1199S and one of the most fun days of my life

[ffkevinking]

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set...0979003&type=1

Monster Arai helmet is me.

Bike is simply amazing I've never ridden anything like it. Super light feel crazy power brakes to the point of being rediculous and the power is well.... I couldnt stop giggling like a schoolgirl.

kev

and before it starts the pics of me sitting in the middle of the bike through a turn was the warm up lap!!!!

[zvez]

Can't wait, mine should be in a a couple weeks!

[TheX]

Love that bike, 2013 I'll be getting one.

[ffkevinking]

Watch those brakes! I wouldn't be the least but suprised if in the first month a bunch of them get crashed because of those brakes.

Kev

[ffkevinking]

my little summary

So i got to go to NOLA to ride the 1199 on the brand new NOLA track. The track is nice and the owner did an amazing job getting the track ready for the 1199 ride. that being said the track was brand new and the grip left a bit to be desired whereas it had rained the last few days prior to me getting on the track. upon seeing them all lined up in the paddock i was very excited to get on one thinking i cant believe i get to take this thing out and see what i can get it to do. Then upon signing the release and the you break it you bought it clause that was in it my excitement was tempted with hefty amounts of caution.
All of the bike there were the S model some with traction control some without, some with termi exhausts most without. upon starting my machine i was very impressed with the sound of it in stock trim still throaty and rather loud. The bike was set to WET mode to get us used to the bike first before turning the bikes power up. The track was dry with a couple of small damp spots but there was still some dried mud on the track in some places. When i first sat on the bike i was not surprised by the lite feeling the bike gives id come to expect it as its been drilled in that the bike weighs next to nothing. what did surprise me though was the clipon positioning very wide and in a spot that was very comfortable unlike the 999 and 1198 machines. the tft screen i liked because all of the info was very easy to see esp the mode the bike was in, tc setting etc. we started out on the track with the bike set in the 125 hp mode (wet) and began the sighting lap. usually on sighting laps i sit up with a hand on my leg but i noticed by the end of the lap i didn't have to do that because of the position the bike put my body in. The first thing that was very abundantly clear was that the brakes were extremely powerful. so powerful in fact i would not in the least bit be surprised that in the first month after the release that a ton of them will be crashed because of them. They are very powerful once you get used to them they are completely and utterly amazing. The feel and feedback are superb. After the warm up laps we started moving along but not at a very fast pace and i remember thinking that the hp sure seemed higher than 125. The bike changed direction very very easily def. unlike the 1198 it felt very neutral and reminded me of my zx6r race bike through the quick change of directions. After a couple of laps and a couple of traction control saves (thank you ducati traction control for saving me from taking out a second mortgage to pay for a crashed bike) we started to pick up the pace. My group leader was the head development rider for the 1199 he has the most seat time on the bike by far, two years worth. He figured ok lets get moving and off we went i followed as he backed it into the tight turn one and wheelie out of it. At this time i was like ok well theres no way i can drop this thing. That's when i had begun to notice that , on a track id never been on on a bike id never even sat on and even with the grip levels on the track i was actually going at a fairly quick pace. We started to lap the other groups and that's when it hit me..... this bike is making me faster. The bike inspires confidence with a "don't worry I've got you" feeling.
At the beginning of the next session we changed mode to sport (never got it into race mode) which is full horsepower mode with a smoother deliver of said power. I asked the tech to turn the traction control UP to 7 because i didn't want to go out and highside in one lap he agreed and did. After the warm up I was off the bike simply put pulls like nothing I've ever been on before the power is crazy. It seemed to me that the bike in the higher horse power mode was easier to ride than in the wet mode. The bike turns in quickly and holds lines very well the slipper clutch works as it should and you will find yourself riding faster than you thought you could very quickly. Being a new track there were no bumps for the suspension to soak up so but it feels great easily telling the difference between wet sus settings and sport. At speed the bike feels like it weights nothing. To me the last models all felt like i was sitting on a heavy telephone poll with wheels the weight was just everywhere and it always felt heavy. This bike felt like it had a bowling ball under the seat and no weight anywhere else. The front end was ripe with feed back and the rear end was very predictable. I became very confident in the dtc and just saying screw it and letting the tc take over while exiting corners small slide then a little power cut then off it went. I personally liked the size of the bike however it is diminutive. If you look at the pics you'll see i look kinda big on it but it never felt uncomfortable. The one bad thing about it was as with other ducs my boot managed to find something to hit. It was the carbon fiber exhaust shield and that got a bit annoying. The sheer power of the bike is something you should all experience without a doubt, along with the brakes (heads up though they are Crazy powerful don't say i didn't warn you).
At the end of the day i was told by a couple friends that i had been smiling constantly for over an hour after getting off of the track. Its with good reason the bike is very very good I've never ridden anything like it and I honestly feel that the bike is gonna push other manufactures to step it up.

Kev

[zvez]

exc writeup Kev,

RE: brakes, are they that much better than the monoblocs on streetfighter and rsv4?

[ffkevinking]

These brakes are better than the desmo's and make the streetfighters seem like ninja 250 brakes. You wont understand until you feel them for yourself. It's really odd because you look at the calipers and think "why'd they use those wimpy looking brakes and not the 1198 monoblocs". Until you use em!!!!

Kev

[ffkevinking]

Are you getting the S Chris?


Kev

[zvez]

HI Kev,
I wish.......but couldn't really afford it and keep the RSV4 so got the base model. Looking forward to it. Looking at your pics looks like you had a blast out there!

Are you getting the S Chris?


Kev

[Micah / AF1 Racing]

I can't wait to try the new Duc out! It is the exact execution n mmetal and composite of what I thought for years Ducati should build. Why have desmo at 9,500rpm, why have belt driven camshafts at all! Glad to hear they are starting to hot dealers and end users, thanks for the warning on the brakes.

[shanes]

just don't crash one

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7829087&type=3


How to Dismantle a Ducati 1199 Panigale in Seconds | Ducati News Today

[Tdawg]

Ouch that's some expensive pasta! Always wondered how the engine mounted shock would fare.
Duc should offer a 2fer on non-MSO race bikes. Not so simple as zipties and duc tape.

Still want to ride one

[ffkevinking]

with all the GP crashes i'm suprised that that thing exploded like that. oh well new front new back and off it goes> ha!

kev

[igotyofire]

looks like you will have a gopro video ready for us soon?

[ffkevinking]

hopefully but the owner has all the video so dont know when.

kev