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After 8 months of waiting: the first 100kms on my FT

5K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Karlo 
#1 ·
i was honestly beginning to wonder if the day would ever come...

Nearly 8 months to the day since my pre-order, the FT arrived today in all its glory.

Gave the bike a good once over. This was the first production FT I had ever seen in real life. Saw the prototype at the bike show in March but this was totally different.

Quality & Aesthetics:

The build quality on this bike is on par, and in some cases, even above the rest of the Ducati family. I was particularly impressed with the aluminum cam belt covers. Not even my $20K Diavel Carbon has that! Impressive.

The FT seat is a pretty nice piece. The stitching looks like it's pretty tough and the "fake alcantera" texture of the seat surface exudes quality.

Paint, plastics and the rest are typical Ducati, with textures used sparingly and a general understated finish. The homologated, shotgun style Termi has a nice brushed metal texture and perforated inserts that long like a genuine aftermarket piece (more on that later).

The gauge cluster deserves mention as well. It is simple, concise and well laid-out for info at-a-glance. Was pleasantly surprised.

If I had to pick a gripe, it would be the mirrors. The metal rod style with big plastic chunk on the end feels like a bug antennae to me and will be swiftly replaced with bar ends. Still, Ducati has made sleeker OEM mirrors.

First Ride

Pulling away for the first time, the bike felt immediately familiar, yet completely unique and in a class of its own. I've ridden every Monster, The Triumph Bonnie/Scrambler and the Guzzi V7....this is different. I'm not going to necessarily say better, but definitely different.

The throttle is very responsive and I would describe it as sharp. Not sure why anyone would go as far as complaining about it, suffice to say that those riders who favor sporty riding and a more aggressive style will be in good company (yes, that includes me).

The sound from the OEM Termi is a thing of beauty. It has a certain "pure" to it on decel that is really seductive to listen to. Riding next to my wife's M696 with Arrow cans, it's dead silent but on its own, it's a great balance between the thunder of a cat-less pipe and a quiet stock system. I'm not saying I would never swap for aftermarket, but let's say that it's not the highest thing on my list because it sounds so sweet.

Suspension is what I suspected from what many here have reported. As far as I have seen, lower prices bikes have one of two suspension set ups: too soft or too harsh. I get why Ducati opted for the sportier (but harsher) setup and I can't say that it's a real problem for me...at least not out of the gate (I'm 6' and 190 lbs in case anyone is wondering). So I'll be happy to see what Ohlins comes up with but won't be running out just yet to give them my money. Handling is definitely on the sporty side and the bike's Ducati DNA shines here, between the light weight and well-sorted chassis. Would it beat you up on a crappy washboard of a road? Most likely. Solution (for me anyway): try to stay away from crappy washboard roads.

The motor and gearbox are still a bit of a paradox for me. I'm trying to behave and not beat the snot out of it during break in (not easy...want to do wheelies) but what I can see so far is that it's got plenty of GO and certainly doesn't appear any less capable than the 696 or 796 Monsters. The gearing felt a little low on the highway so a slightly different ratio may be in order down the road, if only to keep the RMP's down at 120 km/h or so. Didn't have any issues with finding neutral, missed shifts or false neutrals. If I was going to nit pick here, I would say that the gearbox itself is a tad bit sloppy and shifts could be more positive. Perhaps after more miles it will improve.

I rode at night for a while and had a chance to test out the headlight. Was impressed by how well it works (contrary to the headlights on my Diavel and Streetfighter, both of which are pretty useless/borderline dangerous for country roads)

And so, the modifications began so here are the first things I tackled:

-Frame & swing arm stickers: all 6 of them. Off. With the help of a hair dryer. Stuck them under the seat. Why bikes need so many frame stickers, I'll never know.

-Evap canister: removed and tucked hoses under bike...with all the other hoses

-License plate holder: took the Dremel cutter to the red side reflectors for a cleaner look (will post pics later as well)

Next, I will install the bar-end mirrors and Evotech bash plate, frame sliders and oil cooler guard. Pics to follow.

So, there you have it. One very happy FT owner and the best is yet to come!
 
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#3 ·
Removal is a piece of cake. There is a walk-though - with photos - HERE.

It's an evap canister - for California regulations. It's supposed to catch fuel vapors coming out of the gas in the the tank and run them through charcoal, so as not to release them into the atmosphere - which is total bunk.

And it totally ruins the look of the bike.
 
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