[waltman]

I am trying to make a decision soon. I'd love to have a Ducati for my daily commuting but if it is not practical, I'd like to know. Stop and go traffic, no highway or freeway, all surface street.

I currently ride a '04 BMW RT1150, it's too heavy and hard to split lanes, specially with the hard bags on, and accelaration is weak unless I am really aggressive with the throttle. Oil consumption is horrible (1 qt ave. per 900 miles, and it's getting worse)

Is the power in the 1000SS good enough? I know it's lighter that the RT. Are the ergos not as strict as in the 999?

Any comments are welcome

 

[SScowboy]

I ride my SS with 3/4" raised bars everywhere, no problem comfort, but everyone different, some would hate it for comuting, hard to get good answer from others w/o riding one yourself

 

[galaxy]

+1 on that. Waaaay to opinionated of a question. But, on the other hand, I think it would be a good bike. There are definately going to be more comfortable bikes for what you seek (Monster and Multistrada come to mind). GREAT useable power, not too uncomfortable, very good handling. My 800 gets 50+ mpg.

 

[waltman]

I am looking for a light and easy handling bike with the grin and fun factor built in. Looks? definitely. I had ridden Ninjas and the 1999 Hayabusa prior to my RT, so the rocket position it's not big deal, actually I miss it. I posted a similar question on the Superbike page about the 999 and it seems that either bike will do the job. I just love sport bikes. I had tried japanese, german and now the italian job looks very attractive and it's worth a try. Cruisers or naked bikes do not appeal to me, they are nice to look at though.

I test ride is in order.

 

[apagios]

I ride mine about 15 miles to school/work everyday, love it, but then i have what i'd call an avg number of lights, i can see where downtwon riding block per block in a city could get tiresome on the clutch hand. though i must say I'v started taking the long way when i take the bike vs short with the car

 

[st2lemans]

Remove three of the clutch springs, and then clutching is no problem.

I have no traffic lights, and still removed three springs (tight roads requiring lots of shifting).

Tom

 

[YellowDuck]

I'd say that it has plenty of power (and exactly the right power characteristics) for commuting, but a poor riding position and too heavy a clutch to be practical in that role. Really, I can't stand my 2000 750 in any kind of stop and go - tired clutch hand and sore wrists. Buy it if you love it (I would if I could afford one), but there are better bikes for your intended purpose, including the bike you currently ride.

 

[Rainman]

Well....

I have a 900SS and ride it everywhere!

 

[waltman]

Thanks for the tips guys. My RT does the job as I'm sure any other bike will I'm just tired of dealing with its top heaviness and lack of power for such a heavy bike.

The SS seems will fit the bill. As it turns out, production of the 06 1000SS is slow and not readily available. My local dealer may have one shipped from Santa Barbara to L.A. Can't wait.

 

[waltman]

999 is in

Chose the 999 and do not regret it. Sweet ride back home. The RT is a behemoth compared to the 999.

 

[JDuc]

I have commuted on first a 750 sport and now a 900 supersport for the past 2 years.

on the 750 I commuted back and forth to school (all of 10 miles each way) in a relatively small college town.

now I live in the dallas area and commute about 25 miles one way on my 900ss.

I wouldn't give it up for anything. I'd quit my job if it ment I couldn't ride to work most of the time.

My fiance rides a S4R monster. The added power is nice, but for commuting, I prefer the air cooled motor.

MUCH more reliable, MUCH less expensive to maintain, and MUCH less likely to be swiped by someone.

For commuting, IMO, the air cooled just makes more sense from all aspects IMO. For getting on it and riding it, the 999.

I've got the Cycle-cat fully adjustable clip on's and the DP levers, along with an aftermarket clutch slave cylinder. I can play with the clutch all day long and not get tired, heck, I could do that before all of these mods. The clutch on these bikes is pretty light, ESPECIALLY when compared to the MS4R in my experiences.

My vote is for the SuperSport over the 999 for commuting purposes.

 

[bruce19]

my take on the SS goes like this: if you are primarily a one-up rider (especially long distance) and tend to like the sport side of commuting/touring, then the SS is arguably one of the best all-around bikes out there. After 7 yrs. and approx. 80K mi. on two pre-98 SS, I truly believe this.

bruce19

 

[mungus]

Commuting - no problem

Have a SS 900 ie. Commute to work about every 2nd day - no problem. Prefer the power spread to a 916 for traffic.

2 things though. Best to let it high idle for a minute or 2 b4 you go (I just start it b4 I put begin to put my helmet, gloves & backpack on). Runs smoother with a little warm oil in em and less thermal shock if you feel the need to gun it early...

2nd thing - agree with the others 100%; STD clutch is way too heavy for traffic, . Easy fixed in 30 mins with an Evoluzione, STM or DP clutch slave. Cost ya bout $160-200 USD and makes the clutch maybe 20-30% lighter. (prevents leaks from OEM one too!)

Enjoy...

 

[JDuc]

the thing that made the biggest improvement for me was switching to the DP clutcha nd brake levers...much smaller levers, much more comfortabl eon my hands.

I never would have thought it or believed it till I tried it.

 

[gavin]

Is the power in the 1000SS good enough? I know it's lighter that the RT. Are the ergos not as strict as in the 999?

I commute 23 mi to work each way (half freeway and half canyon) on my 2006 1000SS and I've had none of the problems that others cite. Granted, I'm 6'1'' and 225, but I've had no problem with the clutch or riding position. Of the 2000 mi I've put on it so far, the only issue that I've had that annoyed me was the front brakes (chattered badly at <10 mph until I had the dealer swap the sintered brake pads for kevlar pads), but that was minor.

Highly recommend it.

-Gavin

 

[rz33v4]

As any Ducati owner will tell you, the clutch effort can be improved considerably with a replacement slave cylinder like Yoyodyne.

 

[dirkwrong]

Or you can get a pair of grip exercisers from your local sporting goods store and increase the strength of your left hand. That's what I do. I guess I'll look like Popeye eventually....

I've had problems with numbness and tingling in my hands, but I installed some tank gripper pads and focus on gripping the tank and keeping my back straight and the problem is reduced. I'm 6'3" and 230#, btw.

I've been commuting less than 10 miles one way to the train station and back on my 900 Sport. I take the long way home if I don't have to run an errand. I don't have any other bikes to compare this to, but I do enjoy riding it every day. It's good practice.