Wow, what a stunning review............
But am I glad I don't live in the US. You guys need some more bends on your roads.
But am I glad I don't live in the US. You guys need some more bends on your roads.
Duke of DC Ride and Review Video
1 - 14 of 14 Posts
Thats where the canyons come in...but have to be on the watch for gravel and road dirt
C'mon Steeve, the US is a big country. We have plenty of curvy roads in a number of different geographical areas. Want some corners? Try western North Carolina or most of Tennessee. Or north Georgia. Or the mountains in Colorado, Utah or California. We have plenty here.Wow, what a stunning review............
But am I glad I don't live in the US. You guys need some more bends on your roads.
There are definitely a lot of twisty places to ride in the US, just gotta find em' 
"Super ridiculously comfortable" sounds great though
"Super ridiculously comfortable" sounds great though
A couple of months back I started a thread about how this SS might be the perfect Ducati if you love the idea of superbike but frankly can't live with one day to day ... and the comparison came up about a BMW S1KR for the same (similar) money with way more stomp and tech ... and then I posted a graph of the dyno curves superimposed of the SS and the S1KR and noted that the torque in the most (mid) usable RPM spectrum were actually pretty close... and of course all this is just a pinch of statistics and and sprinkling of conjecture, although my engineering instincts are pretty good.
I thought I'd start adding some actual experiential data to my (up until now) conjecture about whether the SS would like feel lacking in the power department on the street compared to the super nakeds... I took the 2017 S1KR out for a test ride today (thanks to tim at toronto bmw). I did a couple of laps around the city and had a most excellent biking playcation. Was out for almost an hour and a half at a sunny 10C (50F) A few impressions ... then my conclusion...
1) VERY big power/torque everywhere. Geared short (6k RPM in 6th 130kph) My last bikes were a Duc 1198S and MS1200 ... (i4 BMW K-sport tourers before)
2) The engine is as smooth as a pound of butter - "0" vibes in bars, mirrors, butt, pegs
3) Ergs are perfect (i'm 5-11, 220), easy grasp of bars, roomy seat, pegs sporty side of sport touring
4) Brakes are right off a superbike - stellar - pinky modulation
5) With the whatever bmw little bikini fairing wind is not an issue until keeping your license is ...
6) Although it feels a little wide at the knees, it is super nimble .... It is point and shoot fast. except at parking maneuvering, the steering lock comes quick and you run out of turn/lean
7) Mirrors are 1/2 useful
8) I could figure out the electronics on the fly without having had any instruction (DDC, TC,lap timers etc.) Screen not always easy to read tho' especially in the sun ...
9) A surprising amount of engine braking off-throttle. It's not good or bad really ... just that it struck me ...
10) Speaking of throttle, response is simply perfect down to idle and up again
11) Even in 50F ambient, temp climbs to 220F at stop lights. didn't feel any tho' even in regular jeans ...
12) The DDC is pretty cool. Its ROAD anywhere but on the track really ...
So the question is ... Is that the bike? 10 considerations above, and "out of the park" on all of them that are rate-able ... should have left my deposit, no? ... it would be a romp around bike not not primary transportation, not going across the country ... although you probably could do anything with it really...
I actually don't think so ... Too much of a good thing is not necessarily better .... Peak torque arrives at about the same time as your jail sentence ... around 9k RPM, about 180kph (calculated not observed of course). I think I pushed it to 7k couple of times and even then you're looking back at 150kph in 6th ... or wheelieville in any other gear ...
Grab any amount of throttle and you find yourself in a neighbouring galaxy .... and when you get on the brakes, you lose time zones ... It all happens so quickly.
Note that it is totally rideable at lower speeds but it just isn't any fun.
Overall, I did find the ride overall a bit harsh (toronto roads are bad) and the power delivery too ... it hits hard everywhere ... It reminds me of the K1200S a bit but the S1KR is way higher strung ... In the end I found it a bit tiresome and I think I'd be riding way too fast ... The SS is making more and more sense methinks ...
It's a super comfortable superbike, not a streetbike.
I thought I'd start adding some actual experiential data to my (up until now) conjecture about whether the SS would like feel lacking in the power department on the street compared to the super nakeds... I took the 2017 S1KR out for a test ride today (thanks to tim at toronto bmw). I did a couple of laps around the city and had a most excellent biking playcation. Was out for almost an hour and a half at a sunny 10C (50F) A few impressions ... then my conclusion...
1) VERY big power/torque everywhere. Geared short (6k RPM in 6th 130kph) My last bikes were a Duc 1198S and MS1200 ... (i4 BMW K-sport tourers before)
2) The engine is as smooth as a pound of butter - "0" vibes in bars, mirrors, butt, pegs
3) Ergs are perfect (i'm 5-11, 220), easy grasp of bars, roomy seat, pegs sporty side of sport touring
4) Brakes are right off a superbike - stellar - pinky modulation
5) With the whatever bmw little bikini fairing wind is not an issue until keeping your license is ...
6) Although it feels a little wide at the knees, it is super nimble .... It is point and shoot fast. except at parking maneuvering, the steering lock comes quick and you run out of turn/lean
7) Mirrors are 1/2 useful
8) I could figure out the electronics on the fly without having had any instruction (DDC, TC,lap timers etc.) Screen not always easy to read tho' especially in the sun ...
9) A surprising amount of engine braking off-throttle. It's not good or bad really ... just that it struck me ...
10) Speaking of throttle, response is simply perfect down to idle and up again
11) Even in 50F ambient, temp climbs to 220F at stop lights. didn't feel any tho' even in regular jeans ...
12) The DDC is pretty cool. Its ROAD anywhere but on the track really ...
So the question is ... Is that the bike? 10 considerations above, and "out of the park" on all of them that are rate-able ... should have left my deposit, no? ... it would be a romp around bike not not primary transportation, not going across the country ... although you probably could do anything with it really...
I actually don't think so ... Too much of a good thing is not necessarily better .... Peak torque arrives at about the same time as your jail sentence ... around 9k RPM, about 180kph (calculated not observed of course). I think I pushed it to 7k couple of times and even then you're looking back at 150kph in 6th ... or wheelieville in any other gear ...
Grab any amount of throttle and you find yourself in a neighbouring galaxy .... and when you get on the brakes, you lose time zones ... It all happens so quickly.
Note that it is totally rideable at lower speeds but it just isn't any fun.
Overall, I did find the ride overall a bit harsh (toronto roads are bad) and the power delivery too ... it hits hard everywhere ... It reminds me of the K1200S a bit but the S1KR is way higher strung ... In the end I found it a bit tiresome and I think I'd be riding way too fast ... The SS is making more and more sense methinks ...
It's a super comfortable superbike, not a streetbike.
So the question is ... Is that the bike? 10 considerations above said:So, you compared the S1000R to the Supersport Ducati because of price, right? Must have, as otherwise I don't think they're very comparable at all. Faired versus naked bike. Over 160 HP versus 113. Generic versus beautiful. Based on this, I guess the Supersport really doesn't have a direct competitor..
Very nicely done video review. Still waiting on the call from my Dealer here in Hawaii. He stated we should see it at the end of the month.
I had an S1000XR for 3 days last weekend. I have to agree with everything above regarding the engine part. The XR is a bit more relaxed than the S1000R, but still is an awesome bike. So much torque - everywhere and once you get past 7K rpm, the power is intoxicating. For such a big bike, it is very nimble and most definitely the best bike I've ridden through corners. The notorious vibrations at highway speeds are there but nothing too off-putting.A couple of months back I started a thread about how this SS might be the perfect Ducati if you love the idea of superbike but frankly can't live with one day to day ... and the comparison came up about a BMW S1KR for the same (similar) money with way more stomp and tech ... and then I posted a graph of the dyno curves superimposed of the SS and the S1KR and noted that the torque in the most (mid) usable RPM spectrum were actually pretty close... and of course all this is just a pinch of statistics and and sprinkling of conjecture, although my engineering instincts are pretty good.
I thought I'd start adding some actual experiential data to my (up until now) conjecture about whether the SS would like feel lacking in the power department on the street compared to the super nakeds... I took the 2017 S1KR out for a test ride today (thanks to tim at toronto bmw). I did a couple of laps around the city and had a most excellent biking playcation. Was out for almost an hour and a half at a sunny 10C (50F) A few impressions ... then my conclusion...
1) VERY big power/torque everywhere. Geared short (6k RPM in 6th 130kph) My last bikes were a Duc 1198S and MS1200 ... (i4 BMW K-sport tourers before)
2) The engine is as smooth as a pound of butter - "0" vibes in bars, mirrors, butt, pegs
3) Ergs are perfect (i'm 5-11, 220), easy grasp of bars, roomy seat, pegs sporty side of sport touring
4) Brakes are right off a superbike - stellar - pinky modulation
5) With the whatever bmw little bikini fairing wind is not an issue until keeping your license is ...
6) Although it feels a little wide at the knees, it is super nimble .... It is point and shoot fast. except at parking maneuvering, the steering lock comes quick and you run out of turn/lean
7) Mirrors are 1/2 useful
8) I could figure out the electronics on the fly without having had any instruction (DDC, TC,lap timers etc.) Screen not always easy to read tho' especially in the sun ...
9) A surprising amount of engine braking off-throttle. It's not good or bad really ... just that it struck me ...
10) Speaking of throttle, response is simply perfect down to idle and up again
11) Even in 50F ambient, temp climbs to 220F at stop lights. didn't feel any tho' even in regular jeans ...
12) The DDC is pretty cool. Its ROAD anywhere but on the track really ...
So the question is ... Is that the bike? 10 considerations above, and "out of the park" on all of them that are rate-able ... should have left my deposit, no? ... it would be a romp around bike not not primary transportation, not going across the country ... although you probably could do anything with it really...
I actually don't think so ... Too much of a good thing is not necessarily better .... Peak torque arrives at about the same time as your jail sentence ... around 9k RPM, about 180kph (calculated not observed of course). I think I pushed it to 7k couple of times and even then you're looking back at 150kph in 6th ... or wheelieville in any other gear ...
Grab any amount of throttle and you find yourself in a neighbouring galaxy .... and when you get on the brakes, you lose time zones ... It all happens so quickly.
Note that it is totally rideable at lower speeds but it just isn't any fun.
Overall, I did find the ride overall a bit harsh (toronto roads are bad) and the power delivery too ... it hits hard everywhere ... It reminds me of the K1200S a bit but the S1KR is way higher strung ... In the end I found it a bit tiresome and I think I'd be riding way too fast ... The SS is making more and more sense methinks ...
It's a super comfortable superbike, not a streetbike.
Such a shame though coz with all these fantastic attributes, I still found it a bit boring! **** I would rather take an R1200GS or RS over this, coz the boxer has character.
Anyway, the wait continues here in Australia for the Supersport. :|
Geezus...where was this vid shot? I agree with steeve...those are some dull roads to ride! Four miles from my place I'm in the twisties (with effectively no traffic) heading up into the mountains above the coast that offer hours of amazing riding.
Over the years I've spent quite a bit of time in the US, with a big chunk of that in North Carolina, in the Raleigh area. I did find some twisty roads but still wasn't too impressed (sorry).C'mon Steeve, the US is a big country. We have plenty of curvy roads in a number of different geographical areas. Want some corners? Try western North Carolina or most of Tennessee. Or north Georgia. Or the mountains in Colorado, Utah or California. We have plenty here.
We only need travel a few miles to amazing biking roads.
Duke of DC lives in suburban Virginia and this video was shot while he was riding the demo bike from his local Ducati dealer, which is in Maryland. While its not the best representation of the twisties, I am sure that he couldn't go to far from the dealer. He has demo'd other bikes from that same dealer and even though they know him, I am sure that he cant take the bike out all day and far enough up into the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. His review is solid and honest, which I respect because he rides many different bikes.Geezus...where was this vid shot? I agree with steeve...those are some dull roads to ride! Four miles from my place I'm in the twisties (with effectively no traffic) heading up into the mountains above the coast that offer hours of amazing riding.
Over the years I've spent quite a bit of time in the US, with a big chunk of that in North Carolina, in the Raleigh area. I did find some twisty roads but still wasn't too impressed (sorry).
We only need travel a few miles to amazing biking roads.
Here's a rough may of the U.S. over Europe. I think you missed a few sections when you were in Raleigh. :wink2:
Here in Toronto. early May before a demo shows up ...
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