Ever been strapped to a rocket? Well swing your leg over a Ducati 1299 Panigale and you’ll know the feeling. It’s blindingly quick in any gear at any speed. Crack the throttle open and it’s like you’re going into hyperdrive… your surroundings pass you in a blur. I’ve had the opportunity in the past to ride both the 899 and 1199, and have fallen in love with the Panigale. The whole bike has always felt comfortable to me and the razor sharp handling is addictive. I found the 899 lacked outright grunt, but I enjoyed the fact that I could really thrash the bike without the worry of landing up in too much trouble. The 1199 that I spent some time on lacked as a road bike, but came alive at the top. It was honestly like a two stroke (most manufacturers are sadly going this way) which made it terrible, unless you were giving it your all. The 1299 was a way for Ducati to make the big Panigale a great road bike by adding more midrange and feel.
The looks department can’t be faulted, it is after all
Italian. The 1299 gets some cosmetic tweaks on what was already a gorgeous base
to start with. The bike I had the opportunity to ride was an “S” which comes
with full electronic suspension. Unfortunately I didn’t get much time to play
with the suspension, but the ability to change settings is always a plus for
someone who takes their motorcycle riding seriously. The gold Ohlins bits also
look the business, and add to the overall presence of the bike, not to mention
the light weight, forged Marchesini wheels which are wrapped in Pirelli Diablo
Supercorsa SP tyres.
The L-twin motor makes 205hp, which I can easily believe.
This bike will devour pretty much any of the other superbikes in a roll on. The
1285cc motor allows for a huge amount of torque, and Ducati claim a 15%
increase in torque from 5000rpm to 8000rpm. The twin nature does make the bike
feel slower than an inline four, but the numbers flashing past on the colour
screen really show that this bike isn’t sticking around. I found the fuelling rough between 0-10% throttle
which could be due to it actually being rough, or because I’ve been spoilt with
perfect fuelling on my daily bike. This did make pulling away from a robot a
bit tricky, and stalling is not an option if you’re being noticed. Which you
will be, because it’s a Ducati. To ride around this I was having to give it
quite a bit more throttle input on pull away from each robot, but I soon got
used to it. The fuelling on the fly was however smooth and consistent, which
adding to my confidence in the bike.
It must be noted that this bike isn’t meant for town riding.
At the start I compared this bike to a rocket. This can also be used to explain
the amount of heat the huge motor makes. Having the exhaust right under your
ass doesn’t help either. I rode the bike in warm weather and felt like I was
being roasted. I really wasn’t feeling it after the first 20 km, but then I got
onto a mountain pass and everything was forgotten…
I can’t explain how this bike turns in and brakes. The big
Brembo M50’s make this bike stop at a rapid rate, while the ABS (Also cornering
ABS) keeps everything in check. The turn in is razor sharp and comparable to a
600cc supersport bike. Coming out of the corner and hard on the gas I could
feel the traction control keeping the rear wheel in check. Once the bike was stood
up and the throttle was opened 100% the bars lifted and hovered. The wheelie
control is something I thought was a bit of a silly idea to keep accountants
and doctors that ride on a Sunday out of the dirt, but it works. I liked how
you are able to set it up. How high would you like to power wheelie? The front
wheel comes back to the ground with a wiggle as the steering damper works its magic.
How did we previously ride bikes without all these gizmos? Once you ride a bike
with them, it’s difficult to go back.
The 1299S has three riding modes. Wet, for when your friend
wants to take it for a spin. Sport, which is the middle of the road setting,
and Race which is balls to the wall with everything cranked up to 10! I found
riding the bike in sport mode during the “commuting” sections the best, as race
was a bit too snappy and wild. Once I got to where I wanted to be, I select
Race mode on the fly and the bike transformed! The suspension stiffens up, and
the bike becomes very angry. The clocks turn into a laptimer and the RPM
readings become dominant.
The gearbox on this bike was silky smooth and featured a
quickshifter up, and down. The bike makes a nice pop going up the gearbox and
blips on the way down. It’s much nicer and more bolt-action than the BMW’s sloppy
setup. For the downshifter to be engaged, the bike needs to be totally off the
power and you just stomp down on the shifter. It takes some getting used to but
works very well. I did however find the location of the gear shifter just a bit
too low, but I’m sure that can be adjusted. The pegs have also been changed to
more grippy items, which are great. The old pegs were slippery numbers that
made you question your foot location mid corner.
For a standard exhaust this bike sounds the business.
Aftermarket exhausts are sadly incredibly expensive, but to be honest I doubt
anyone would want a bike much louder than this. On the fly coming through a
mountain pass this bike growls and pops… It’s spectacular. The fairings are a
bit bigger on the 1299 than the 899 and 1199, but I found the screen to be too
low. This isn’t an uncommon issue for me, especially with my 2.01m frame.
Now for the million dollar question… would I have one in my garage…? It is a definite yes. The pricing
however means it’s something I’ll only be able to afford if I won the lotto.
The base model comes in at under R240 000, while the S version is just shy
of R280 000. Comparing that to the BMW and R1 means it’s not far off the
modern high tech bikes. It is also important to remember when you buy a Ducati
you’re buying exotica. These bikes are very special.
Thanks once again to Anston Collins and Ducati Cape Town for letting me loose on
one of their machines, it’s a great privilege.
No comments:
Post a Comment