I woke up on a new Ducati.

[CycleCam303]

As some of you may know I got back into motorcycling again. I took my new 2013 Ducati 848 evo and started it for the 2nd time ever. I had it over at Ducati Dave's place. I cleaned it up and tore all the safety stickers off of it. It officially has 13 miles on it. I'm following ducati's break in procedure. Im not supposed to rev it over 5.5k. Which is really hard since the thing is so revvy. I need to take it for a more thorough test ride. I'll just say that this is an amazing machine. It feels like it was built for me.

A review is coming...

[tfkrocks]

Pft. Ride it like you stole it.

[Gurk]

Wheelie videos or bust!

Love the matte. Good work.

[CycleCam303]

We're gonna have fun next week. It won't be long before I'm riding this thing like my little ninja. I can't wait to scrub the tires in on a twisty road. All the magazines make it seem like the ducs require some muscle bound freak to turn them. I swear I need to ride your bike again because I'm sure my 848 tips in just as fast. And just because I'm only using half the revs doesn't mean I'm slow. I look down and I'm already doing 60 hahaha.

[psych0hans]

Congratulations Buddy!!! That's one sweet ride

[CycleCam303]

Originally Posted by Gurk

Wheelie videos or bust!

Love the matte. Good work.

I think it looks good in photos. But when you see the thing in real life its just jaw droppingly gorgeous.

I really need to invest in a go pro. Not for the wheelies but the noise it makes.

[psych0hans]

Ducatis are soooooo damn expensive here in India... It's like 25000$ for a used 1198... A used 848 evo would be in the range of 20,000$... Even a new Daytona 675R is 20k+ otd...

[csmith12]

Last year at Mid-Ohio, we uncrated one of these in red in the paddock. It's first miles where track miles. lol

Gratz, looks awesome in matt.

[warlord]

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

As some of you may know I got back into motorcycling again. I took my new 2013 Ducati 848 evo and started it for the 2nd time ever. I had it over at Ducati Dave's place. I cleaned it up and tore all the safety stickers off of it. It officially has 13 miles on it. I'm following ducati's break in procedure. Im not supposed to rev it over 5.5k. Which is really hard since the thing is so revvy. I need to take it for a more thorough test ride. I'll just say that this is an amazing machine. It feels like it was built for me.

A review is coming...

Very nice! Love the matte black color. I'll be heading over to Ducati this week and I'll probably end up taking home an 2014 Panigale 899 unless I can't help myself and get an 1199 instead.

Good luck getting it through the break-in, sounds like you have some restraint to try and exercise...

[alex.s]

ducatis are so much fun. wheelie machines! but i like the street fighter 848 better. you know what they say cam, ducati owners are douches! you better let me ride your bike for you instead.

[mania]

Beautiful bike congrats

Those are very reasonably priced in the US
Well worth the price
Have fun

[ninjamunky85]

Not really a fan of the flat black though. It hides those sexy lines of the bike too much. Even though I'm not a big fan of red, on this bike it would be more appropriate... I mean it is a Ducati.

Just my two cents, still an awesome bike.

[Sirref]

I came to this thread expecting a video parody
I'm disappointed but said video can still be made

[CycleCam303]

Originally Posted by Sirref

I came to this thread expecting a video parody
I'm disappointed but said video can still be made

I'm impressed that you got that joke in the title. And yes that should happen.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

I'm impressed that you got that joke in the title. And yes that should happen.

I spent the better part of a month listening to that song since I was chilling with a group of wanna be ricers around the time it came out for various reasons.

[backinthesaddleagain]

congrats and good luck! enjoy.

[250rr]

You are obviously a discerning and capable motorcyclist! Congrats!

[alex.s]

hey cam what's the maintenance look like on an 848? i'm thinking about buying a 848 SF

[250rr]

Originally Posted by alex.s

hey cam what's the maintenance look like on an 848? i'm thinking about buying a 848 SF

I like those. A lot.

[alex.s]

[250rr]

I hear what you're saying. I just don't know what you mean.

[CycleCam303]

Originally Posted by alex.s

hey cam what's the maintenance look like on an 848? i'm thinking about buying a 848 SF

To keep the warranty (2 year unlimited mile) you have to do the regular maintenance services at a Ducati dealership. Kinda expensive.

Change the oil at 7k, 7.5k you need to get the belts changed and a valve check. Valve adjustment happens at 16k. Also you have to change the belts every 3 years even if you're putting 1000 miles a year like most Ducati owners. Also the 848 motors are pretty reliable. The post 2008 motors are solid. Belt jobs run about $800.

I won't be putting many miles on my bike its pretty much a race bike with lights. It'll cook you in traffic or at a stop light. One of the guys I used to ride with daily rides his street fighter 848. He had a couple complaints but rides the crap out of it.

[rojoracing53]

Good thing you got good money for your Ninjette, should just about cover an exhuast for this beast

[rojoracing53]

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

I won't be putting many miles on my bike its pretty much a race bike with lights. It'll cook you in traffic or at a stop light.

It traffic hell these things always seem to catch fire on me while on the track . Yes I've actually raced ducati's twice and both times while leading the race they burst into flames and stopped running for some reason

[250rr]

Originally Posted by rojoracing53

It traffic hell these things always seem to catch fire on me while on the track . Yes I've actually raced ducati's twice and both times while leading the race they burst into flames and stopped running for some reason

Fire. Bad. My greatest fear. Besides being beaten and left for dead in a Brazilian brothel.

[CycleCam303]

In two days I got the service engine light to illuminate on the instrument cluster. I'm thinking I've ridden enough to give an impression of my first "big" bike.

As some of you might already know I recently bought a black 2013 848 Evo. I never got a chance to test ride my bike because it wasn't even built yet. I picked it up with my truck and rode it home in the dark and that was literally the 2nd time it had been started. I figured even if the bike sucks to ride I could enjoy just looking at it. It is a bit flashy yet subtle in this strange way.

I appreciate all the nice little touches that the bike has. The gauge cluster is full of win. It supposedly is replicating a moto gp dash. It's a large LCD screen that displays a lot of information, rpm, oil temp, 3 trip meters, speed, a bunch of different warning lights, ambient air temp, and the best part a friggin CLOCK! I wish kawi put a clock on the 250. You can configure the dash to do a couple other things. There is a DDA (ducati data analyzer) which you can use to record 45 minutes of lap timing and throttle/brake/speed information. There is a way to set when the shift light come on and where the rev limit kicks in. You can actually neuter the bike by dropping the rev limit to 6k if you wanted to.

The dash illuminates white in the dark and reverts back to an digital clock like display as soon as light is detected. I would notice the dash changing as I went through some tunnels. Check this out. The low fuel light triggers a separate mileage counter that tells you how many miles you've put on since you've hit reserve. Also when I was sloshing the tank around in the twisties the fuel light would turn on and off. Every time the mileage counter would zero itself out to ensure you got an accurate mileage count. Super cool. All of the dash functions are set from a vertical lever on the left handlebar that can be controlled while riding.

Speaking of fuel, I actually was shocked at the fuel economy I'm getting. Mind you I'm breaking in the engine still and I'm not supposed to rev it over 5500 rpms for the first 600 miles. Red line is 10,750. @tfkrocks can confirm I pulled off a 50 mpg and a 46 mpg on a ride. The tank is small at 4.1 gallons. The reserve light turns on with 1.7 gallons left. The 46 mpg included riding hwy 1 and a few trips north of 120 mph. I thought a 849cc bike would drink fuel but baby the engine and it doesn't do too bad.

What's the bike like to ride? Enter the Ducati super bike experience. A range that includes awesome, quirky, to pain in the ass.

When I first left my friend's garage I learned of the not so awesome lack of steering lock this bike has. Remember those figure 8's you could bust out in the space of a couple parking spots? Yea, the duc needs the whole parking lot. You have to go into u turns fast, pull in the clutch, and lean the thing over like a dirt bike. My hands would get caught in between the fairings and the tank at full lock. You can't steer it with the bars at low speeds or you will go very wide.

Think of this bike as a race bike with a plate hanging off of it. The ergos have you in the missionary position. Lots of weight on the wrists. The position is perfect when the road is nothing but squiggly lines but don't think you'll be taking it to the grocery store. The under tail exhaust pipes also serve as a human bbq tool. Anything under 30 mph and my panties are soaked and not in the good way. Sitting at a stop light for a couple minutes will have you pouring sweat. The duc vibrates like a paint shaker. The mirrors shake so much you really can't tell what is behind you. O yea, @tfkrocks also watched as my bike literally rattles itself apart. I lost both my bar ends already lol. It's a tall bike, the suspension is rattle your teeth out stiff, and even though the clutch is a wet clutch, I've stalled the bike twice in traffic. And the clutch pull is really heavy.

Despite that, I will say that this bike is relatively easy to ride. It's very linear and surprisingly tame. The motor never surprises you. It actually feels soft in the lower rev range. It revs faster and pulls hard after 7k. But it doesn't feel like it wakes up and takes off like the Daytona 675 and all the 600s do after 10k. The engine braking isn't as strong as I thought it would be. Really it feels just right. The gearing works well for the street but took some getting used to. The 848 doesn't like being at anything less than 3k or it shudders violently. So 1st gear works best at anything sub 21 mph. And anything less than that will require some clutch. 1st is easy to modulate at those speeds though. In all honesty the duc doesn't feel very fast. It's not slow but it isn't the rocket ship the motor size and sound would have you believe. I'm also thinking it's deceptively fast. The lower revs probably attribute the bike to not feeling like you're hauling the mail.

What really gets me excited about the bike is the handling and braking. The 848 feels like it has cornering clearance for days. Get it cranked over and it feels better than when it's upright. I found it extremely confidence inspiring. The bike talks to me and I found myself using the front brake all the way to the apex and jumping on the gas. The bike does require a lot of muscle to hustle it through the twisties. Transitions from left to right when I was hard on the gas showed that the duc requires it to be bossed around to get it to tip in. Proper form and hanging off will get the thing to steer pretty quickly. Mind you it came stock with pirelli supercorsas. But regardless I love the way this bike handles. I don't understand why all the magazine guys hate on the ducs.

The brakes are the best part of the bike. The Evo models come with brembo monobloc calipers. These brakes are perfect feeling to me. They have great feel and are super easy to modulate. At the same time they are so powerful that you feel like you can wait till you see elvis, jesus, mary, joseph, and brake when your life starts flashing by. On some of the steeper downhill parts of hwy 84 my friend was saying that he could see me floating the rear tire while I was clamped down on the brakes.

Despite that the bike is an absolute torture rack that is a vibrating mess, I love my new bike. The noise it makes is amazing, I like the way it handles, and the power is easily accessible and the torque makes for a great street bike. I had to lane split in San Francisco and on the bay bridge. It was great. I just left it in 2nd gear and I good go from 20 to 55 mph in a blink of an eye all without having to switch gears. This bike belongs on the track though. It wants to be revved out and laid over in a long sweeper.

TL;DR - The bike sounds way cool, the exhaust will melt your skin at stop lights, it's not a beginner bike, but with at least a year of experience most anyone could easily ride it and not die, it's fun being the few ducati owners that wring the crap out of a motorcycle that was bred for the track.

[CycleCam303]

How I break in brand new tires

[CycleCam303]

Jim at catalyst reaction setting up my suspension. I stopped bouncing in the seat on the freeway. I still need a softer spring and adjustable linkage to optimize the settings.

[CycleCam303]

Surprisingly I did a brief drag race with the fz09. It pulled about a bike length on me. Im telling you all that is the best street bike ever.

[Alex]

/merged

[CycleCam303]

And a big shout out to @tfkrocks. I always have fun riding with her. And she puts up with me chasing down squids on 280, revving out my bike in every tunnel, and throwing it in neutral and riding with no hands on the downhills when I get bored when slow cars are in the way. Haha

[tfkrocks]

You don't have to mention me that many times lol.

Oh good you got my bike's good side

[algs26]

Is this your Santana Row/Starbucks bike?

[CycleCam303]

Originally Posted by algs26

Is this your Santana Row/Starbucks bike?

Pretty much. Its a heavy steering bike, its about as fast as your average 600, and the cheaper gsx 750 will blow it away. But it looks hella cool and sounds the business. Just a cool street bike.

[Sirref]

I still prefer the street triple, I couldn't live with the vibration and lack of cornering at low speeds. Granted I do want a 600 which likely suffers from the same problems.

I must say though, even with the fact that ducati's make miserable daily riders due to the low speed lack of usability as well as the vibrations (Idk, are those too excessive or can you deal with it without issue day in/day out) they are stunningly beautiful bikes and I can't figure out why the reviewers hate on them so often.

[CycleCam303]

Its low speed handling isn't the issue. At normal street speeds its a great handling bike. Its when you're winding out the motor past 8k and doing a quick transition and your still hard on the throttle. The newer bikes are telepathic when it comes to steering. The 848 is very confidence inspiring once you get it cranked over. The bike likes it when you hang off and yank on the bars. Personally I like the deliberate inputs the bike likes.

[warlord]

Originally Posted by CycleCam303

Surprisingly I did a brief drag race with the fz09. It pulled about a bike length on me. Im telling you all that is the best street bike ever.

It's a good bike, and the price makes it great. The things that disappointed me about it are the tiny fuel tank they put on it in order to save weight and that it can't be set up touring-style like the old FZ08 could. It's definitely a solid hooligan bike.

[Sirref]

^ I agree, the fz-09 is a solid bike other than those small flaws. Street triple r is a bit better of an overall package at the moment though.

[CycleCam303]

Originally Posted by Sirref

^ I agree, the fz-09 is a solid bike other than those small flaws. Street triple r is a bit better of an overall package at the moment though.

The motor on the fz09 is such a better street motor/ripper. The street triple is a trick bike and depending on your taste it looks better. I just appreciate a wider powerband for street use. And that's exactly what would make the 675 perfect.

[Sirref]

the fully adjustable suspension in combination with the better appearance (subjective) makes me lean towards the STR between the two. The fz-09 seems like a world of fun though.