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THE RUTTER TEST / S1000RR v R1 v 1299 S<br />
bike and its predecessor.<br />
The 1199 was a bastard of a<br />
handful at speed, especially<br />
away from a racetrack where<br />
bumps, cat’s eyes, potholes and<br />
white lines would blur the rider’s<br />
vision like sitting on a<br />
supercharged Kango hammer. It<br />
had plenty of performance, but<br />
the trick was getting to use it.<br />
Even quality ex-international<br />
racers struggled on track to<br />
match the lap times other bikes<br />
could comfortably set.<br />
On the road, you couldn’t take<br />
the bike anywhere near full<br />
potential because it’d leap about<br />
like a beached mackerel trying<br />
to climb back into the sea.<br />
The 1299 takes that zone<br />
of extreme behaviour<br />
and pushes it 30mph<br />
further away, then<br />
smoothes out the rest<br />
of the ride as if Claudio<br />
Domenicali himself is ironing<br />
out the wrinkles in the road<br />
before you get to them.<br />
The engine feels more<br />
managed than the 1199; softer<br />
edges to the combustion blows,<br />
less driveline chatter, greater rev<br />
range flexibility and more<br />
forgiving suspension. Where the<br />
old bike would charge headlong,<br />
bars flapping and suspension<br />
bucking, the 1299 dips its tail<br />
and gets on with going fast. All<br />
three bikes are physical at speed.<br />
The R1 spends so much time<br />
with its front wheel hovering<br />
serenely a few inches off the<br />
ground you sometimes forget<br />
and only realise when you go to<br />
steer it and you can’t.<br />
The BMW, physically larger<br />
than the R1, takes more muscle<br />
to thread it down a country road.<br />
And the Ducati has the most<br />
chassis movement, moving<br />
about beneath as if to remind<br />
you how fast you’re travelling.<br />
Neither is better nor worse; just<br />
different flavours of fantastical.<br />
Even the 1299’s riding<br />
position feels different from the<br />
1199 (although it’s apparently<br />
almost identical; the fairing nose<br />
is wider, screen taller and seat is<br />
comfier). It all adds up to a<br />
serious degree of usability; the<br />
1299 Panigale S is a Ducati with<br />
manners even a committed<br />
four-cylinder fan can appreciate.<br />
This morning I was convinced I<br />
need an R1 in my life, by midday<br />
the BMW was the only bike for<br />
me... but now, as the shadows<br />
lengthen, it’s the Panigale I can<br />
see in my garage.<br />
As the day draws to a close, we<br />
cruise back to the PB office. At a<br />
leisurely pace, the BMW shines<br />
with its competence and<br />
user-friendliness – until I jump<br />
back on the Ducati and it<br />
becomes my favourite again,<br />
with its lumping great character.<br />
Then I finish on the R1 and<br />
decide no, that’s the engine I’ll<br />
be dreaming about tonight.<br />
Hop on then, I’ll go easy ‘So I grabbed it by the hips and...’ Fast crest = S1000RR launchpad<br />
Öhlins EC<br />
suspension is a<br />
real leap forward<br />
JUNE 2015 | PERFORMANCEBIKES.CO.UK 55
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