k rpms, but I didn't hit it during my ride. There is really almost no reason whatsoever to ride to the redline. The power of this bike is so smooth that you slingshot around corners just using the 4-6k range. The theoretical top speed of this bike is 166... I'm interested what the "real" top speed is though. From a roll in first, I slid it into second and twisted that beloved right hand, and I was at 65mph in the time it took me to blink and look back down (mag tests say 0-60 in 3.58 seconds). I'll tell you what, it just feels like a lot less effort to accelerate on this bike than it did the VFR!
So far: Comfort? acceptable (coming from a guy who has only owned sport tourers and crusers). Speed? Yes please. Handling? Let's get to it!
This is the best handling bike I have ever been on. It isn't even a question.. there are no mabeys to this statement. It is amazing.
I went over to a backroad where I know of a great big turn that is followed by an S-turn.. I could already feel how balanced and solid the bike was on my way out there, but I wanted to see how much so. I normally have an entrance speed of about 45mph on the VFR (for comparison), so I started out at that. It honestly felt like I was just coasting around the corner. After trying this section of road a couple times, I found that the bike is much more capable than I am, so I capped my speed at 75mph because I didn't want to push myself on my second ride.
All I have to say is solid, precise, direct. The chassis does not flex. The line tracks with ease... minimal inputs are needed once you set up your turn, and the feedback from the front is excellent. Everything about the turning is deliberate, but smooth and easy to accomplish. I wouldn't call the steering on this bike light, but it definitely isn't heavy either. It gave enough resistance to feel stable, but not enough to make you feel like you have to muscle the bike.
Handling at slower speeds was a bit more of a chore. I wouldn't call it difficult, but it definitely isn't designed for small radius figure 8's (which I attempted). The worst part about the slow speed maneuvering is the pressure on the wrists. It is much easier to get comfortable at speed. The bike was still pretty easy to steer, but the absense of the wet clutch made me uncomfortable using the practices for slow speed maneuvers that I used on my previous bikes (just riding the clutch and change the oil later :-p).
The brakes are excellent! They are huge... they are strong... and you stop. The lever has great feedback, I like it a lot more than my wooden(feeling) VFR-brakes. Just like the handling, I feel like the breaking is excellent and it does just what you tell it. The rear brake lever is at a great angle, and also gives good feedback. The rear brake on my VFR is touchy and the lever is pointed too high. So if allowed, I would sing the praises of this one for a few days.
Almost time for class so I will wrap this up!
My engine temps were pretty good. Between 220F and 260F(when idling at lights on the way home). The bike says "HI" for the tempurature after 338F at which point you should shut it down, so I think that it stayed in an acceptable range. At lights, a lot of heat from the rear cylinder hits the left leg. I just moved my leg a bit at lights, and it was fine once I started moving. The bike is aircooled, what do you expect!
My final scores:
Comfort: 6/10 (9/10 for a sportbike.. and a rider my size)
Very comfy seat, kind of a long reach to the bars though. Smaller people will have a lot of difficulties with the seat height(32.3 inches) and the stretch to the bars.
Performance: 8/10
We know there are more powerful bikes out there, but this bike uses its power very well! This bike really makes it easy to just pick a gear (3rd gear specifically) and stick with it! I would gladly take this powerband over a race replica I-4 any day. I also forgot to mention in the review, the fuel injection is spot on! I would call it flawless delivery. No hiccups, no problems. It was smooth, crisp and precise! On my roommate's 03 VFR, I can't stand the FI for low RPMs.. it is touchy and it annoys me.
Handling: 8/10
Granted, this is only based on my experience and preferences, I love the way this bike handles. I can't touch its potential right now, so that is a 10/10 for me! I deducted points for slow speed handling and turning radius. I feel like adding points back for the brakes though.. so make that 8.5/10. I would love to take this bike to the track once I find time!
Asthetics: BEAUTIFUL! This bike also sounds great. It is definitely my #1 for stock exhaust sounds. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... but this bike definitely catches a few eyes.
Numbers:
Dynoed by sportrider.com:
87 rwhp
65.1 ft-lbs
Weight:
396lbs dry, about 430lbs wet.
Complete Spec List:
http://www.ducati.com/bikes/my2006/popu ... S1000DS-06
Oh no! I'm turning into a Ducati elitist already! (j/k)
