R1 - Any good? Which one?
Discussion
Yazza54 said:
Really? Which is more comfortable, economical and reliable?
I doubt it's the Italian bike
I still want one mind you
Well said.I doubt it's the Italian bike
I still want one mind you
Japanese bulletproof reliability, and reasonably priced parts, with good dealer support.
Exactly the opposite of Ducati, stupendously unreliable, extortionate parts pricing, ridiculous service intervals, and the dealer network is still s
te.Give me a japanese IL4 anyday of the week, infact you couldn't pay me to ride an italian one, then there's the fact that they nicked 'ducati's fabled' underseat exhaust' from...yup....you guessed it....the Japs'.
Edited by Lincsblokey on Tuesday 15th July 19:13
Mr OCD said:
A 996 is a total relic compared to an 04 R1 ... Absolutely worlds apart.
The 996 was the most over rated sportsbike of its era, only saved from being a flop by Ducati throwing silly amounts of money at the race team in a vein effort to make it look better than it actually was.The Sp1 is by far a better bike
dibblecorse said:
Why would you look to buy a 2nd sportsbike of a lower grade than the one you have ?
I want to commute on a bike. I like sports bikes. I don't want to have a 1098 peppered in stone chips or become fk buddies with the guys at Snells with monthly visits for xyz on the 1098. A cheap R1 makes sense to me. And frankly, for a rider of my ability, I'll not be able to 'grade' either bike, so it's kind of irrelevant. Even if I were, I'd imagine the difference between the two isn't huge.
In a world of no budgets, I'd run a Panigale 1199R into the ground...and then buy another..and another. But I do have a budget, and this combo works for me.
dibblecorse said:
Yazza54 said:
Lol keep using the word inferior, someone might bite 
I know what you mean, the depreciation of putting miles and wear on the 1098 isn't going to save enough money to offset buying another mid naughties superbike
Nibble nibble nibble .....I know what you mean, the depreciation of putting miles and wear on the 1098 isn't going to save enough money to offset buying another mid naughties superbike
Well ones the Focus ST of bikes and the other is the Ferrari 458 .....
Hey, looking at maybe moving on to an R1 now, did a quote for insurance and once this year is up I can insure an R1 for what I would call reasonable (last quote I did was about £1.6k for insurance :O), was looking at maybe an 09 crossplane crankshaft version, just wondering what peoples opinion of it was compared with say a 07-08 version, which is probably as old as I would like to go.
I've owned 2 R1s and have ridden a couple of others briefly:
Firstly a 2004, couldn't fault its reliability or performance but I hated its handling, I just couldn't get on with it at all, had the suspension set up etc but just wasn't confident on it.
My second one was an original 1998 version and I really liked it, was pretty comfortable, plenty of power and I found it handled fine.
I've had a go on a 2002 Fuel Injected model and again I liked it, and I've ridden a cross plane crank version and enjoyed that too.
I'm in the minority when it comes to not liking the 2004 model, I think there was someone else here who had similar issues and said it's the standard shock on them-it's terrible.
My choice out of all of them would probably be another of the first ones, preferably in Red/White too-you won't lose money on one of them.
Another reccomendation although it's not an R1 would be a 954 Fireblade, to this day it's still one of the best bikes I've ever owned.
Firstly a 2004, couldn't fault its reliability or performance but I hated its handling, I just couldn't get on with it at all, had the suspension set up etc but just wasn't confident on it.
My second one was an original 1998 version and I really liked it, was pretty comfortable, plenty of power and I found it handled fine.
I've had a go on a 2002 Fuel Injected model and again I liked it, and I've ridden a cross plane crank version and enjoyed that too.
I'm in the minority when it comes to not liking the 2004 model, I think there was someone else here who had similar issues and said it's the standard shock on them-it's terrible.
My choice out of all of them would probably be another of the first ones, preferably in Red/White too-you won't lose money on one of them.
Another reccomendation although it's not an R1 would be a 954 Fireblade, to this day it's still one of the best bikes I've ever owned.
Lincsblokey said:
Yazza54 said:
Really? Which is more comfortable, economical and reliable?
I doubt it's the Italian bike
I still want one mind you
Well said.I doubt it's the Italian bike
I still want one mind you
Japanese bulletproof reliability, and reasonably priced parts, with good dealer support.
Exactly the opposite of Ducati, stupendously unreliable, extortionate parts pricing, ridiculous service intervals, and the dealer network is still s
te.Give me a japanese IL4 anyday of the week, infact you couldn't pay me to ride an italian one, then there's the fact that they nicked 'ducati's fabled' underseat exhaust' from...yup....you guessed it....the Japs'.
Edited by Lincsblokey on Tuesday 15th July 19:13
The 996S is completely s
t compared to an 04 R1.I wouldn't want to commute on either, but city commuting on a 996 is just slightly preferable to water-boarding.
The SP1 and 996 are twice the price and half the bike of an RSV1000.
I don't want an RSV1000.
Also, forgot to ask, if I get an R1, does that mean insta-death for me? As that what a lot of people (biking and non biking) have been saying (as they do; "you'll kill yourself on that thing" blah, blah), and that maybe I'd be better off with a smaller bike first, I'll admit going from a 125 to a 1L bike is a big step, but I think if I'm going for it I may as well go for it, I've been riding for 5 years now, had my full licence 3 years, have seen lots of stupid things done by other bikers and mostly other drivers, so know to be switched on around... everyone, know the throttle isn't just fully on or fully off. Plus I think after 5 years on a 125, I've earned it 
Biker's Nemesis said:
LoonR1 said:
I bought a brand new R1 in 2005 just 18 months after passing my test amd about 10 months into riding regularly.
I'm dead now.
No, you just wrote it off.I'm dead now.
Probably still going to go ahead with it, just got to wait till August for when my insurance is up, and hopefully some more will come on the market.
Lincsblokey said:
The 996 was the most over rated sportsbike of its era, only saved from being a flop by Ducati throwing silly amounts of money at the race team in a vein effort to make it look better than it actually was.
The Sp1 is by far a better bike
I rode a 996s just after a SP1, there is no real comparison. The SP1 is very special, an incredible bike, higher quality than any Blade, it is sprinkled with HRC magic... But, the 996 is something else, a bizarre anachronism with some apparently Heath Robinson parts like the clutch, but, once you get it on the move, you understand why people love them, tolerate the shonky build quality "character". There is something with that tubular chassis, for Jap bikes with the same Ohlins kit are not the same. I always remember reading Ducati riders raving about how they feel "on rails" cornering, they do, they are incredible and very special, no Jap bike is close. The Sp1 is by far a better bike
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