Sport Rider review of 1198

S

Shelby T

New member
Thank you,

Your too kind Cblast,

That last part of your comment brought a tear to my eye.

It took me 33 years to get my first Ducati, 2008 was my lucky year to buy one, and I can tell you Im in Love!

I too feel personaly close to my baby Duc.
 
Yeah, everytime I go out to the garage, or when I park her in the living room. I will spend hours just looking at her and cleaning her. It is my meditation, my son calls it my Isabella therapy. It is funny how much a part of my family she has become. My kids love home cooked meals, and I have started doing a lot of the cooking, so we have begun to cook way more Italian food and drink more (me, not the kids), Italian wine because of her influence in my home. Now I want to see one person say that because of their gixxer they eat more sushi! ROFL! Not gonna happen. But there is just something about sitting in my chair at the dinner table, having a nice chianti with a big plate of homemade fresh pasta with basil and olive oil, and looking at Isabella parked in the living room. This is truly the finest ownership experience. You can not place a dollar value on it, you can not define it with a set of wheels, or a frame color (unless that frame happens to be red), or traction control. It is about passion. Allright, I will get off of my soapbox now.
 
Wow Cblast,

You have totally gone Euro!

I completely understand the influence these Italian motos have on us. I wear nothing but Puma shoes now..hahaha

I don't mean to one up you, but I have been to the birthplace of my baby. Yep, that's right, in May of 2008 my family took me to Europe on an all expenced paid trip to Italy.

My mothers parents (her father was born in 1914) are immigrants from Spain so she wanted to show me where they were from so I had a chance to see Spain, England, France, and of course Italy. During my trip I made it a point to make it to the Ducati factory in Bolonga Italy. The whole trip I was telling mom all about the Ducati and how they are the most beautiful motorcycle in the world.

We took the train from France in to Italy and one of the stops was of course, Bolonga! I was sooo excited but when I arrived it was closed. (The train arrived a little too late and it was closed for the day) RATS! I was so upset. None the less it was where my baby was born, this was the place she was brought to life. I was there even though I did not get to go inside, I was there. And not many Ducati owners can say that.

No biggie, I quickly got over it... hell I was Italy at no cost to me and ya know what they say...... "When In Rome" so on to Rome we went.

While in Rome I looked up the nearest Ducati dealer and took the metro straight to it. Nothing better than having a galss of wine in a Ducati dealership in Rome Italy! When I arrived It was siesta so the entire staff was at this little cafe on the corner eating pastries, and drinking wine. Wine in Europe is no diffrent than having salt and pepper on the table, IT'S EVERYWHERE AND COMPLETELY ACCEPTABLE TO DRINK NO MATTER WHERE YOUR AT!!!

So I chatted with them a bit and when the siesta was over they all walked down the cobble stone road back to the dealership. While inside I drank more wine and chatted with one of the salesmen about Ducati's and how they are much cheeper in America (yes his english was very broken but because most Italians speak Spanish my mother just chatted away and then translated ....heheh. We finished up our wine, purchased some souvies for my sweetheart and went on to the Colosseum!

I could go on and on about Italy. Oh man I get all excited just thinking about it. I will return to Europe and actually ride the country there, It's totally on my "to do list"

It was Glourious!
 
Rowdy: price as tested for the modded CBR was $15,128 and that didn't include the cost of making the mods, just the parts cost. But back to the point...and cost is part of the point in this thread. Machine: It was an ignorant thing for Sport Rider to say that 1098 owners should be upset about the 1198 now. That's like being upset that the computer you purchased last year is now surpassed in power and for less money. If you have a need/desire and the means for one at the moment, would it make sense to forever wait for the improved one that everyone knows is coming? Of course not. You'd never get to enjoy one. That's why I say it was ignorant for Sport Rider to say what they did. It's not like both models were available at the same time and you mistakenly chose the less powerful one!

As to whether Sport Rider prefers Japanese bikes to Ducati's, it doesn't matter to me. I'll still read what they have to say, figuring that any compliment comes grudgingly for them, which makes it all the more credible. As Cblast alluded to above, it's more than a numbers game. In the Sport Rider article I cited, comparing the 1098R to the cobbled-together CBR- as they concluded that 3 out of 4 testers scored the modded CBR better, they also noted:

"But as usual when comparing a piece of high-dollar moto art with a comparatively disposable Japanese machine, our numbers don't take into account the exclusivity or style associated with owning the 1098R."

Exactly. And that's true of all of our Ducati's. They are moto art.
I don't want a disposable Japanese machine. I've had 'em...and disposed of 'em.
A bit of irony from that same article in this regard: Even Kunitsugu, acknowledging the Ducati to be a "piece of moto-exotica", said he didn't want to wad the 1098R on the slick track that day.
Apparently he had no reservations about wadding the Japanese bike.

Finally, (sorry to run on) I'll never be upset if my motorcycle company of choice improves its product from year to year. They should. Still, I'll be loving my bike from the moment I bought it, and be happy for all the enjoyment I've had on it, and will continue to have on it.
 
Great post Aeon, I am definetly jealous! I am planning a trip for my family to Europe and Australia this fall after my wife gets home from her current deployment. I am very excited, Italy is going to eat up most of our Europe time!
 
You are so right (NITSUJ! I had a chance today to speak to Jeff Nash, owner of AMS. He has had a chance to ride both and actuall help setup the bikes for a one of the cycle rag test. He is crazily impressed with the 1198s and believes it is the best bang for the buck that Ducati has put out. I am still going to keep my eye out for a "steal" for a 1098 but I plan on purchasing the 1198s. Now all of this is with the assumption I don't get laid of ffrom my job at AMD (fingers crossed). Thanks for the post!
 
AWWW Shucks Texas, your making me blush.....

Texas, your gonna be my hero with that 1198s

As for Mr. Jeff Nash It's a very "Toung in Cheek" situation.

I will save that comment for another thread....

So lemme guess, your gonna get a Red one?
 
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