2017 Ducati SuperSport
User Reviews
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REAL REVIEW: 2017 Ducati Supersport S
By (I am an Enthusiast) on Apr 15, 2017My approx hour ride: What you are not TOLD by the REVIEWERS "provided" compensation for their "review".
1. SITTING POSITION: Hold Mashed Potatoes! and I mean that literally, because the moment I sat on this bike, I thought surely all those glowing reviews about how "Ducati says it is NOT ... a sport bike but a COMFORTABLE sport bike you can ride on the streets all day in comfort". Humm.. a bit of a conflict there to begin with, BUT... those reviewing the bike must not have any taters because when I sat on the bike, my Italian taters were mashed directly on the tank. Yes... there is a "wider back" portion of the seat where you are "not sitting on that soft portion of your bottom". What they don't tell you is that you ARE sitting up tight against something much softer, and.. well. For my 45 min plus ride, I was ready to "cool it" for a bit. Literally.
Next: Sound. "You must get that upgraded muffler setup. It's a must because the sound that comes out of it is amazing". Ok... great.. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STOCK SOUND THAT I'M ALREADY PAYING $16 grand and change for (after setup, and associated ripoff... etc). The Natural $16+ grand sound you get is worse then my SV650s. Ouch in the wallet and taters. So that $16,500k "for the street sportbike" becomes $18k. Are you ready for that?
Now.. I'm thinking, "Do I want to veer from the reliability of a jap bike, like Honda, for the exotic Ducati? Will it be as reliable as a Honda? So.. here's where there are a few things to consider:
1. It is DEFINITELY shuttering in any gear under 5k, and yes, because it is a VTWIN. But.... keep in mind that it ALSO requires a fair amount of throttle to pull off too. It will take you a bit to get used to having to rev up to push off correctly.. and all taking up precious "sport" timing that you paid for with all those electronics and shifters and the shabang.
2. GEARS: Found a FALSE NEUTRAL between second and third 4 times on my 45+min ride. Not once does this happen on my commuting SV650s, ever.
3. Accessibility. Try to change the turn signal. Difficult? Did you find that the whole assembly was like out of your thumb's reach and you had to REPOSITION YOUR HAND to manipulate just turning on the signal? YES. In my jap bike? no. Everything is right where it should be.
4. Power. I was in Touring: meaning, progressive but full hp and the safety electronics were in play. I have commuted on a VFR800FI, XR650L, and... my SV650s. Except for the dual sport, they all have better pickup.
5. DASH: It is REALLY hard to see the TACH that is a BAR GRAPH. The unit is not lit up like the fancy ones. Two colors? Green (lights on) and the rest are BLACK on KINDAWHITE background. Why are these expensive bikes having this type of horrible dash? No one wants a bar tach.
6. HEAT! My left leg was feeling it! How? I don't know that bike that well to comment. But my left leg was feeling the heat from the engine. It was 65 degrees outside.
THE REAL REVIEW:
I was disappointed because i was really ready to throw a the price of a car at a motorcycle for the first time in my life. I used my whole day off to do this.
THE BAD:
Uncomfortable.
Cheaper toys that do the job better: MUCH cheaper.
CLUNKY transmision AND chuggs at anything under 5k rpm.
Uncomfortable.
Controls are not intuitive nor readily available as we need when riding a bike and focusing on OTHER THINGS THAN LOCATING THE TURN SIGNALS OUT OF THUMBS REACH.
Sounds so so tinny without the EXPENSIVE exhaust upgrade.
Uncomfortable
Runs HOT. And, summer is on the way. Ouch.
THE GOOD:
The air brushed WHITE "S" model looks hot with the kickstand whited out and with the bike looking like it's upright and the cool daytime running lights.
Ducati 2017 SUPERSPORT "S" for $14,950 PLUS %10 whatever ($16,500+accessories/exhaust/etc). Pass.
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