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SunEye · 11-09-2012, 08:22 PM

What I Like

• The ABS works very well and reasonably unobtrusively. I seem to be activating it on the front more than I would expect to leaving dashed lines of rubber around the place, so I suspect there isn't enough weight over the front of the bike (due to the riding position), the fork pre-load is set too high or the fork springs are too firm. Regardless of that it works well and has stopped the front locking up on numerous occasions.

• The engine is great and pulls all the way through the rev range. At an indicated 129mph (genuine 119mph) it is still pulling very strongly in 6th gear. I think there's a bit more life at the top of the rev range than on the M1100

• The gear changes are slick, just like they were on the M1100.

• The stock fork setup is better than on the M1100 which needed a bit of tweaking to get close to how the Evo is out of the box. It tracks the road surface very well and doesn't seem to get too upset by rough road surfaces giving me confidence to ride quite quickly on some very badly surfaced roads.

• The stock Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres are very good, even in the wet. They have withstood over 5,200 miles of my riding very well and are still going strong.

• The wet clutch is very light at the lever making a shorty clutch lever a viable proposition. Something that I would have never even dared to try on the M1100.

• The slipper clutch is very good. Only changing down at quite silly revs will provoke movement from the back wheel. In general you can bang it down through the gears without thinking about it. On the M1100 you had to blip the throttle on down changes if you didn't want the rear wheel hopping around as if you were the last of the late brakers in a WSB race.

• The traction control is a nice thing to have. I have it set on the most intrusive level, just to see if I can feel it working, but I've only noticed its presence a few times. This may be due to my riding style or because it works without me noticing. It seems to do a very good job and I was pleased to have it after watching my friend on his derestricted and non traction controlled Triumph Rocket III exiting a petrol station slightly enthusiastically and fishtailing the first 200m up the road. At least I know that won't happen to me.

Conclusion

Am I happy with it? Yes. It's a great bike. Would I swap it for my old M1100, probably not, but at the moment it's a close call. With the Evo there are a few too many niggles for me, but I think I can sort the most important ones out and in the process give me a bike that is almost ideal for me, albeit with slightly less tank range than I would ideally like.

11-09-2012, 08:22 PM	#3
SunEye Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bognor Regis Bike: Other Ducati Posts: 589	What I Like • The ABS works very well and reasonably unobtrusively. I seem to be activating it on the front more than I would expect to leaving dashed lines of rubber around the place, so I suspect there isn't enough weight over the front of the bike (due to the riding position), the fork pre-load is set too high or the fork springs are too firm. Regardless of that it works well and has stopped the front locking up on numerous occasions. • The engine is great and pulls all the way through the rev range. At an indicated 129mph (genuine 119mph) it is still pulling very strongly in 6th gear. I think there's a bit more life at the top of the rev range than on the M1100 • The gear changes are slick, just like they were on the M1100. • The stock fork setup is better than on the M1100 which needed a bit of tweaking to get close to how the Evo is out of the box. It tracks the road surface very well and doesn't seem to get too upset by rough road surfaces giving me confidence to ride quite quickly on some very badly surfaced roads. • The stock Pirelli Diablo Rosso II tyres are very good, even in the wet. They have withstood over 5,200 miles of my riding very well and are still going strong. • The wet clutch is very light at the lever making a shorty clutch lever a viable proposition. Something that I would have never even dared to try on the M1100. • The slipper clutch is very good. Only changing down at quite silly revs will provoke movement from the back wheel. In general you can bang it down through the gears without thinking about it. On the M1100 you had to blip the throttle on down changes if you didn't want the rear wheel hopping around as if you were the last of the late brakers in a WSB race. • The traction control is a nice thing to have. I have it set on the most intrusive level, just to see if I can feel it working, but I've only noticed its presence a few times. This may be due to my riding style or because it works without me noticing. It seems to do a very good job and I was pleased to have it after watching my friend on his derestricted and non traction controlled Triumph Rocket III exiting a petrol station slightly enthusiastically and fishtailing the first 200m up the road. At least I know that won't happen to me. Conclusion Am I happy with it? Yes. It's a great bike. Would I swap it for my old M1100, probably not, but at the moment it's a close call. With the Evo there are a few too many niggles for me, but I think I can sort the most important ones out and in the process give me a bike that is almost ideal for me, albeit with slightly less tank range than I would ideally like.