Ducati 848: Anyone have one?

[nostatic]

I prefer the 848 in pearl white. Beautiful combination of color and lines.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by holtjv

You don't want my 675. It has typical british electronics.

Problem: CEL on and running on 2 cylinders?
Fix: remove fairings. remove steering damper to lift tank to nose around. Replace tank. Start engine. You're done!

Problem: ECU indicates overheated engine on stone cold engine. CEL on.
Fix: Stop bike just off the track, shut it down. Talk to corner worker for 7 minutes. Start bike. You're done! (this happened 3x). Take to dealer since under warranty. They can't recreate the problem so...you're done!

Problem: ECU indicates no engine heat so runs exceedingly rich. CEL on. Repeat fix from problem above. You're done!!

Now, I had the underheating problem last Saturday when I rode the 848 and the bike wouldn't even start again. Waited a couple hours and..you guessed it! Fine! But then it died again after 1 lap so I parked it. Those who know at the track said it's surely the temperature sensor.

You think Italian electrics are better?

I have one word for you - Aprilia

[ramonesfreak]

i want one in white badly. just had to sell my zx7r so, when/if i do get another, it will be the 848. i see a few around town but have not ridden one yet...they sound awsome too

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by noah930

no disrespect to the 1098/848 bodystyle, which looks great, but i think your 900ss is one of the prettiest sportbikes ever. Only the hailwood replica looks better, imo. Or maybe an original '72 750ss.

+1

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I prefer the 848 in pearl white. Beautiful combination of color and lines.

Dying for white kit. I saw a white 848 parting out on ducati.ms and got tempted.

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Thats probably best for my wallet....

You can ride it if you like, though, being a brother pelican.

I'm going to get to Cresson soon, which isn't too far from you. Or at least it's closer than Austin or College Station.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Noah930

No disrespect to the 1098/848 bodystyle, which looks great, but I think your 900SS is one of the prettiest sportbikes ever. Only the Hailwood replica looks better, IMO. Or maybe an original '72 750SS.

Perhaps I'm a little tired from going to NY and back today, so it was a quick post and not very accurate. If I wanted to compare the two in Porsche terms, the 900SS is akin to a 934, my favorite in 911 styling. It's beautiful with a graceful brutish aesthetic. It looks every bit the part a 934 does, sharing the same purpose.

To my eye, the 848 looks like that new Porsche hybrid that's been posted here. A completely different look, same purpose, one that stirs the soul just as much, but just in a different way.

I guess.

Looks aside, I'd like to ride a modern bike like the 848 just to get a feel for what 15 years of technology has achieved. I love the fact that the 900SS always wants to go faster, I found myself doing 120 several times today on the Pike and 91 in deserted areas, and it only wanted to go faster whether through straights or long sweepers, you just have to think and look and lean where you want to go and it just does it, fast.

I can only imagine what a modern bike would be like.

gratuitous pic.

[nynor]

mmm.... 848 in pearl white.

mmm.... early supersport. i love the clean lines of the fairing on the early SS.

[holtjv]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

The 900SS tank has them all beat. Looks like a tight woman's bottom, dipped in Maker's Mark wax and nestled in the trellis frame ever so delicately.

Geez. And no wine tonight.

[nynor]

ok, you made me do it. gratuitous picture of jezebel, my italian mistress:

[Noah930]

Shaun,

The great things about your 900SS: It's simple. It's just a simple motor in a simple trellis frame (one that looks like you could make it yourself in your shop, as opposed to the extruded aluminum beams in funky CAD shapes that all the Japanese bikes run). When viewed head-on or directly from behind, you can see sunlight between the fairing and the chassis/motor. It's as if the fairing is just a little eggshell of plastic hung over the bike to deflect the wind away. Other than the two intakes flanking the headlight, there are no other extraneous scoops or ducts breaking up the beautiful lines of the bike.

Contrast that to most other sportbikes, including the 748/916/996/998, 749/999, and 1098/848. These bikes are packed so full of stuff, you can see the complication bulging from under the bodywork. There are coolant hoses, radiators, batteries mounted outboard the frame, etc. The superbikes might be "better," but they're certainly not as simple and pure as your 900SS. IMO, at least.

Of course, take a ride on a 4-valve bike, and your 85-90 HP 900SS will feel like an overweight moped in comparison. I haven't ridden the current 848/1098, but I took a 999S (with the Testastretta engine) for a spin. I was doing felonious speeds and the motor wasn't even breathing hard. And if you think your 900SS is flickable, modern superbikes seem to corner by thought. You think, and you're there. No need to even push on the bars to countersteer (at least that's how it feels).

[speeder]

One of my friends just picked up a new 848 in matte black. (Ducati "dark"). That is my favorite on that bike, by far. And I don't even usually like their *dark* bikes. Awesome looking.

It's a great bike and has become their de-facto street superbike of choice since the 1098/1198 is just too much bike for the street. I rode the new Multistrata on the street about a month or more ago, I have a buddy who works for corporate Ducati up in Cupertino and he comes down to L.A. a lot on weekends. He told me that anytime I want to go riding, he can stop by any Ducati dealer and grab any bike that I want to ride and away we go for the day. This thread reminded me of this. Believe it or not, I had forgot about the offer.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by holtjv

You can ride it if you like, though, being a brother pelican.

I'm going to get to Cresson soon, which isn't too far from you. Or at least it's closer than Austin or College Station.

Hmm... Let me know when that is coming up... I'll see what I can do...


But you probably shouldn't do that to me... I've almost talked myself out of a Daytona...

[dlockhart]

A buddy has been racing one for a few seasons and these upgrades make it a decent bike to ride fast.


View Product

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His 848 has proven to be pretty crashworthy too. He has binned it several times and it has only needed the typical pegs, bars, levers and glass repair.
It looks great, sounds great, but it is still a uphill battle against a well set up R6 or GSXR600 and it is significantly more expensive.

[gtc]

You guys may love the square headlamp 900SS design.... but I bet you avoid parking next to 916s and 1098s. Those bikes make the 900 look like the family truckster.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by speeder

It's a great bike and has become their de-facto street superbike of choice since the 1098/1198 is just too much bike for the street.

Not trying to start anything (really!) but that can be said about roughly 99% of the non-HDs 650cc+ bikes sold since 1978. Hell, I can barely push my '86 VFR700 (78 stonkin' bhp!) to the limit, and I have to get up into the mountains to do that.

I think it's fantastic that Ducati is still putting out great "junior" models of their flagship. Probably just a wise biz decision but it makes me feel like they're still looking out for the rest of us.

[holtjv]

On the way home...

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Awesome! Congratulations Man!

[nynor]

Originally Posted by gtc

You guys may love the square headlamp 900SS design.... but I bet you avoid parking next to 916s and 1098s. Those bikes make the 900 look like the family truckster.

nope. i think it looks just fine.


congrats on the bike. it looks sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

[holtjv]

Good God but those Termis sound nice. My first set.