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Picked up my red Icon with the Termi from Moto Rapido this afternoon and clicked up 90 miles on a very roundabout ride home. My first impressions are as follows:
Looks: Having stuck a deposit down without seeing the bike, and today being the first time I'd actually clapped eyes on one, I was amazed how tiny this thing is. It looks like a toy parked in my garage between my GS and the wife's Tiger! I love the look of it though, even better in the flesh.
Finish: Very good, everything looks quality, even against my GS and the switches that some have reckoned look a bit flimsy look fine to me. I love the little retro touches like the Ducati printed across the back of the seat.
Extras
Termi: Forget the video's, nothing does justice to how good it sounds with the Termi. Nothing! Go and listen to one and I kid you not you'll be reaching for your credit card.
Tank Pad: I reckon it looks great, better than I expected which is a bonus. I've shown pics in the owners check in thread.
Scottoiler: If you haven't had one before I can't recommend them highly enough. Mine has been hidden beautifully by Moto Rapido which, while being great, will mean a bit of messing about to refill the reservoir but that's not going to happen often so not too much of a hassle.
Heated Grips: Not yet arrived, expected April / May.
Turn on the ignition and the clock does its little thing checking everything out that for no other reason than I'm a bit of a geek, I love
Not bothered about the rev counter seemingly going backwards either, it took about a minute to get used to it.
The ride:
Handling
I rode a number of different types of roads from a little bit of motorway through single track country roads and everything in between.
Motorways - Bloody hard work without any screen, not really surprising from a naked bike but with the wide bars you're really hanging out there. Anything above about 70 is a pain in the backside.
Fast A Roads - As above but the bike tracks well through bends at pace, (upto about 80mph in top at 6k rpm), on good smooth tarmac. The rear end feels planted but for me the front end is wayyyy too harsh and I've already emailed my dealer about fitting a set of Ohlins internals and different weight fork oil at the first service.
Twisty country B roads - Where this is really at home, very flickable and the gearbox is really tractable but if you want to keep it spinning and bang up and down the box I found it spot on. On smooth tarmac again it's great and I've had it over far enough to get rid of any chicken strips, but when things get bumpy it can get jarring and out of shape on the front end.
Urban - Beautifully balanced and a doddle to ride, even at walking pace. Get's plenty of looks and when I stopped for 5 minutes the bike had three people come and have look around it, (Yes, I really am that shallow!).
Mirrors - Probably the best mirrors I've seen on a bike. Absolutely no vibration at all and superb visibility, NOT of my elbows for a change!
Seat - As others have mentioned, it's a bit hard but I'm not going to be doing huge distances as I have the GS for that.
Fuelling - People have said that there's a problem with the fuelling. Not on my bike there isn't. The fuelling is creamy smooth but it does have a quick throttle and if you aren't smooth with it, it bites. The answer is in smoothing out your right hand, not in changing anything mechanical or electronic!
Clutch and Gearbox - A world away from heavy old Ducati clutches this is nice and light and the gearbox on mine is a joy. Snicks in nicely every time, no false neutrals. Really good.
Niggles - Aside from the aforementioned front end, I find the sidestand a bit tricky to get out and I found myself fumbling around like a fool at the garage the first time I stopped. Ducati say that this bike has been geared for low down stomp but I didn't find it that quick off the mark, that may be because it's the lowest powered bike I've owned in a long time, but I feel it could be zippier away from the lights.
Overall I think Ducati has done a really good job with the Scrambler bearing in mind it's built to budget. I'm happy despite the little niggles, it makes me smile every time I look at it.
Jerry
Looks: Having stuck a deposit down without seeing the bike, and today being the first time I'd actually clapped eyes on one, I was amazed how tiny this thing is. It looks like a toy parked in my garage between my GS and the wife's Tiger! I love the look of it though, even better in the flesh.
Finish: Very good, everything looks quality, even against my GS and the switches that some have reckoned look a bit flimsy look fine to me. I love the little retro touches like the Ducati printed across the back of the seat.
Extras
Termi: Forget the video's, nothing does justice to how good it sounds with the Termi. Nothing! Go and listen to one and I kid you not you'll be reaching for your credit card.
Tank Pad: I reckon it looks great, better than I expected which is a bonus. I've shown pics in the owners check in thread.
Scottoiler: If you haven't had one before I can't recommend them highly enough. Mine has been hidden beautifully by Moto Rapido which, while being great, will mean a bit of messing about to refill the reservoir but that's not going to happen often so not too much of a hassle.
Heated Grips: Not yet arrived, expected April / May.
Turn on the ignition and the clock does its little thing checking everything out that for no other reason than I'm a bit of a geek, I love
Not bothered about the rev counter seemingly going backwards either, it took about a minute to get used to it.The ride:
Handling
I rode a number of different types of roads from a little bit of motorway through single track country roads and everything in between.
Motorways - Bloody hard work without any screen, not really surprising from a naked bike but with the wide bars you're really hanging out there. Anything above about 70 is a pain in the backside.
Fast A Roads - As above but the bike tracks well through bends at pace, (upto about 80mph in top at 6k rpm), on good smooth tarmac. The rear end feels planted but for me the front end is wayyyy too harsh and I've already emailed my dealer about fitting a set of Ohlins internals and different weight fork oil at the first service.
Twisty country B roads - Where this is really at home, very flickable and the gearbox is really tractable but if you want to keep it spinning and bang up and down the box I found it spot on. On smooth tarmac again it's great and I've had it over far enough to get rid of any chicken strips, but when things get bumpy it can get jarring and out of shape on the front end.
Urban - Beautifully balanced and a doddle to ride, even at walking pace. Get's plenty of looks and when I stopped for 5 minutes the bike had three people come and have look around it, (Yes, I really am that shallow!).
Mirrors - Probably the best mirrors I've seen on a bike. Absolutely no vibration at all and superb visibility, NOT of my elbows for a change!
Seat - As others have mentioned, it's a bit hard but I'm not going to be doing huge distances as I have the GS for that.
Fuelling - People have said that there's a problem with the fuelling. Not on my bike there isn't. The fuelling is creamy smooth but it does have a quick throttle and if you aren't smooth with it, it bites. The answer is in smoothing out your right hand, not in changing anything mechanical or electronic!
Clutch and Gearbox - A world away from heavy old Ducati clutches this is nice and light and the gearbox on mine is a joy. Snicks in nicely every time, no false neutrals. Really good.
Niggles - Aside from the aforementioned front end, I find the sidestand a bit tricky to get out and I found myself fumbling around like a fool at the garage the first time I stopped. Ducati say that this bike has been geared for low down stomp but I didn't find it that quick off the mark, that may be because it's the lowest powered bike I've owned in a long time, but I feel it could be zippier away from the lights.
Overall I think Ducati has done a really good job with the Scrambler bearing in mind it's built to budget. I'm happy despite the little niggles, it makes me smile every time I look at it.
Jerry
