'17 VFR v. '17 Ducati SuperSport S (MCN Comparo)

Sorry bout the spelling... I found some in my favorite shopping venue. Minigator may have allergies and would need one made of Astroturf. I wonder if there are matching periscopes or selfie sticks?

https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/ghillie-suits

It would be fun to ride into a bike night with one on. If this catches on, may I suggest doing it ASAP. The harleydoods will run with that one.

 

William is like a fine red wine, it has to age properly and be sipped slowly. You should unblock him. Not only is he a hoot he has forgotten more than most of us know. VFRW is not for the thin skinned. lol But that is precisely why it is more fun. VFRD on the other hand knows if you farted wrong and will ban your ass.

 

I decided to put him on my ignore list when he began bringing up my kids in his pyschobabble. I don't know about you but I prefer my wines to be a little less creepy :beguiled:

 

All I did was to fart in minigators direction and got sent to internet purgatory.

 

[video=youtube;FWBUl7oT9sA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWBUl7oT9sA[/video]

 

Muchas gracias. It would seem I have been released from purgatory and am now back in the good graces of St.Minigator, Patron Saint of meh.

 

Ripple is kind of a pink color and I do wish that someday the Gallo folks will come oot with TBird at least with some red food color innit.

A little history on vino.. In the mid and late 1940s after WWII had several very high ethanol fraction sweet wines on the market. One in particular was Gallo White Port. Very popular in low income hoods. To cut the cloying sweetness from added sugar, the original KoolAid was added and dissolved by agitating the bottles. The result was called "Shake em up." Back in the day if ya knew the right guys and had your own gallon jugs, you could buy Dago Red from the wineries or from those same guys who make Ducatis and great Pizza..

Not real but this one got floated around..

What's the word?

Thunderbird!

What's the price?

Twentynine twice!

Had a bud in Houston that was a spirits salesman. He "gifted" me a bottle of 1970 Taylor-Fladgate Port. I sat on it until aboot 1990. Took it, a bigass wedge of double stilton, a GF and two cigars that I bought in the Frozen North up to Klaloch,WA for a weekend. Real Portuguese Port is high in tartaric acid. It throws a crystalline precipitate in the bottoms of the bottle. The wine needs decanting or it could be crunchy. Not a good thing.. The rating for that particular vintage was off the charts. A 7+ I think. So much body it stained our teeth..

 

Champipple.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esr4MEu20bs

 

I always liked Bill Cosby.

 

I'm a little late to this discussion but I just test rode a Supersport S.

To begin with, I do have the 8th gen VFR Deluxe and it is my commuter and street bike. I have a separate track bike.

Yes, it is more entertaining with a MUCH more lively exhaust note at all ranges than the VFR (except at the top when the VFR sings), it has very good low end torque, has a much better suspension that tips in better and tracks as well as the VFR. The seating position is nearly exactly the same but for me (5'7" the wind management was slightly better). The dash is rather simple and poor compared to the VFR. Like the VFR this engine is happiest above 6000rpm but can be ridden easily and smoothly. The multistep engine/TC options are very nice as well, allowing a personal amount of intervention, unlike the VFR which is either too intervening or none at all. I agree, this is as the new VFR should have been, lighter, more low end and midrange, better suspension (seriously, why not upside down forks with less mass to translate at the wheel?).

But...there's always a catch right? The Ducati vibrates a LOT more to the point where, at highway speeds, the rear view mirrors have vibrated to being useless. I can see general shapes behind me but no detail and sometimes not even which lane the vehicle behind me occupies. You feel the vibration everywhere and I wonder if that is due to the engine being PART of the frame structure. Even my track bike (BMW S1000RR) is much smoother at redline than the Ducati. The VFR in contrast is a bit more plush and smooth as silk. There is no vibration anywhere on the VFR even when keeping it above 6500rpm. Furthermore, the Honda doesn't really get loud until the upper ranges whilst the Ducati is sport bike loud nearly all the time (something I actually like but does attract cops).

I'm seriously considering the Ducati for it's fun and sportiness (and the intoxicating exhaust note), but the VFR may still be a better compromise as a daily riding bike being smoother, more reliable, quieter, and with more road friendly options like included heated grips.

 

Have had 440km out of a tank ( about 1.5lt left) but this was on long trip on the highway sitting on 100km to 120km. So no you are not alone!

 

The people that complain the most about the Ducati 939, are non Ducati 939 owners, and probably never will be.

Stick to your Honda. Over look the fact that the rectifiers fail, and have done so for years. The thermostat will probably get stuck open, and is a huge job to replace. The air temp guage only works when you first get on the bike. The cheap exhsust rusts. You get rubber brake lines, so-so suspention, and tires the belong in the trash.

I travel extremely light. There is a wal-mart in every town. I don't need to drag a woman along everywher l go. And l am usually pulling away from whatever is behind me, and l am perfectly capable of turning my head.

 

If gayter greg says and Consumer Reports say the same thing. It may be time to get both bikes. Aboot 30+K oot to aboot cover both not including farkles. This is aboot the cost of a new or previously owned Harley (sans farkles). The rumor that HD lists tires on a new bike as extras may be just that.

 

Still haven't seen a single report of a 8th gen rectifier failure. It will happen, though, just like any bike can have a rectifier fail, even Ducati...

Not sure the Duc will do well regardless of it's merits. The light sport touring market dried up in favor of adventure styled machines. We'll see after a few years if it's still around I guess.

 

Thanks for reviving one of my favorite threads! It's too bad many of the links I used when I started it got zapped when they updated the forum. (Edit: I just fixed the video link in my first post that started this thread in case you'd like to watch it). Interesting to see your thoughts as a fellow 8th genner on the SuperSport. I've got the day off tomorrow so I may try to do the same and see what all the fuss is about if my local dealer has a demo. However, now that Ducati is moving to the V4 engine design it makes me think of the SuperSport as an out-dated machine even though it's brand new: it has no LED headlights, no color TFT display, no gas tank, and no V4 engine. No thanks!

 

You're right - the 8th gen is arguably the best VFR ever and yet its sales obviously suck due to market conditions. We live in a fickle world where Porsche now sells more SUV's than cars - crazy how consumer tastes change!

 

Thanks for you're response! I did not know that Ducati was moving to a V4 design! I'd be cursious to see how that turns out.

The dash doesn't bother me so long as it is functional. The VFR dash is very usable and functional, as well as very attractive. The Ducati one is rather, well, bland but functional.

I think what attracts me to the Ducati is the wonderful suspension and engine. It really is a great balance of power, suspension, and engine note. I had wanted the VFR to have a bit more power and a better suspension and the Ducati has both at the sacrifice of some comfort and added engine vibration at nearly all speeds.

Otherwise as Troy commented in the motorcycle.com review, the VFR and the Ducati SS are the two most natural competitors and which is you like is a very personal choice.

 

Hard to believe - isn't it? Here's a couple of links to threads here below on the subject started by myself and ksoholm if interested in reading more about it.

https://vfrworld.com/threads/ducati-v4-exposed.53537/
https://vfrworld.com/threads/ducati-ending-v2-production.53658/

As for the dash of VFR v. SuperSport, I generally don't like all digital displays. I prefer having the combo of a real tach with a digital speedo like on my VFR and my old Ninja - I think it's the ideal setup. Although I would much prefer a real tach needle I suppose I could live with the new fangled color TFT displays that some of the newer bikes are getting now such as the '17 CBR1000RR, but certainly not the little GameBoy-esque one color screen like the SuperSport has.

I agree with you and Troy that it's ultimately a personal choice on these bikes and I've certainly made my preference clear - but the main thing that impressed me about the video is that they still think of the 3 year old VFR800 as a worthy competitor to a brand new design from Ducati. I think that speaks volumes about how great a bike the 8th gen is!

 

I wonder how the SS would fair against a modded super sports bike, A GSXR-750 or even a thou fireblade/ZX-10R with a upgraded seat and Helibars?

I like the concept that Ducati have embraced here. Plenty of people buy super sports bikes for the road, so making one with a bit more comfort without too much compromise in the sports department makes a lot of sense.

When I was shopping for my bike, the Kawasaki Ninja thou and ZX-14R where next on my list. The 14 would have needed risers true, but that package would have no equal for power at least and it handles better than you'd think given it's a whopping 267kg. I test rode it on the streets and I never got anywhere near the capability of that bike's power and I doubt I'd ever will. Yes, the dealer switched the low power mode on too. Even Hobbled, the 14's power is impressive.

Honestly I think the Ninja zx1000 is also directly comparable bike to the SS. The SS is 939cc so it's in between the capacity of the Ninja (1050cc?) and the 782cc VFR.
Now I haven't seen the SS let alone test ridden, but I think if I had to pick between the two, I'd pick the Ninja. The SS has too many short comings compared to that bike.
The only drawback for myself with owning another Kawasaki is the rotten scum Kawasaki dealers in my town.