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21-08-09, 06:05 PM

Ducati Streetfighter S

Stock image cos I didn’t photograph it

I did this test ride with the Ducati demo road show just before the Donno GP. I had my pick of their range, I don’t know much about modern Ducati’s so chose the Streetfighter S imagining that it would be fairly sedate. First off it looks amazing with loads of trick parts, ohlins all round etc. After starting and travelling the first few yards I was wondering what was going fall of it first, it really rattles. We had to get some fuel from nearby so just tickled it through 40 mph zones. The only thing I really noticed up to this point was that the mirrors are pretty useless and the amount of weight on my wrists, I thought this was just me but another lad on a Streetfighter who rides an R1 also commented on it. Out of the 40 zone and onto the main roads, drop a cog and accelerate…and rapidly grab another gear, yep it’s a lot faster than the SV. The thing that really stood out was the brakes, unbelievably powerful with loads of feel. I know it’s probably not the case, but I really felt I could have stopped in half the distance of the SV. As for the handling, I wasn’t going to push it (I had to put £1000 deposit on it) but I wouldn’t say I felt really wired into the bike. In the latter stages of the ride as my confidence had risen I wound it on exiting a roundabout into a long sweeping curve. The duke didn’t bat an eyelid and stayed entirely composed but the noise and vibration in my helmet was insane, the last number I saw on the clock was 90mph then everything was I blur. This illustrated the biggest problem for me, I ride a naked bike so I’m used to wind blast, but this is basically a hyper sports bike with no fairing and flat bars. You’re so far over the front wheel and completely exposed so you get a huge blasting. The bike is eminently controllable but you can’t really do so because you’re taking such a battering. One more shock is waiting on my return while I make small talk with the reps, it’s 14grand! On paper and aesthetically the Streetfighter’s the bike of my dreams but the reality is far from it. Great experience but not one for the wish list.

21-08-09, 06:05 PM	#2
rusty76 Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Summer test rides Ducati Streetfighter S Stock image cos I didn’t photograph it I did this test ride with the Ducati demo road show just before the Donno GP. I had my pick of their range, I don’t know much about modern Ducati’s so chose the Streetfighter S imagining that it would be fairly sedate. First off it looks amazing with loads of trick parts, ohlins all round etc. After starting and travelling the first few yards I was wondering what was going fall of it first, it really rattles. We had to get some fuel from nearby so just tickled it through 40 mph zones. The only thing I really noticed up to this point was that the mirrors are pretty useless and the amount of weight on my wrists, I thought this was just me but another lad on a Streetfighter who rides an R1 also commented on it. Out of the 40 zone and onto the main roads, drop a cog and accelerate…and rapidly grab another gear, yep it’s a lot faster than the SV. The thing that really stood out was the brakes, unbelievably powerful with loads of feel. I know it’s probably not the case, but I really felt I could have stopped in half the distance of the SV. As for the handling, I wasn’t going to push it (I had to put £1000 deposit on it) but I wouldn’t say I felt really wired into the bike. In the latter stages of the ride as my confidence had risen I wound it on exiting a roundabout into a long sweeping curve. The duke didn’t bat an eyelid and stayed entirely composed but the noise and vibration in my helmet was insane, the last number I saw on the clock was 90mph then everything was I blur. This illustrated the biggest problem for me, I ride a naked bike so I’m used to wind blast, but this is basically a hyper sports bike with no fairing and flat bars. You’re so far over the front wheel and completely exposed so you get a huge blasting. The bike is eminently controllable but you can’t really do so because you’re taking such a battering. One more shock is waiting on my return while I make small talk with the reps, it’s 14grand! On paper and aesthetically the Streetfighter’s the bike of my dreams but the reality is far from it. Great experience but not one for the wish list.