MOTOGP » Rossi: Five more years

Here's Bayliss on the 1098 at PI (before he fell):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxQxmuqJdX4

"sounds like a sowing machine. a fast one"

All Ducatis are Desmo (you probably mean the fourcylinder)
Over here a Ducati 1098s costs 24000 Euro, that is 39755 Australian Dollars.
Waiting a bit would be wise, like with computers the first series is seldom the best.
Have you ever ridden one BTW? Different experience than a four inline.

Yeah thats him, Ive never owned a Duc cus of the expence but the 1098 is a little different, still the more you do the more it cost. Im after a new challange and the 1098S might be it. Its not the most powerfull bike out there but there in lie's the challenge. The first version of the 1098 is problematic so Im waiting for the next evolution, It should be the 09 model. Idealy I would by a Desmo but 100k is way off my chart, lol.

Would you belive it Ace I actually got word from my german connection and spoke to a guy that visited the shop, he races Ducati 999 himself. He says it is high quality carbonfibre fairings he is making after his own design, also with very good quickrelease connections for mounting. They are very thin, light and strong and are practically one of a kind pieces.
The man Torsten Durbahn is described to me like a 'nutty genius' that knows his trade and exports abroad.
He also recommended these two:

www.ilmberger-carbon.de/html/news_engl_.html (near Munich in the south of Germany, also carbon fairings)

www.befaster.de/ (Ducati specialist)

Max Biaggi was surprisingly enthousiastic about his 1098 after the Philip Island test, saying it didn't rev as high as expected but gave enormous accelleration. He almost became lyrical: "the whole chassis isn't nervous at all, even though it has only two cylinders (...) You can open the throttle very early, that is after you've got used to it. I had expected a significantly more brutal power delivery. It is nevertheless a challenge. as well as a pleasant surprise. The 1098 is very easy to ride, For my taste the rear went 'in' a little too much under accelleration but we are working on that, we tried to compensate it for now with thedamping of the rear shock." (www.motorsport-total.com)

I passed it on, maybe you'll hear, maybe not.
read a little on a discussiongroup in German, one guy says it is the best way of making a stock Ducati faster (he was talking about a 999) as it makes it lighter, the other way makes the already not too reliable engine even less reliable depending on the stage and amount of tuning. (Not kidding you, his words). Don't know about the 1098 though. You have to remember these are already quite 'hot' engines, poking them will make it worse. Don't know how easy it is to get parts in OZ.

Yes I converse with the man regular'ish but have never been able to get my hands on his gear, some is good and some i dunno about, He knows his stuff, his philosophy is good but with one off builds its hard to gauge just from pictures and busted english.

Bikes.

I have a 77 ducati 860 GTS , it was a POS but years of rebuilding and upgrading have turned it into a a reliable fun roadie.

I also have a 81 490 Maico MX ( one of about 10 Maico's I have owned since 1970) and it still makes me break out in the biggest smile when I open the throttle

I drive a Volvo ( part of my job ) :rolleyes

What does everyone else ride ?

Chhers

Hamburg Germany you mean? about 300 km from here, been there often but not at Durbahn,
slick looking bikes though, I'll ask some German friends of mine, (they race R6 And R1 not Ducs) if they know it
(might take a while)
did you see www.durbahn.de/

Gromm are you familar with Durbahn Plastic (Hamberg) ever been to his shop?
I want to buy a 1098S soon and use some of his gear, Im thinking of getting Ohlins gas charged forks (a new challange) like on the F08 1098R and use it as a road/track bike. Anyway Thorsten at Durbahn Plastics is a bit of a made scientist when it comes to building lite race bits for bikes do you know anyone using his gear? How's it go?