Ducati is back with the beautiful 1098S. MV has never been away, but the F4-1000R is the latest in along line of achingly attractive, ferociously fast sportsbikes. So which is best when you’ve got £14,000 to invest?
There are a lot of ways to scrape £14,000 together. Kidneys go for decent money nowdays, the volatile Chinese stock market could multiply your money in an instant, internet poker can reap rich rewards and we’ve not even touched upon the more illicit ways to garner the cash. For the risk averse and law abiding, you can always go down a conventional route and get on the phone to bank for loan and so long as they’ve got your house to repossess when it all goes belly up the money will be burning a hole in your pocket by weekend.
What I’m trying to say is that £14,000 isn’t a lot of money. Yes, it’s significant, especially when we’re used to paying nine grand for Japanese litre machine, but it’s an attainable amount of money if you really, really want something. Of course you could just work hard at school become an accountant or a city banker and buy one with the change from a 1982 Chateau Lafite that you downed at lunchtime, but think of all the shit you have to do to get into this position.
It just so happens that MV Agustas and Ducatis are the sort of machines that people really, really want. And when it comes to the Ducati 1098S and the F4-1000R all rationale goes out of the window. Because they’re objects of sheer beauty, with vicious intent. Enthusiasts, nay devotees will convince themselves that they can afford the crippling interest repayments, or at least they can live life with just the sole kidney and almost any sacrifice is worth it, just to own one of these machines. But which one?
Which bike to buy is a hard enough choice when confronted with the current crop of sportsbikes on offer for under 10 grand. These two prove that having more money doesn’t make that choice any easier.
First out of the traps is MV’s F4-1000R. Released during the summer of 2006, the R is a serious upgrade of the S model, itself emerging butterfly-like from the already beautiful cocoon of the 750 version launched way back in 1999. The F4-1000R boasts more power an up rated suspension but at no extra costs. Now that’s magic.
A speaking of trickery, Ducati has made the ignominious 999 an illusion, a figment of our collective imaginations, with the birth of the 1098, the true successor to the feted 998. Blessed with catwalk looks and disguising a killer punch, the 1098 resurrects everything that Ducati has been built on. Compromising not one job for performance nor style, the 1098 promises to deliver in every department, and in S form with its posh Ohlins suspension and fancy-dan wheels it really threatens not just the MV’s territory but makes the £5,000 leap from the Japanese competition as inconsequential as £5,000 can be.
Engines & Performance
You join us in the middle of a lightning-fast debate. Which configuration is definitively best? The Ducati’s s gutsy twin or the MV’s screaming inline tour? It's an argument that is rallying back and forth as the track sessions progress.
We’re used to the massive pull from Ducatis, but the MV's flavour is refreshingly different. Were not talking about any old inline four cylinder machine, no sireee ALL it takes is a steady out- lap to determine that MVs take on the inline four is a very different to how the Japanese approach the task.
There's no denying that the MV is fast but it's also furious. Furious as in snarling, angry, wild - something that needs taming- It couldn’t be any more opposed to, say, a Honda Fireblade whose 150bhp manners make you believe that it's part of the landed gentry. Hit the starter, and the gruff noise from the wonderfully creative bazooka pipes is all very encouraging, but you need to grab the F4-R by the scruff of the neck from this moment forward to get any enjoyment from it.
Aside from the uber-stiff chassis and suspension, the motor of the MV’s seems rock hard too, just like Begbie in Trainspotting. Much like hit mate's description of him, the MV is “a total fucking psycho, but he's a mate you know, so what can you do”. You're resigned to throttling the MV, so now it's down to the serious business of getting this bike to scream. Wind it up to five figures and that's exactly what it does, wailing in the sick pleasure of been thrashed to within an inch of its life (another version Super-Bike Italia had ranked out blew up on the dyno). Lamborghini has been involved with the development of the MV’s motor and you can sure as hell bet that it’s not been the forklift division giving the advice.
The rev counter winds its way all the way to 17,000rpm and there’s no doubt that without electronic regulation it would happily get to that level before it self destructed. But the fun stops at 13,000rpm only for the excitement to pile on again in another cog.
But life isn’t about full throttle, even on track. And that’s when the MV has shortcomings, the sort of shortcomings that you’d expect on a £4,000 bike, not £14,000 one.
Two problems dominate. The first is that there's just not enough drive from low down in the revs. Even on track where this phenomenon is likely to be masked, the kick that you’d expect from an inline four doesn't materialise until too far up the rev range. Its one thing boasting 8bhp extra and GSX- R- levels of power, but at times these claims seem distant.
The second problem is its behaviour at low revs. It there was purely a lack of power then que sera, but the new Magneti Marelli engine management system seems to be on standby unlit 6,000rpm. Hold the MV on a neutral throttle though a turn at 5,500rpm and the machine just surges back and forth as massages to the aging throttle bodies get cross wired. Mireval’s three- corner tight section highlighted these woes: with the bike seriously leant over the motor almost had a mind of its own.
The chassis lapped up the troubles, but it's off –putting to say the least to have a bike not wholly under your stewardship at 45-degrees of lean.
So that's the MV, fabulous but flawed. Some my say that the whole V-twin concept is flawed itself, especially in these days of absolute power of Japanese machinery, but there’s no denying that this new Ducati is completely fabulous.
It may take a little while for those two Ducati pistons to arise from their slumber, but once it’s awake it makes you glad to be alive. The bike pulls from as low as 4,000rpm in top about 70mph. This then transforms into an impressive tug to 7,000rpm when it then turns into pure, unadulterated joy until the soft limiter (cutting only one cylinder) comes in just above 10,000rpm. The characteristics of the 1098 are similar to the 999, but the next league up. Some free play in the throttle and the tiniest of snatches from the Magneti Marelli fuel injection are the mildest of complaints, and in the light of the F4- R they’re like nitpicking Telly Savalas.
Let’s take the downhill exit of Mireval’s turn one through to turn two as an example, The MV felt like a coal miner rushing at the Nottinghamshire constabulary during the miner’s strike. It was exciting, but fuelled by incensed emotion meaning that you truly has to hang on the bike. The rear would start skipping on the brakes as the bike was leant over on the brakes and changing down a gear was almost an act of faith. The Ducati, by comparison, could be gassed hard as the first corner opened up before it blitzed through a gear then hard on the brake ready to go down into second gear for the next turn all in complete control. Efficient, but so evocative. Every now and again I’d be in the mood for tackling this on the MV, but the effortlessness of the Ducati meant consistency speed and control.
Whether the 1098S has quite the puff to rival its 1,000cc Japanese rival is another thing. Quick shifting into fourth for the back straight showed it had the pull from low down but with a low rev ceiling you often wished for just another 500 revs or so. Still, I guess we can wait for the 1098R soon.
EXHAUST
The 2-1-2 system is all new with thinner lighter walls and beautiful underseat silencers.
SUSPENSION
The front 43mm FG511 Ohlins suspension are an upgrade of the Showa kit on the base model. Titanium Nitrade is applied on the legs to reduce stiction. An Ohlins steering damper is used to calm any steering flap. At rear the S model also uses a 46PRC Ohlins unit with top-out spring that compliments the new linkage. The rear ride height adjustment is independent of preload.
INSTRUMENTS
Inspired by the MotoGP instrument panel, the 1098 gets a high tech look and also is used in the data acquisition system that can record how quickly you go down the shops. The Analyser itself is standard on the S model and can record 3.5 hours of data.
BRAKES
The 1098 is the first production machine to use Brembo Monobloc M4 brakes which use four 34mm pistons. The monobloc design rather than a bolted together construction method achieves higher rigidity. Disc size is now 330mm, although their weight has remained constant.
WHEELS
Nearly two kilos has been shaved from the forged Marchesini wheels to reduce unsprung weight and improve cornering. The rear now sports a 55-section rear tyre. If the Ohlins doesn't give the S away, then the red pin stripe on the wheels should it doesn't feature on the base model.
ENGINE
Ducati terms the 1098's engine, the Testastretta Evoluzione. This means, "That it's an evolution of the firm's Testastretta ('narrow head') motor. But more importantly, it means it's the most powerful production twin in history. The cylinders and head are new, the bore and stroke are now 104mm x 64.7mm (were 100mmx63.5mm) and the bike uses elliptical throttle bodies to increase air flow by 30%. The cylinder head now with a magnesium cover is a massive 3kg lighter. As a whole, the motor is 5kg lighter.
CHASSIS
Supposedly developed in conjunction with the race team, the 1098 uses the traditional steel trellis frame with wider diameter tubes, but with thinner walls increasing rigidity by 14% and losing 1.5kg. At the rear, the single-sided swingarm is back. Using aluminium castings around the connecting points with the bike (pivot point hub) and fabricate aluminium sections elsewhere it really is a thing of beauty.
SPECIFICATION: DUCATI 1098s
Engine
Type: I/c 8v, desmodromic V-twin
Displacement: 1098cc
Bore x Stroke: 104.0 x 64.7mm
Compression: 12.5:1
Carburation: Marelli EFI, elliptical throttle bodies
Gearbox: 6 speed
Power: 142.68bhp@9,168rpm
Torque: 85.52 lb ft@7,527rpm
Cycle Parts
Chassis: Tubular steel trellis
Suspension:
(Front) 43mm Ohlins USD forks with TiN, fully adjustable
(Rear) Fully adjustable with top-out spring Ohlins monoshock.
There are a lot of ways to scrape £14,000 together. Kidneys go for decent money nowdays, the volatile Chinese stock market could multiply your money in an instant, internet poker can reap rich rewards and we’ve not even touched upon the more illicit ways to garner the cash. For the risk averse and law abiding, you can always go down a conventional route and get on the phone to bank for loan and so long as they’ve got your house to repossess when it all goes belly up the money will be burning a hole in your pocket by weekend.
What I’m trying to say is that £14,000 isn’t a lot of money. Yes, it’s significant, especially when we’re used to paying nine grand for Japanese litre machine, but it’s an attainable amount of money if you really, really want something. Of course you could just work hard at school become an accountant or a city banker and buy one with the change from a 1982 Chateau Lafite that you downed at lunchtime, but think of all the shit you have to do to get into this position.
It just so happens that MV Agustas and Ducatis are the sort of machines that people really, really want. And when it comes to the Ducati 1098S and the F4-1000R all rationale goes out of the window. Because they’re objects of sheer beauty, with vicious intent. Enthusiasts, nay devotees will convince themselves that they can afford the crippling interest repayments, or at least they can live life with just the sole kidney and almost any sacrifice is worth it, just to own one of these machines. But which one?
Which bike to buy is a hard enough choice when confronted with the current crop of sportsbikes on offer for under 10 grand. These two prove that having more money doesn’t make that choice any easier.
First out of the traps is MV’s F4-1000R. Released during the summer of 2006, the R is a serious upgrade of the S model, itself emerging butterfly-like from the already beautiful cocoon of the 750 version launched way back in 1999. The F4-1000R boasts more power an up rated suspension but at no extra costs. Now that’s magic.
A speaking of trickery, Ducati has made the ignominious 999 an illusion, a figment of our collective imaginations, with the birth of the 1098, the true successor to the feted 998. Blessed with catwalk looks and disguising a killer punch, the 1098 resurrects everything that Ducati has been built on. Compromising not one job for performance nor style, the 1098 promises to deliver in every department, and in S form with its posh Ohlins suspension and fancy-dan wheels it really threatens not just the MV’s territory but makes the £5,000 leap from the Japanese competition as inconsequential as £5,000 can be.
Engines & Performance
You join us in the middle of a lightning-fast debate. Which configuration is definitively best? The Ducati’s s gutsy twin or the MV’s screaming inline tour? It's an argument that is rallying back and forth as the track sessions progress.
We’re used to the massive pull from Ducatis, but the MV's flavour is refreshingly different. Were not talking about any old inline four cylinder machine, no sireee ALL it takes is a steady out- lap to determine that MVs take on the inline four is a very different to how the Japanese approach the task.
There's no denying that the MV is fast but it's also furious. Furious as in snarling, angry, wild - something that needs taming- It couldn’t be any more opposed to, say, a Honda Fireblade whose 150bhp manners make you believe that it's part of the landed gentry. Hit the starter, and the gruff noise from the wonderfully creative bazooka pipes is all very encouraging, but you need to grab the F4-R by the scruff of the neck from this moment forward to get any enjoyment from it.
Aside from the uber-stiff chassis and suspension, the motor of the MV’s seems rock hard too, just like Begbie in Trainspotting. Much like hit mate's description of him, the MV is “a total fucking psycho, but he's a mate you know, so what can you do”. You're resigned to throttling the MV, so now it's down to the serious business of getting this bike to scream. Wind it up to five figures and that's exactly what it does, wailing in the sick pleasure of been thrashed to within an inch of its life (another version Super-Bike Italia had ranked out blew up on the dyno). Lamborghini has been involved with the development of the MV’s motor and you can sure as hell bet that it’s not been the forklift division giving the advice.
The rev counter winds its way all the way to 17,000rpm and there’s no doubt that without electronic regulation it would happily get to that level before it self destructed. But the fun stops at 13,000rpm only for the excitement to pile on again in another cog.
But life isn’t about full throttle, even on track. And that’s when the MV has shortcomings, the sort of shortcomings that you’d expect on a £4,000 bike, not £14,000 one.
Two problems dominate. The first is that there's just not enough drive from low down in the revs. Even on track where this phenomenon is likely to be masked, the kick that you’d expect from an inline four doesn't materialise until too far up the rev range. Its one thing boasting 8bhp extra and GSX- R- levels of power, but at times these claims seem distant.
The second problem is its behaviour at low revs. It there was purely a lack of power then que sera, but the new Magneti Marelli engine management system seems to be on standby unlit 6,000rpm. Hold the MV on a neutral throttle though a turn at 5,500rpm and the machine just surges back and forth as massages to the aging throttle bodies get cross wired. Mireval’s three- corner tight section highlighted these woes: with the bike seriously leant over the motor almost had a mind of its own.
The chassis lapped up the troubles, but it's off –putting to say the least to have a bike not wholly under your stewardship at 45-degrees of lean.
So that's the MV, fabulous but flawed. Some my say that the whole V-twin concept is flawed itself, especially in these days of absolute power of Japanese machinery, but there’s no denying that this new Ducati is completely fabulous.
It may take a little while for those two Ducati pistons to arise from their slumber, but once it’s awake it makes you glad to be alive. The bike pulls from as low as 4,000rpm in top about 70mph. This then transforms into an impressive tug to 7,000rpm when it then turns into pure, unadulterated joy until the soft limiter (cutting only one cylinder) comes in just above 10,000rpm. The characteristics of the 1098 are similar to the 999, but the next league up. Some free play in the throttle and the tiniest of snatches from the Magneti Marelli fuel injection are the mildest of complaints, and in the light of the F4- R they’re like nitpicking Telly Savalas.
Let’s take the downhill exit of Mireval’s turn one through to turn two as an example, The MV felt like a coal miner rushing at the Nottinghamshire constabulary during the miner’s strike. It was exciting, but fuelled by incensed emotion meaning that you truly has to hang on the bike. The rear would start skipping on the brakes as the bike was leant over on the brakes and changing down a gear was almost an act of faith. The Ducati, by comparison, could be gassed hard as the first corner opened up before it blitzed through a gear then hard on the brake ready to go down into second gear for the next turn all in complete control. Efficient, but so evocative. Every now and again I’d be in the mood for tackling this on the MV, but the effortlessness of the Ducati meant consistency speed and control.
Whether the 1098S has quite the puff to rival its 1,000cc Japanese rival is another thing. Quick shifting into fourth for the back straight showed it had the pull from low down but with a low rev ceiling you often wished for just another 500 revs or so. Still, I guess we can wait for the 1098R soon.
EXHAUST
The 2-1-2 system is all new with thinner lighter walls and beautiful underseat silencers.
SUSPENSION
The front 43mm FG511 Ohlins suspension are an upgrade of the Showa kit on the base model. Titanium Nitrade is applied on the legs to reduce stiction. An Ohlins steering damper is used to calm any steering flap. At rear the S model also uses a 46PRC Ohlins unit with top-out spring that compliments the new linkage. The rear ride height adjustment is independent of preload.
INSTRUMENTS
Inspired by the MotoGP instrument panel, the 1098 gets a high tech look and also is used in the data acquisition system that can record how quickly you go down the shops. The Analyser itself is standard on the S model and can record 3.5 hours of data.
BRAKES
The 1098 is the first production machine to use Brembo Monobloc M4 brakes which use four 34mm pistons. The monobloc design rather than a bolted together construction method achieves higher rigidity. Disc size is now 330mm, although their weight has remained constant.
WHEELS
Nearly two kilos has been shaved from the forged Marchesini wheels to reduce unsprung weight and improve cornering. The rear now sports a 55-section rear tyre. If the Ohlins doesn't give the S away, then the red pin stripe on the wheels should it doesn't feature on the base model.
ENGINE
Ducati terms the 1098's engine, the Testastretta Evoluzione. This means, "That it's an evolution of the firm's Testastretta ('narrow head') motor. But more importantly, it means it's the most powerful production twin in history. The cylinders and head are new, the bore and stroke are now 104mm x 64.7mm (were 100mmx63.5mm) and the bike uses elliptical throttle bodies to increase air flow by 30%. The cylinder head now with a magnesium cover is a massive 3kg lighter. As a whole, the motor is 5kg lighter.
CHASSIS
Supposedly developed in conjunction with the race team, the 1098 uses the traditional steel trellis frame with wider diameter tubes, but with thinner walls increasing rigidity by 14% and losing 1.5kg. At the rear, the single-sided swingarm is back. Using aluminium castings around the connecting points with the bike (pivot point hub) and fabricate aluminium sections elsewhere it really is a thing of beauty.
SPECIFICATION: DUCATI 1098s
Engine
Type: I/c 8v, desmodromic V-twin
Displacement: 1098cc
Bore x Stroke: 104.0 x 64.7mm
Compression: 12.5:1
Carburation: Marelli EFI, elliptical throttle bodies
Gearbox: 6 speed
Power: 142.68bhp@9,168rpm
Torque: 85.52 lb ft@7,527rpm
Cycle Parts
Chassis: Tubular steel trellis
Suspension:
(Front) 43mm Ohlins USD forks with TiN, fully adjustable
(Rear) Fully adjustable with top-out spring Ohlins monoshock.
Brakes:
(Front) 2x330mm discs, four piston 2 pad radial Brembo Monobloc calipers
(Rear) 245mm disc two piston caliper
(Front) 2x330mm discs, four piston 2 pad radial Brembo Monobloc calipers
(Rear) 245mm disc two piston caliper
Wheel/Tyres:
Dunlop GP Racer
(Front) 120/70 ZR17
(Rear) 190/55 ZR17
Rake/Trail: 24 degree 30' - 24 degree 50'/97mm
Wheelbase: 1,430mm
Capacity: 15.5 liters (3.4 gal)
Dry Weight: 171kg (377lb)
Chassis and Handling
"The Ducati is a machine you keep on falling in love with. Playful yet serious, it's accurate but allows indiscretions, efficient yet full of soul"
If you get the feeling that the MV and Ducati are like chalk and cheese in the way they're powered then the way they handle really exacerbates this impression.
The limestone base of this equation comes in the form of MV’s steel trellis linked to the massive aluminum swingarm support plates and the huge single-sided swingarm itself. The seven-year-old technology may have worked in the era when stiffness was king but as the new millennium has progressed riders want more suppleness, more feeling and more composure from a machine.
The overriding impression of the F4-R is that it’s so ridiculously stiff that only circuits offering baize-like smoothness can benefit it. The F4-R's suspension hardly pitches in to help either. The chunky 50mm Marzocchi forks offer decent feeling, but I can’t help but feel that the Dunlop GP Racers are doing most of the work. The Sachs monoshock at the rear doesn’t have the sophistication of either the front forks or its rivals, meaning that delivering everything the massively powerful engine has to offer can be a dicey game.
Consequently, it takes a long time to get comfortable lapping quickly on the MV. Persist and the rewards come, but this is no machine for either the faint or the half- hearted. Grit your teeth and commit to going quicker and the MV comes along for the ride. And what a ride. Pitch the bike into a corner and it arcs into the turn well, holding a good line before aiming for the exit and firing out like a rocket propelled grenade, through a Baghdad suburb. This doesn't happen at every turn however, and the motor tends to upset the bike in slower corners, although you make lots of time up through the last stuff. The Brembo brakes don't offer massive feel but slow the F4-R down effectively and boy does it need slowing down times.
Despite massive concentration and two days worth of track time, at no point did I feel wholly comfortable with this vision in black. A tired session at the end of the second day was a sheer waste of petrol as I really couldn't muster the energy and near meditation levels of concentration to go at anything like a decent lick. MV returns to the TT this year with Martin Finnegan riding the F4-R in the superstock race and I really can't think of a worse bike to do it on. The time and place envelope for appreciating the F4-R is tiny. and it certainly doesn't encompass the TT. Martin good luck!
The Ducati, on the other hand, is a machine that you keep an falling in love with after every Lap. It's playful yet serious, accurate but allows indiscretions efficient but full of soul
The love affair begins at the first corner and continues tong into the day. The ergonomics work with yourr natural instincts, putting the right amount of weight through your wrists and over the front tyre to allow you to hunt corner after corner after corner. The lithe body allows your limbs to envelop it, you use your legs to level the 1098 this way and that apply pressure through the pegs to stand the Ducati up and then lay it down.
In conjunction with the sublime Ohlins suspension, the Ducati is an absolute breeze to ride right up to your previously perceived limits and beyond. The feel from the front is incredible, you feet as if you could notice whether the O'Sheas or Fitzgeralds laid the Tarmac. Where the MV felt clumsy at slower speeds, the Ducati excels, allowing the bike to be adjusted easily.
The old 999 found this trick difficult, once you were on a line, that’s where you stayed, but the 1098 allows you to experiment and roam across a track at will. The rear shock has been honed well to easily apply the 1098S’s muscular power with the Dunlop GP Race tyres. Fantastically stable at speed and hard on the Monobloc Brembo brakes, the Ducati really does tick all the boxes at the track.
Where the MV required complete concentration you think that you can do the crossword on Ducati all while achieving personal lap records. It’s the sort of bike that you’ll go to a track day on and bemoan the fact that sessions are only 20 minutes long because the 1098S is a bike that you’re not going to want to get off.
Dunlop GP Racer
(Front) 120/70 ZR17
(Rear) 190/55 ZR17
Rake/Trail: 24 degree 30' - 24 degree 50'/97mm
Wheelbase: 1,430mm
Capacity: 15.5 liters (3.4 gal)
Dry Weight: 171kg (377lb)
Chassis and Handling
"The Ducati is a machine you keep on falling in love with. Playful yet serious, it's accurate but allows indiscretions, efficient yet full of soul"
If you get the feeling that the MV and Ducati are like chalk and cheese in the way they're powered then the way they handle really exacerbates this impression.
The limestone base of this equation comes in the form of MV’s steel trellis linked to the massive aluminum swingarm support plates and the huge single-sided swingarm itself. The seven-year-old technology may have worked in the era when stiffness was king but as the new millennium has progressed riders want more suppleness, more feeling and more composure from a machine.
The overriding impression of the F4-R is that it’s so ridiculously stiff that only circuits offering baize-like smoothness can benefit it. The F4-R's suspension hardly pitches in to help either. The chunky 50mm Marzocchi forks offer decent feeling, but I can’t help but feel that the Dunlop GP Racers are doing most of the work. The Sachs monoshock at the rear doesn’t have the sophistication of either the front forks or its rivals, meaning that delivering everything the massively powerful engine has to offer can be a dicey game.
Consequently, it takes a long time to get comfortable lapping quickly on the MV. Persist and the rewards come, but this is no machine for either the faint or the half- hearted. Grit your teeth and commit to going quicker and the MV comes along for the ride. And what a ride. Pitch the bike into a corner and it arcs into the turn well, holding a good line before aiming for the exit and firing out like a rocket propelled grenade, through a Baghdad suburb. This doesn't happen at every turn however, and the motor tends to upset the bike in slower corners, although you make lots of time up through the last stuff. The Brembo brakes don't offer massive feel but slow the F4-R down effectively and boy does it need slowing down times.
Despite massive concentration and two days worth of track time, at no point did I feel wholly comfortable with this vision in black. A tired session at the end of the second day was a sheer waste of petrol as I really couldn't muster the energy and near meditation levels of concentration to go at anything like a decent lick. MV returns to the TT this year with Martin Finnegan riding the F4-R in the superstock race and I really can't think of a worse bike to do it on. The time and place envelope for appreciating the F4-R is tiny. and it certainly doesn't encompass the TT. Martin good luck!
The Ducati, on the other hand, is a machine that you keep an falling in love with after every Lap. It's playful yet serious, accurate but allows indiscretions efficient but full of soul
The love affair begins at the first corner and continues tong into the day. The ergonomics work with yourr natural instincts, putting the right amount of weight through your wrists and over the front tyre to allow you to hunt corner after corner after corner. The lithe body allows your limbs to envelop it, you use your legs to level the 1098 this way and that apply pressure through the pegs to stand the Ducati up and then lay it down.
In conjunction with the sublime Ohlins suspension, the Ducati is an absolute breeze to ride right up to your previously perceived limits and beyond. The feel from the front is incredible, you feet as if you could notice whether the O'Sheas or Fitzgeralds laid the Tarmac. Where the MV felt clumsy at slower speeds, the Ducati excels, allowing the bike to be adjusted easily.
The old 999 found this trick difficult, once you were on a line, that’s where you stayed, but the 1098 allows you to experiment and roam across a track at will. The rear shock has been honed well to easily apply the 1098S’s muscular power with the Dunlop GP Race tyres. Fantastically stable at speed and hard on the Monobloc Brembo brakes, the Ducati really does tick all the boxes at the track.
Where the MV required complete concentration you think that you can do the crossword on Ducati all while achieving personal lap records. It’s the sort of bike that you’ll go to a track day on and bemoan the fact that sessions are only 20 minutes long because the 1098S is a bike that you’re not going to want to get off.
Styling & Ergonomics
Ducati dealerships around the world have all built little shrines in the corner of their showrooms to pay homage to Giandrea Fabbro, the 1098's designer (while consigning their pictures of Pierre Terblanche to the gentsl. Fabbro has not only designed a masterpiece, but has also designed a way for Ducati to get out of the shit. After years in the doldrums, dealerships are buzzing again, order books are full, and Ducati has refound its mojo.
Aesthetically and ergonomically the 1098S works perfectly. It suits the body (well. my 5'10- body) and fits the confines of a track like a glove. From the return of the single-sided swingarm (industrially pretty) to the wonderfully informative MotoGP style display. the Ducati evokes the legend of the 916, but for this modern era.
The MV Agusta F4-1000R retains much of the appeal it had at the F4-750 launch nearly eight years ago, but in many ways the lustre has faded. Ergonomically the bike is a nightmare, even on the track. Wrists hurt, muscles ache, brains fry after just a few laps, and although the screen is one of the best in the business, it doesn't allow you to hide from the machine's shortcomings. The wide fuel tank splays legs, making it feet like a tall machine and the thought of riding this bike through town is enough for me to apply for a monthly travel pass for the bus.
It's still a pretty machine, menacingly so in these dark hues, but it's easy to start picking out little flaws. The tacho needn't be marked all the way to 17,000rpm because the revs don't go anywhere near there, the mirrors are poor (as are the Ducati's), the pillion pegs took cheap and out of place and the faux carbon fibre just cheapens the overall look. Do not get me wrong, I still think it’s a pretty bike and would love to lift my garage door to reveal it to me each day, but the F4-R is like an nineties supermodel, past its prime. Still astonishingly beautiful, but aging all the same.
"It takes a long time to get comfortable lapping quickly on the MV. Persist, and the rewards come, but this is no machine for either the faint or the half-hearted"
DUCATI 1098
Sex. The seduction begins immediately. A long voluptuous figure wrapped in red, flashes a cheeky smile. The voice is deep and blue. Sliding an expectant, quivering thigh over its midriff, I reach for the giggle button. The earth moves.
Anyone who doesn’t fall in love with this bike before even throwing a leg over, has obviously had a stylectomy, or at best is suffering some sort of chronic shriveling of the funk glands. And has my sincere sympathies.
There really isn’t a single uncomplimentary angle from which to view the 1098. Which makes it all the more impressive that the single best angle from which to view it, is from above. The ride is most definitely the Parmesan on the Bolognese Essential.
Riding the 1098, I felt a real tactile connection to it. It was a reminder of why big twins of all persuasions have such a cult like following. Only there has never been a road going big twin like this one.
Ducati hasn’t take any chances with the 1098 with styling nor specification. This chassis package hasn’t just been thrown together using the boutique spec theory. That if you use Ohlins and Brembo kit, people will think that it works and buy it. This chassis has been thoroughly thought out and ‘set up’. The firm factory settings are race ready. Braking stability is phenomenal, as is the amount of feel and grip at the back, leaving your right fist free to do virtually whatever it pleases.
The best attempt I can make at being critical is wanting an extra 500rpm to save a gear change here an there, and that there isn’t one sitting in my garage right now.
“It’s a fairly rare occasion when something that looks this good has the performance to back it up.”
And all those lucky people who got their order in early know exactly what I’m talking about. Enjoy.
MV AGUSTA F4-1000R
Sex and violence. A dark mysterious figure stares me out from across showroom, one eye on my bravado one eye on my wallet. Menacingly confident. Dangerously sexy. Immaculately dressed, sharp enough to slit your throat. I’m left wondering if I’m in for the ride or the fight of my life. It turns out to be both.
There is no pussying about with the MV. Anything less than full commitment simply won’t get you any satisfaction, or understanding for the nature of the beast. It would be easy ti dismiss this bike as just being an instrument of torture wrapped in designer clothes. And it wasn't till I got angry at it and started to fight back that I started to appreciate its true purpose. What we have here is a no compromise track bike. It responds to aggression and feeds off your fear. At full chat the noise is deliciously distracting. You'll probably need to double up on earplugs to concentrate fully on where the road is going next. And concentrate you must.
It's not comfortable. It's not sensible. It's not normal. It's probably not even affordable. But when used as intended, it's a complete sensory overload. And that's just the point. We need bikes like this to remind what motorcycles are for. They are our daily fix of fear, our escape, a statement of defiance and our desire materialized or is that just me?
SUSPENSION
Massively wide 50mm Marzocchi forks are fitted for the first time and have a wide array of adjustment. The Scahs ahock at the rear has high and medium speed sompression as well as hydrulic preload adjustment. An Ohlins steering damper is also included.
ENGINE
The 998cc version of the F4 has been around for three years, but the F4-R got a significant overhaul last year. The combustion chamber saw the most radical work with valve angles changing. Pistons are all new and the Magneti Marelli electronic management system was completely overhauled. The system incorporates an engine brake system (EBS) to control torque under breaking where a bypass valve on the second cylinder lets some air flow under breaking to moderate the engine braking effect. The results make 8bhp stronger than S model and also make it the world's fasters production motorcycle after averaging 185.882mph at 2006's Bonneville Speedweek.
INSTRUMENTS
A bit dated by now, and made to look like a ZX-81 compared with the Sony Vaio-level of clockage on the 1098. Pointless tacho revs to 17k and the fact the clocks are the same shape as the master cylinders is a bit old now.
BRAKES
The Brembo Monobloc P4/34 radial brake calipers fly in the face of Ducati's claims to be the first bike to use such calipers. Still they're strong and are effective from the first millimeter of travel to the last dying squeeze, although there's not as much feel from them through the stiff suspension.
WHEELS
Forged aluminium wheels are branded Brembo despite Marchesini being owned by Brembo
CHASSIS
The chrome-molybdenum steel tube chassis is the source of the F4-R's stiffness, and is built within an MV owned facility. The trellis is connected to the rear via the big swingarm pivot plates, themselves linking up with the massive swingarm.
SPECIFICATIONS: MV AGUSTA F4-1000R
Engine
Type: I/c 16v, Inline 4, DOHC radial valve
Displacement: 998cc
Bore x Stroke: 76.0 x 55.0mm
Compression: 13.0:1
Carburation: Weber Marelli 5SM EFI
Gearbox: 6 speed
Power: 154.04bhp@11,621rpm
Torque: na
Cycle Parts
Chassis: CrMo Steel tubular trellis
Suspension:
(Front) 50mm Marzocchi USD forks, fully adjustable
(Rear) Fully adjustable (inc high/low speed adjust) Sachs monoshock.
(Front) 50mm Marzocchi USD forks, fully adjustable
(Rear) Fully adjustable (inc high/low speed adjust) Sachs monoshock.
Brakes:
(Front) 2x320mm discs, four piston Brembo radial calipers
(Rear) 210mm disc four piston caliper
(Front) 2x320mm discs, four piston Brembo radial calipers
(Rear) 210mm disc four piston caliper
Wheel/Tyres:
Dunlop GP Racer
(Front) 120/70 ZR17
(Rear) 190/55 ZR17
Rake/Trail: Na/103.8mm
Wheelbase: 1,408mm
Capacity: 21 liters (4.6 gal)
Dry Weight: 192kg (423lb)
Dunlop GP Racer
(Front) 120/70 ZR17
(Rear) 190/55 ZR17
Rake/Trail: Na/103.8mm
Wheelbase: 1,408mm
Capacity: 21 liters (4.6 gal)
Dry Weight: 192kg (423lb)
2 comments:
The ever best comment abaut MV Agusta
Exactly, the 2007 Mv Agusta f4 1000r, what a perfect cult superbike😀
Post a Comment