Ducati

After the rather mutley 999 this new 1098 seems a step backwards in the right direction. So much so that people are actually buying the things.

This one is very grunty, rather uncomfortable, has excellent new Brembo brakes, crap mirrors, super quick steering yet is strangely stable ... er, rather agricultural. So it's a Ducati then.

Ridden slowly you want to take it back to the shop and forget the whole idea. Get a bit of a move on and it starts to make sense. Once the suspension stops firing your arse quite so high into the air it kinda grows on you. Not sure it grows on me enough to actually want one, but then the whole rumbly V-twin thing is a bit of a closed book to straight 4 blokes.

But 80 miles until you hit reserve is not so good. Gonna be a problem in la belle pays methinks, what with their aversion to opening petrol stations after lunch. The good news is that after 100 miles there is still enough in the tank for 20 miles or so, so you should be able to squeeze 120 out of a tankful. After that it's a lift on your smug mate's K. Oh yes, and the tank only holds 14 litres, not even the parsimonious 15.5 litres Ducati promises.

Boot is a bit on the compact size, enough for a puncture kit and a phone. The little plug in there is for downloading your data

Generally the plastique seems pretty well put together and the seat unit is at least a heap better to look at than the last miserable effort.

According to the Ducati site, the digital instrumentation is taken from Ducati’s MotoGP GP7 project. Information beyond the default read-outs is managed by handlebar-mounted switch gear, allowing the rider to scroll through and select from various menus.

The default read-out presents rpm and speed, with the former displayed across the screen in a progressive bar graph.

Optionally, the rpm and speed can be displayed in numeric values. The instrument display also doubles as a control panel for the activation of the data acquisition system as well as listing lap times recorded by using the high-beam flash button as a stopwatch.

Brakes are Brembo’s Monobloc calipers, machined from a single piece of alloy to give increased rigidity and resistance to distortion. And they work pretty well too! Discs are 330mm to boost braking power.

The quick steering is partly down to the lightweight Marchesini forged aluminium front wheel. And it is quick, easy to get caught out when you're chasing the 1098 on something a little less focused. Be prepared for the odd visit into the undergrowth if you try to play catchup on the brakes.

The back end brings back Ducati's trademark single-sided swinger with a complete redesigned which looks massive but the thin-wall construction gives a 1kg weight saving they say and now supports a 190/55 tyre for increased car park credibility.

As a road tool the 1098 is very much a bike which requires you to be in the right frame of mind - it's not much use for just cruising about on, a Gixer or a 'Blade is far better, but get your head down and start pushing the Ducati and any four is going to have a hard time staying with it on tight twisty roads - the sheer grunt out of the bends coupled with the bike's new-found ability to go into the corners so quickly gives the 1098 a serious edge.

After a visit to the not-too-distant hills of Luxembourg it was declared that the 1098 was a fair Sunday B-road tool but hard work for anything much else. The outright lack of power means lots of gear changing to try to stay with a modern 'Blade in the faster twisties. Add in the poor fuel range and mirrors that don't and it's clear that the bike doesn't really suit serious travelling.

The new 1098R, which is actually 1198cc it seems, may give enough of a boost to help the bike stay with the fours, but whether it's worth it ...

As John remarked whilst pondering the Ducati, if the 1098S at 14 grand represented the typical motorcycle and someone suddenly invented a smooth, light, do-anything Fireblade-esque Japanese 4, we'd all be happy to pay £20,000 for it. He's not far wrong.