Hi Samd1985 Please come back & give us another review of the Duke & what it's been like to live with etc. Bet your excited. Keen to hear your thoughts once you have had the Duke for a few months. I have always had an itch for a Duke since the Pantah days but have never itched it. Also I would be keen to see what the 899 is like as well - probably not as raw but maybe easier to live with. And cheaper to buy as well Good luck bud.
Cheers mate! Yeah I'll post an in depth review with a comparison against the Blade once I've become more used to it. As it happens the dealership I'm getting the Panigale from have asked me to take out their 899 demonstrator and let them know my thoughts on it so I'll let you know how that goes too! Won't be until November when they get it though and IF the weather is decent one Saturday. I'm running the 1199 in at Silverstone Stowe circuit just over a week after getting it! I've got a track training day with my bike club and having to do a bit of tutoring for the novices. Ideal place to run the engine in Rev hard but not high as they say Sam
Here she is! Picked her up last Wednesday evening from the dealers. It should have been ready the Saturday before but the alarm installation had a few technical hiccups. Over the moon with the Panigale - it's an absolute weapon!! Still running it in (although not babying it) but I had it on track yesterday at Silverstone around the Stowe circuit. Mind blowing brakes, huge acceleration, traction control is completely seamless coming out of bends and it turns so bloody quickly. A huge change compared to the Blade. All in all it's just immense! Sam
Lovely bike there matey, nice to see it in anything but Red ! looks better IMO Only thing I am not to keen on is that bloody massive heat guard at the back now !, is there an alternative ?
Lovely bike... do like it in white!! must be some carbon cover in the Ducati options list Jamie... must admit, i'd want to change it, but not the end of the world.
I'm glad you agree the white looks better than red. The stick I've had of people for not getting a Ducati in the Ducati standard red colour scheme from those that haven't seen it in the flesh has been unreal! Those that have seen it have commented the same as you and said they prefer it. I had the two 1199's in the dealership side by side - one red, one White, and the white stood out so much more so than the red. It's got a gorgeous silver/blue reflection in the light. I hadn't really given the heatshield much thought, don't think it looks bad. It was done to combat the heat soak from the exhaust, so I think the only option is to remove it and get seriously warm!
Congrats dude, stunning looking bike, still dont like the wing mirrors but thats personal choice. Def white is the new red
Sam its good to be different mate who really wants to blend in with the crowd all the time. I have not ridden a Panigale and to be honest I doubt I will either I like the bike but think that with the Blade I have finally found the bike that suits me and if I am honest I would miss the scream of an inline 4 to be fair. Deffo excellent choice on the Termi that's a marriage made in heaven when paired with a Ducati. Enjoy yourself and the bike mate it looks a cracker.
Cheers for the comments guys I personally loved the Blade - it did everything really well, was perfectly reliable in all the miles I did on it, but I've always loved the 1199 since it came out and I dreamt of owning one some day, and now that time has come for me. I must say that Bosch ABS system on the Panigale is just out of this world! Honda's C-ABS is great, especially in the wet, but is too intrusive in the dry for all out hard braking. I hope Honda either sort theirs out for those that had issues, or equip their new generation of bikes with this new system.
AFAIK the heat guard was due to some managing to burn their boots and it can be removed.same way I removed the heat shields from my RR5 so the pipe could be seen properly.
I actually quite like the heatshield personally, I don't think it looks too bad at all. One in Carbon fibre would be cool though
I just remember the original guard was les obtrusive, it's hardly ugly or stands out just something I noticed. The bike is amazing and I would love one in the garage with heat shield
Here you go: The bigger one Ducati Panigale 1199 Satin Carbon Fibre BIG Exhaust Guard The original one Ducati Panigale 1199 Carbon Exhaust Guard Satin
