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990 Posts
Just broke 2200 miles this morning on my 959 and thought I would share my impressions now that I have a little more experience with the machine. I purchased this bike new in March of 2016, so have had about 7 months now to become accustomed to it and get things sorted out. This is my first Ducati, having come from a long line of Japanese I-4 sportbikes, so you may need to filter any of my comments through that lens.
First off engine power is great, good low end, decent midrange and smooth power right up to the redline. No complaints here, I do aggressive back road riding and you really don't need any more power than this has on offer. The quick shifter is smooth and trouble free and does a great job of keeping the engine on the boil right in it's sweet spot.
The L-4 mill is nearly vibration free allowing only the pleasant twin cylinder power pulses to get through to the bars, seat and grips.
Speaking of seat, there's been a lot of complaints about the under seat rear exhaust and rear cylinder heating up the butt and thighs but since I started using full leathers for every ride, this has not been an issue for me. In jeans, especially in the summer time, it can be a bit toasty but only when slowing for stop and go traffic.
The transmission and clutch are buttery smooth and the gear ratios seem well matched to the engine's powerband.
I have my traction control set on level 3 and it seems seamless on the backroads, no harsh intervention, so good stuff.
ABS is set on Level 1 for minimum intervention and I've never felt it activate.
My EBC (Engine Braking Control) is on Level 2 which gives some but not excessive engine braking when rolling off the throttle.
The Brembo brakes are good, not great in my humble opinion, offering a soft initial pull, good modulation and feel and decent stopping power overall.
My 959 starts easily every time, hot or cold and I have not suffered any mechanical issues thus far.
Fit and finish on the bike is excellent and paint durability seems good so far.
Servicing this bike is expensive, I changed my own engine oil and filter at the first service and it set me back $158...ouch. I'm used to $29 home oil changes on the Jap bikes so be prepared to take a hit in the wallet.
Ergonomics on the 959 are a little different if you are used to Jap sportbikes. It's narrow through the waist and takes some getting used to if you like to hang off in the turns. You have to develop the touch points that work for you as the anorexic fuel tank offers little in the way of support, still working on finding my comfort zone here. Fortunately the foot pegs work, they're well knurled and offer superior grip for your boot. The bars are wide and offer high leverage when muscling over into a turn. Overall riding comfort is about average for a sportbike with the overall feeling of sitting on the bike rather than in it. It works well for back road apex strafing but not my first choice for a long commute or freeway droning.
Now to handling and this is where I have had some issues. On smooth corners the bike locks in like it's on rails so all good so far. What is not so good is the suspension action on less than smooth turns where I was experiencing excessive chassis pitch on standard suspension suspensions settings where the bike was slow to settle in to the corners. I have been all over the suspension clickers and preload adjustments and finally settled in on the suggested race settings from the owner's manual except for front preload where I ended up one turn less than standard to sharpen the turn in. This has given the best overall compromise between bump compliance and control with the bike settling in to the turns better now but it has a very stiff and unyielding ride. The bike seems to skip off the sharp edge bumps rather than absorb them gracefully. Part of this may be down to the frameless monocoque design and part due to excessive high speed compression damping front and rear. Unfortunately, there are no adjustments for this on the stock suspension components, only low speed compression adjustments are available, so an internal revalve on both the forks and shock may be the only real fix.
Another handling issue is the lack of feel or feedback when burying the front end in a corner. I can't feel what's going on down at the front contact patch so it is difficult to have full confidence where the front tire's traction limit actually is. The front tire doesn't slip when heeled over, it's just like I'm riding by Braille, feeling for traction in the front.
Lastly is engine surging. Not everyone appears to have this issue but there are others I've talked to that do. When in the closed loop operating range at around 5000 rpm, my engine bucks and surges like it's running lean. This is more of an annoyance when riding in a straight line but when it happens in a turn, the snatchy off-on throttle response can upset the chassis. I've started using a lower gear in the corners to keep the engine spinning above the problem area but the overall fix is going to be a piggyback fueling module like the Rapid Bike unit.
That's all I have for now but will report back when I have 4000 miles. I think this bike is just going to take some time for me to adjust to.
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First off engine power is great, good low end, decent midrange and smooth power right up to the redline. No complaints here, I do aggressive back road riding and you really don't need any more power than this has on offer. The quick shifter is smooth and trouble free and does a great job of keeping the engine on the boil right in it's sweet spot.
The L-4 mill is nearly vibration free allowing only the pleasant twin cylinder power pulses to get through to the bars, seat and grips.
Speaking of seat, there's been a lot of complaints about the under seat rear exhaust and rear cylinder heating up the butt and thighs but since I started using full leathers for every ride, this has not been an issue for me. In jeans, especially in the summer time, it can be a bit toasty but only when slowing for stop and go traffic.
The transmission and clutch are buttery smooth and the gear ratios seem well matched to the engine's powerband.
I have my traction control set on level 3 and it seems seamless on the backroads, no harsh intervention, so good stuff.
ABS is set on Level 1 for minimum intervention and I've never felt it activate.
My EBC (Engine Braking Control) is on Level 2 which gives some but not excessive engine braking when rolling off the throttle.
The Brembo brakes are good, not great in my humble opinion, offering a soft initial pull, good modulation and feel and decent stopping power overall.
My 959 starts easily every time, hot or cold and I have not suffered any mechanical issues thus far.
Fit and finish on the bike is excellent and paint durability seems good so far.
Servicing this bike is expensive, I changed my own engine oil and filter at the first service and it set me back $158...ouch. I'm used to $29 home oil changes on the Jap bikes so be prepared to take a hit in the wallet.
Ergonomics on the 959 are a little different if you are used to Jap sportbikes. It's narrow through the waist and takes some getting used to if you like to hang off in the turns. You have to develop the touch points that work for you as the anorexic fuel tank offers little in the way of support, still working on finding my comfort zone here. Fortunately the foot pegs work, they're well knurled and offer superior grip for your boot. The bars are wide and offer high leverage when muscling over into a turn. Overall riding comfort is about average for a sportbike with the overall feeling of sitting on the bike rather than in it. It works well for back road apex strafing but not my first choice for a long commute or freeway droning.
Now to handling and this is where I have had some issues. On smooth corners the bike locks in like it's on rails so all good so far. What is not so good is the suspension action on less than smooth turns where I was experiencing excessive chassis pitch on standard suspension suspensions settings where the bike was slow to settle in to the corners. I have been all over the suspension clickers and preload adjustments and finally settled in on the suggested race settings from the owner's manual except for front preload where I ended up one turn less than standard to sharpen the turn in. This has given the best overall compromise between bump compliance and control with the bike settling in to the turns better now but it has a very stiff and unyielding ride. The bike seems to skip off the sharp edge bumps rather than absorb them gracefully. Part of this may be down to the frameless monocoque design and part due to excessive high speed compression damping front and rear. Unfortunately, there are no adjustments for this on the stock suspension components, only low speed compression adjustments are available, so an internal revalve on both the forks and shock may be the only real fix.
Another handling issue is the lack of feel or feedback when burying the front end in a corner. I can't feel what's going on down at the front contact patch so it is difficult to have full confidence where the front tire's traction limit actually is. The front tire doesn't slip when heeled over, it's just like I'm riding by Braille, feeling for traction in the front.
Lastly is engine surging. Not everyone appears to have this issue but there are others I've talked to that do. When in the closed loop operating range at around 5000 rpm, my engine bucks and surges like it's running lean. This is more of an annoyance when riding in a straight line but when it happens in a turn, the snatchy off-on throttle response can upset the chassis. I've started using a lower gear in the corners to keep the engine spinning above the problem area but the overall fix is going to be a piggyback fueling module like the Rapid Bike unit.
That's all I have for now but will report back when I have 4000 miles. I think this bike is just going to take some time for me to adjust to.
