Ducati 899 panigale

[DaytonAndy]

I'm test riding one of these tomorrow. Can't wait!
I would be very grateful if everyone would keep their fingers crossed for sun.

[Cavetroll87]

saw 2 of these on my ride on Sunday morning, lovely bikes, very jealous, hope you enjoy it mate!

[Kwacky]

I followed one home for a few miles last week. The punch it had out of corners was something else.

They look pretty good as well.

[DaytonAndy]

I'm a little nervous if I'm honest. My Daytona is the biggest bike I've ridden to date.

[Perkles]

be nice to have a review on what you think of it

[kingfixer]

A mate of mine has one, he loves it !!!

[duke63]

Have fun, Andy and don't take your wallet with you.

[DaytonAndy]

be nice to have a review on what you think of it

I'll let you know but it might just consist of zooooom neeeeoowwwwww and the like.

[DaytonAndy]

Have fun, Andy and don't take your wallet with you.

Haha cheers. I played with the Ducati configurator last night. Quite expensive options!

[Kwacky]

The 675 handles really well out of the crate so the 899 has some competition there.

[Blade]

Enjoy it and I look forward to your review as I'm considering a test ride too.

[duke63]

You did well to find a place with a demo bike. I've asked at Coventry about a test ride but they don't have a demo bike as they can sell everyone they get their hands on.

Salesman said everytime he orders one as a demo bike he ends up selling it to a customer before it even arrives.

[rocket]

I test road one .. you will get on great with it.

this is a little write up i did

While I was looking at bikes recently Ducati were offering test rides on the new 899 so I thought it would be a great opportunity to see what they are like so booked my self on.

First impressions the bike is really narrow and while being small there's quite a lot of room on it. It was nice and easy to ride even at low speeds. After i got out of town I was able to let it breath and get some speed up. I was quite surprised there was power low down but not much. After I had just jumped off the aprilia it was a bit of an adjustment you had to really rev it to get it to move id say above 5k. When you got it above 5k it really did move and sounded great the gear box is one of the best gear boxes I've ever used really smooth and the quick shifter is sublime. Handling is good really flick able but then really planted in the corner. The brakes were good the bike I rode had some free play on the lever so kept grabbing loads of brake as the first bit did nothing and for some reason the full beam kept coming on on its own.

To sum up a great bike but is it worth the extra money over the rsv that I've just bought no. I'm not sold on the engine it is like a in line 4 vtwin and the rsv has awesome brakes and feels just as planted in the corners.

[StMarks]

I'm test riding one of these tomorrow. Can't wait!
I would be very grateful if everyone would keep their fingers crossed for sun.

Enjoy it mate. I'm not normally one to endorse current trends, but I think a "selfie" of you & the toy is a must.! (Please)

[DaytonAndy]

One word: magnificent
Two words: utterly magnificent
I'll put down something more meaningful later as I'm shattered but what a bike!

[duke63]

May i ask where you got the demo ride from Andy?

Was it Woods?

[DaytonAndy]

Yes Woods in Abergele. Very friendly dealership. And on the doorstep of some pretty good roads.

[C00kiemonster]

So, come on, bigger review please?

I wish I hadn't seen this bike, reminds me I want one

[DaytonAndy]

Ok first the boring stuff, I'd just like to thank Woods for letting me test ride their 899. The staff are very friendly and the girl dealing withe the test rides (can't remember her name) was very knowledgeable. At no point before or after was I put any pressure to buy or subjected to any harsh sales pitch. I test rode a new 675R there last week and she suggested trying the 899. Rude not to then
I've always been a bit scared of the step up to litre bikes and have always enjoyed the fact that I could push my Daytona fairly hard. Getting on the £12,495 Ducati, before options, was a bit nerve wracking. The bike is comfortable, the bars are wide and flat and is actually very easy to ride. A bit of vibration through the seat but nothing horrible. No clutch for startup, just neutral and start. Bit of a whining sound and then 'the noise'. I could try and describe it but couldn't begin do it justice. Standard exhaust on this but it's everything you could want and more. Later on every now and again when it was hot you could hear it popping and spitting unburnt fuel out. It was a good day
My Daytona is fairly quick, it's been on a Dyno and does go well. When I first tried to give the 899 the beans it felt oddly slow. The very pretty dash only shows a max of 12,000 rpm and I hit the limiter a couple of times and sort of felt like I wasn't going as quick as I should have been. Then into the twisties...
It did take me a while to gel with it and get used to how it goes. It probably doesn't tip in quite as quickly as the Daytona but once there it is completely solid and stable. The brakes are the best I've ever tried on a bike. I found the brembos on the 675R very powerful but a little grabby when first applied. The 899's were perfect. Very powerful but not snatchy at all, just got stronger the harder you pulled. And now the engine. What an engine! Not intimidating at all it pulls smoothly and cleanly low down. Up top it's massively powerful and torquey. Get used to the power band and banging through the box with the standard quickshifter and man the thing flies! I don't think it has a huge top end speed which may disappoint some but the way it gets there, well, it pulls like a train lol. I read recently MCN called this the perfect road bike and I have to say they were probably right. The thing is an absolute weapon! Once I'd really bonded with it, it was easily as quick as I could ever need it to be. I've never tried a litre bike and on track I think the lack of revs could hurt the 899 on track but on the road I easily had one of my best days out on a bike. I'm pretty sure this is a moot point bucause that exhaust is never getting on a uk track lol. All alone just pointing the bike down roads I'd never been down before the bike was just massively stable and fast!
Two things I don't like: The exhaust wraps round under the seat and gets very hot! Very very hot! Sweaty down there to say the least! The other thing is probably to be expected but it's quite thirsty. It had quite a bit in the tank when I picked it up. I rode for a good bit, filled it up before trying to press on a bit and then got the petrol light in the middle of nowhere. Crawled to get petrol, pressed on again and then got the light again!
Both these things I would have to live with. The bike is simply amazing. Blade- get yourself a test ride. The noise alone and the way it makes you feel even at sensible speeds... well, I want one, let's just say that!
Sorry to anyone i've bored, the bike just made quite an impression. I will remember that ride for a long time
Now for some picture whoring

[DaytonAndy]

Messed something up on my phone and all the pictures are a bit dark