| Author | Message | ||
     12r |
Got passed by a Ducati on Saturday. I was doing a comfortable 75-85 mph on a fast, sweeping A-road when I spotted him in my mirror going 10-15 mph faster. It was an ‘05 749/999, red frame and ‘R’ seat unit, but with curiously quiet alloy cans. He breezed past without any acknowledgment and almost left the ground as he crested a rise in the road which, with typical British road builder’s mentality, has a blind turning on the left just beyond. I had already eased off slightly because of this but by the time I reached the top of the hill he was down the other side and passing a line of traffic at 100 mph+. Well, he was until one of the cars eased out in front of him and he painted a smoking skid mark on the Tarmac. With a blaze of brake lights and venomous gesticulation and he was off again, carving in front of the tractor at the head of the queue on the outside of a moderate left-hander and just missing the car coming the other way. To me it looked like an accident-in-waiting but maybe the guy rides that way all the time. He wasn't exactly the best ambassador for motorcycling but he was undeniably fast and it left me wondering if most Ducati Superbikes are ridden in the same way ? | ||
| Kaudette |
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I see many more 600's being ridden like that by underage, over testosterone, brain-deal idiots than 20K 999's... Not to say it doesn't happen, as your experience clearly shows, but it's never the bike, always the biker. Unfortunately spring time is the worst time - everyone getting out there again and simply being stupid because they forgot over the winter how one-time only life can be. | ||
| Jackbequick |
The Bayliss/Corser Ducati/Suzuki battle at the Valencia, Spain Superbike races yestererday was really good. The commentators mentioned that some feel that the V-twins have superior traction. And I think it implied that maybe even the tire life was better in the later laps on the Duke. That Corser lead most of the race and Bayliss did not pass until the last few laps of both races sort of bears that out. I was sort of taken aback in the post race interview when Bayliss said that they ran the same front tire in both races but had changed the rear. I'm thinking he must mean the same compound in the front tire, not the same actual tire? Seeing the Ducati do that well makes me wonder how exactly how uncompetitive a Buell would be there. I'm assuming it would be embarrassingly slower. Jack | ||
| Diablobrian |
You are correct, he meant the same compound. The twins do see a lot better tire life than the il4 bikes. The Buell does not make the HP numbers to be competitive is superbike, but it wasn't designed to be a superbike class racer either. |
