BTW Kruz, i agonized over getting the 959 panni instead of the diavel.... God that bike is gorgeous... those rear lights... perfection.

No Beast, I think you got the right machine, no it's not going to blow the doors off a 14R but it's definitely very cool and stylish with lots of Italian panache. I wouldn't mind having one of those parked in my garage.

Stock dyno pull was 130
Just the slip on was 134
Not tuned yet.
We'll see where it ends up.
so far looks pretty promising, and still running rich.

Stock dyno pull was 130

Makes your typical cruiser look sick!

my Panigale 1299s ride report so far......

holy crap its fast!!!! lol

Full road test report with photos needed Jafo. My 959 Panigale is a very nice ride, looks great, makes nice sounds and is fun to ride but definitely not overwhelming. Pretty much as Ducati advertised, a very balanced approach.

My 959 Panigale is a very nice ride, looks great, makes nice sounds and is fun to ride but definitely not overwhelming.

I have the new 959 broken in now and have been able to open it up, what a machine! I have to say that this is fast becoming my favorite ride, it's down to it and my ZX-6R vying for that honor. The 6R is slightly more agile but doesn't have the extreme cornering stability or instant power of the 959. On a twisty road, both are an absolute hoot.

New 1299S Anniversary Model, gorgeous!

Get one!!!

With 6 bikes already, 1 more is only 14% more ... hardly noticeable!

Tempting Ex but that's a $30,000 bike, a little rich for my blood.

Sell the '09, '11, '12 (and maybe the new Duc) ... and wahlah you have the money

I see quite a bit of overlap in some of those, especially the ZX10 and CBR (2 liter bikes only 1 year apart) ... No?

I could see wanting the cruiser, the 14 and then one super sport.

Ex I don't like to sell off the old machines, yea I realize the 959, CBR1000RR and ZX-10R have a lot of mission overlap but they're all different and all fun in their own right. I deliberated on whether to go with the 959 or 1299 Panigale but I think I made the right choice in the end going with the 959. It's literbike quick up to about 120 mph and only loses out at the very top end which I don't ever use anyway. The 14 and ZX-6R are a nice change of pace and both brutally fast, just different in how they are ridden. A 1299S might be in my future but I'd have to really think that one through.

Hey Jafo, how are you liking your new 1299S? Post up some pics with your mods, here's my 959, no mods yet. Nice bike but difficult to setup the suspension.

Well this is my 2000 mile update on the new 959 Panigale. It's been a long, hard road to get this bike setup to handle the way I want it and I've done about all I can do now without changing out the stock Showa BPF/Sachs suspension. I've gone a lot stiffer on compression and rebound on both ends and taken three turns of preload out of the front end to get it turning in well. I've accomplished most of the goals I've set out to accomplish and the bike is turning in well now and on smooth corners, the handling is stellar. The problem is this bike is mega stiff and I think it comes down to the frameless design, it just doesn't flex. As a result, compliance over bumps is livable but far from plush. Another issue that has surfaced is the low speed fueling on this bike is a mess. It operates in a closed loop utilizing feedback from a lambda (O2) sensor at and below 5000 rpm and there's no way to tune it in this range with a Power Commander. It runs very lean down low and I'm now looking into a Fast Bike module with auto tune feature that can correct the low speed bucking/surging issues that are upsetting the chassis in off-on throttle situations around 5000 rpm. Unfortunately this is right where I live in 4th gear in most of the medium speed sweepers around my neck of the woods. I can go to a lower or higher gear but then it feels like I'm either screaming it or lugging it around the corner. If the bike was tracked, especially on a smooth track I don't think any of these issues would be a problem but I bought this bike for real back roads and bumps are part of the experience.

On the more positive side, I love the looks, sound and power, the bike has a relatively broad power curve and along with a sweet factory quick shifter really scoots. It has just the right amount of power for any back road situation.

The Brembo brakes are strong and modulate well, no issues there.

Ergonomics are a mixed bag. I feel like I'm sitting high on top of the bike and it has a very narrow feel between my legs due to the anorexic L twin configuration. This makes it awkward for me to grip the fuel tank with my knees and hang off in the corners. I'm guessing with time, I'll learn to adapt and find a position that works for me in the turns.

I can ride this bike fast but I've never really found my comfort zone when pushing it hard. It's feedback is very different from the typical Japanese I-4 I have in my garage. One thing I've noticed is lack of feedback when loading up the front end in a corner. I'm guessing this might have something to do with the ultra stiff frameless monocoque design and some of it is the Pirelli Corsa Rosso tires that come as OEM fitment. They're sticky but I don't get the same cornering feel that I get with my favorite BT-016 Pros.

Summarizing, if you are considering one of these machines and you come from a background of inline fours, it is going to take some time to adapt to the unique characteristics of the bike and you will spend some time setting it up to work for you.

I'll give another update once I have a few more thousand miles on my 959, get the low speed fueling problem fixed and hopefully have had time to adapt.

hey kruz,
hope you are all keeping well an having fun on your bikes?
i have over 7700km on my 1299s since picking it up 22nd april! over 3700km of that was a week in the Balkans last month.

the mods have been few, just short levers and a bespoke carrier for my bag.

the fuelling was terrible from new and was only sorted after the first service when a software update fixed it...at least 98% of it anyway! as Kruz said, its to do with the closed loop system to comply with euro4 emissions.
that aside, its a stunning bike to ride, phenomenal power which you can really use thanks largely to the electronics.
i only really appreciated this when caning it up the Transfagarasan and Transalpina roads in Romania...in the rain!
yes the suspension is hard....damn hard! even with my bag on the back, the whole bike only weighed in at 178kgs, it has a slight feeling of instability but its more like twitchiness! this mean the handling is brilliant, direction changes are frighteningly quick!
The s1000rr which i also had a chance to ride on the wet roads of romania in contrast, is plush and while the handling is pretty good and feels super stable, the downside (for me anyway) is it seems a bit dull and slow to change direction (this is off course relative and if you are coming straight off a zx14, it'll seem pretty quick lol)
This years trip started in Budapest, Hungary where we collected our bikes from the shippers. the route was to take in some of the worlds most famous roads avoiding motorways and toll roads, visiting some famous landmarks, eating the best food we could find (this sometimes didnt work out lol), and generally a good laugh!
countries we visited were Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and finally Germany from where the bikes would be shipped home.
heres a couple of pics if youre interested?
wet start in Budapest...

oldest bridge in budapest across the River Danube is called the 'Chain bridge'

first land border...into romania

im not saying there were alot of flies but......

Draculas castle in Bran, Romania

the famous Transfagarasan over the Carpathian mountains....




the last and possibly the worst burst of rain in romania....


we didnt get any pics on the transalpina as we had way too much fun to stop, so heres one at the end....

crossing the Danube again into Serbia..

evidence of the dirty roads of romania and serbia...

crossing into croatia..

bosnian border sign..

still lots of evidence on the buildings of the war in sarajevo...

* Last updated by: jafo on 10/15/2016 @ 8:16 AM *

bosnia is a small but beautiful country..

Mostar, Bosnia, the scene of severe conflict during the war in the 80s and 90s....


Old City of Dubrovnic, Croatia..



meeting some of the....eh....locals lol........

Old city of Trajir, Croatia...another nice stop on the fantastic Adriatic highway....


a couple along the adriatic highway...




top of the Plockenpass from Italy into austria...

in case you cant tell....we love Italy....

austria....

...must be time for lunch...

coffee stop at the Ducati cafe close to the border to Germany....

last night of the trip was in Garmische, Germany..

final destination, our truck back to ireland from Memmingen, Germany...

Those are great pictures Jafo, thanks for sharing!

thanks Kofla

Wow Jafo what a trip, some of those roads look fantastic! Thanks for sharing and glad you're settling into your new ride, beautiful machine!

I just came back from a backroads blast on my 959 and I believe I now have it all sorted. I ended up using the recommended race suspension settings in the owners manual but took out two turns of front preload to lighten the steering. The biggest difference was fitting a new Pirelli Corsa Rosso front tire on yesterday, this totally transformed the handling. It now settles down into turns without the former twitchiness and tracks the corner like it's on rails. I didn't even notice the suspension which is always a good sign. Yes,it is stiffer than your typical I-4 but definitely livable now. I am still struggling a bit with the ergos as the svelte tank doesn't give me much to grip with my legs and I like to plant my tummy on the tank when deep into a corner and there is not much there but I am adapting now that the bike is settled on it's suspension. I did reset the EBC to level 2 which seems like the best compromise for my riding style, TC is on level 3 and ABS level 1. So for now I'm very happy with this machine, it is very easy to ride fast and the 133 rear wheel HP is perfect for the roads I ride. Up to 100 mph, it gives up nothing to my other bikes including the ZX-14 and liter bikes. It's only when I get above 120 mph do I notice the other bikes are accelerating harder.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 10/15/2016 @ 11:21 AM *

jafo.Thank you for taking the time to post and comment on the trip pictures.. Stunning stuff to an old okie...:)

Awesome pics, Jafo. I wish I could go there. I don't think you could get me to leave Austria. I can't imagine a bike I'd rather be on for that trip than the 1299.

* Last updated by: Rook on 10/15/2016 @ 11:43 AM *

thanks guys, it was an awesome trip!
as some of you know, i've been lucky enough to travel alot on my bike despite work constantly getting in the way of my social life lol
you can tour on anything so my advice is to get out and ride, ive met great people and seen great places, the opposite is also true, also met horrible people and seen horrible places....but it all contributes to the adventure!!

ride safe all
jafo

Time to come back to Texas Jafo, it was 2007 the last time you came by this way. There's plenty of bikes to ride when you get here.