Yes, it may have well been a momentary lapse of reason, and fittingly so that was the album I listened to on the way up to Watkinsville, Georgia. On the way home I broke out an old favorite, Hysteria. I had done it. I had either stepped up or beyond, and to tell the truth I wont know that for sure until I get use to the F1098. Once I got her home, off with the rabbit ears and on with the CRG’s. Then just a short ride. I was totally exhausted from getting up early and enduring the drive to Athens and back.

A Face Only A Mother Could Love
As all “First Dates” go, I had some adjusting to do. I’m using my toes to stand her up. Not a problem since I don’t ride with my feet down. What amazed me on first sitting on the Street Fighter was how tight the midsection was. When you pinch the tank, it almost feels like you are about to have your knees touch through the tank. Next thing you notice is how the heat shield kicks your heel out if you ride on your toes like I do. Since I’ve yet to drag a knee, I’m not too concerned with it. The left side heel protector somewhat does the same to a lesser extent to keep you off the swing arm. There is plenty of room for long legged people like LT. I have to make a concerted effort to get my ass to touch the back of the seat rest. Considering the engine in this puppy, being back on the seat is probably not a good idea for my 155 pounds of meat and bones.
Even though I’m still in the midst of breaking it in, there is so much pull that I lean forward to counter the force that wants to have the bike leave out from under me. The dash takes a little getting use to. It’s new. New things require thought. Multi-function switches keep the controls to an up menu, separated by the turn signal cancel “nub”, and the down menu. The turn signal alone is probably the weirdest. Instead of the usual single button that cancels when you push it in, the Street Fighter uses a button within the turn signal switch that is small and must be pushed squarely in order to cancel a turn. I do like the high beam switch. It is more of a flapper button. Like a traditional “flash to pass” you pull in to toggle the momentary high beam, but if you deflect it forward or downward, it toggle to high beams on, toggle it forward once more to cancel.

Enough techno-babble. How-zit ride? For me it is a lot of bike. Stock tuning around 4200rpm and below sucks. Thanks to Euro3, many people will be tuning to rid the bike of it. I spoke to Jason at FatDuc and he feels the Manipulator will cure the woes. Maybe that box will arrive by Wednesday. It really is the only bad feel you get riding it in stock tune. With the 1098 it just amplifies it as the motor stumbles from gentle take offs and hits 4200rpm, then the giant awakens. Once that gets sorted, roll ons will be more confident, especially in turns where first gear is needed.
The shifting is good. Some early “reports” of false neutrals have not found thier way onto my bike. Granted I have not done any power shifting, as I’m sure this thing will rocket when it is in the right hands. Initially the brakes were an eye opener. Coming from two piece brembos, the amount of force is half. After a few stints you relearn to use less pull and can either maintain a two finger grab or stick with one finger. I know that when I jumped back on the S2R, I was shocked once again with brakes that were not there. Certain people that own many Ducs will probably not give it a passing thought… LT.
Seating is comfortable. The seat is thin in comparison to many bikes, but I think Ducati did it right. There is support, grip, and ease of movement. The side pipes do keep the heat off your arse, unless you sit at a light, then the rear cylinder will remind you that like any Duc, the temps rise and you stare at the guages to make sure you don’t sit too long. There is no engine temperature. Instead there is a stack of LED chicklets on the center of the dash. Visual cues tell you more chicklets complete the upward climb if you sit too long. Warm up time seem quicker in comparison to my ST3.

I think that while it does not sit as agressively as a sport bike, you do tend to ride relaxed when not on the power, and lean forward naturally as needed. With no windshield, it only take about 65mph to start taking the weight off your hands as you lean against nature. If you don’t have a good fitting helmet, you will damn sure be buying one. At speed you can still be upright, but will most likely want to ease forward and down to keep the buffeting out of the bottom of the helmet. When you do lean forward, you’re not really on the tank, you’re sort of on the front of the tank with a nice view of the asphalt ripping by as you inspect the front fender for any bug impacts.
Suspension is totally not set for me. As LT mentioned in his twittle thing, it is a bit hard. The icing is of course the traction control. I didn’t notice it on my test ride, but did see/feel it on one ride as I jumped onto my favorite bypass. It’s nice to know you have an Italian co-pilot when you accidentally ask for too much power. I would imagine those who have a knack for thrashing power, Mark, would end up saving some tire for quite a few extra miles rather than having them spin up, leaving valuable rubber in some lonely corner of a road. I’ve said it before, the traction control can be a great tool to learn where the line is, so that next time you come up to that line, maybe it doesn’t kick in. Or you could just have fun with it.

The only trouble I have had is the fuel line in the tank disconnected the other night. I was only a few miles from the house. A passerby helped watch the bike, while the local police gave me a lift home to fetch the jeep and trailer. I tore it down and had it back running that night for the next day. Paul at NPR was a great help in taking my call on a Saturday night to confirm the diagnosis. And what fun to tear into a two day old bike! I mean I will eventually have to do it anyway and I would rather sort things out near home than 30 miles away which was where I was heading! Lucky Break!
That’s it for now. I still plan on riding to Florida on the weekend of the 4th, and hopefully get the low rpm sorted. I think the bike has lots of potential, striking looks, and it really does make a statement even when parked. If the Hyper seemed like some skinny cat on crack, the F1098 is like an old S4RS, that started hanging out with Barry Bonds and Lou Ferrigno, ending up on the sauce and ripping at the seams for some tasty asphalt sandwiches. I’m sure LT will elaborate on things when he gets his ass back to P-cola and places an order for the S model 