cliby

Sold my longterm SH last fall to a riding friend. then got a great deal on a used ducati 999R late last year - it is an amazing bike and for being a honda guy my whole life I realize there is more to ducati brand than simply posing - the 999 series in particular is well made, the R even more special - fit/finish and controls all honda-like or better. And the bike just makes you want to ride. Its a different passion then honda seems to be infusing especially lately.


Anyway, we got to ride together this weekend a bit and we swapped bikes and it was fun riding the SH again. Thought you might be interested in hearing the impressions.

Suprisingly for being a much older design, after modifications the differences weren't that great. They both sound great. The duc is more sporty, the modded SH engine pulls nearly the same till 8-8500 or so, and then the ducati is stronger and goes to near 10500. The duc engine is much more smoother especially on the gas - its revs out forever by comparison which is where the power difference comes. The suspension with RC forks and penske shock on the SH wasn't very different then the ohlins 999R. The duc is super stable though and the more front weight bias really noticeably adds much more feel (but the SH has superbike bar conversion - the clipons and raising the forks might help that a lot). And the duc just feels much more slim and smaller all around. Fit and finish on the duc is better, brakes are awesome but grabbier compared to the RC brakes and 1000RR MC on the SH. As expected, the SH with bars is much more comfy, the mirrors with extenders actually work! The duc are cliche unbelievably useless. You can get a glimpse behind you looking under your armpit through the mirror. Overall, looks aside, the SH holds up pretty well considering age but this one has also been modified a lot. If I still owned it, I would now go back to clipons, lower the front a bit and maybe figure a way to lower the seat (the nava tailpiece really raises the rear ride height whcih is raising the already high CG a bit more). Still the SH is a great bike and its nice to know with modding it can still be a very high functioning bike.

I lucked out finding this barely used, 2500 mile xerox duc (still had original tires with 2 inch chicken strips all around) at the very end of season in very rural america for an unbelievable price, so I'm happy.

Still read this forum and still think its unique in the level of helpfulness and enthusiasm. I have learned more here then any other forum out there. And the tone thankfully still stays mostly away from political rants etc. keep it up.

bill

8541Hawk

Hi Bill,

Hope all has been going well with you and yours.

Nice bike, it does look nice and good comparison write up.

Looks like you will be having a bit of fun still....lol

Bearshawk