The Ducati feels smaller and lighter than the Benelli - the narrow V-Twin layout makes the bike feel quite nimble, and the 10kg dry weight difference is noticeable just moving the bike around unpowered.
On the road the 999's steering is actually slower but very surefooted and smooth - not twitchy or nervous. It feels very stable and balanced when leant over, but not so responsive to minor adjustments and certainly requires more of a shove to flick left then right than the Tornado. Admittedly my Tornado sports some very light Dymags, which definitely improve the response from the bars, and I've also dropped the forks through the yokes. Ducati forum guys seem to agree that out of the box the 999 is not very sharp, but with a bit of careful setting up it can be made to handle with the best… We'll see!
My god though - what an engine! It is lumpy around town, ambling along at 2,000rpm or below it has that big V-twin 'rumble of thunder' type of sound, but from 3,000 upwards it picks up very strongly and smoothly, the bark gets louder and then around 4-5,000 you get that amazing booming sledgehammer sound that you'd instantly recognise as a Ducati WSBK bike accelerating hard out of a turn. It's completely different to the Tornado - with it's much more metallic, mechanical howl as the revs climb. The Ducati is all exhaust, no mechanical noise, just a booming, thumping, thudding wall of sound.
Despite the noise the Ducati feels smooth and refined on the move. The engine spins up easily, and with all that torque it's actually quite relaxing to ride - any one of three gears will do at any time: you just roll on a bit of throttle and off you go. The gearbox is light - nice to have a neutral available
- and the clutch is lighter than the infamous Tornado forearm-buster. The riding position is more of a racing crouch than the Tornado, though not uncomfortably so, and the narrow chassis and light weight make it easy to move from side to side, the contoured tank providing the perfect anchor for your onboard knee if you're really hanging it all out.
So far I am impressed - it's not as harsh as I expected - the only discomforts have come courtesy of the hard rear shock (it's fully adjustable Ohlins though) and the heat from the underseat exhaust: you really don't want to sit in traffic for very long on a sunny day…
Overall I'd say the Benelli Tornado is the luxurious, exotic, sporty GT - think Aston Martin DB9 or Maserati Gran Tourismo. The Ducati is more track-focussed: a harsher ride and thinner seat, but a monstrous engine in a light chassis. Not unlike a Ferrari I guess (and I am very much guessing there!! :rolling: :rolling: ).
cheers,
Dom
On the road the 999's steering is actually slower but very surefooted and smooth - not twitchy or nervous. It feels very stable and balanced when leant over, but not so responsive to minor adjustments and certainly requires more of a shove to flick left then right than the Tornado. Admittedly my Tornado sports some very light Dymags, which definitely improve the response from the bars, and I've also dropped the forks through the yokes. Ducati forum guys seem to agree that out of the box the 999 is not very sharp, but with a bit of careful setting up it can be made to handle with the best… We'll see!
My god though - what an engine! It is lumpy around town, ambling along at 2,000rpm or below it has that big V-twin 'rumble of thunder' type of sound, but from 3,000 upwards it picks up very strongly and smoothly, the bark gets louder and then around 4-5,000 you get that amazing booming sledgehammer sound that you'd instantly recognise as a Ducati WSBK bike accelerating hard out of a turn. It's completely different to the Tornado - with it's much more metallic, mechanical howl as the revs climb. The Ducati is all exhaust, no mechanical noise, just a booming, thumping, thudding wall of sound.
Despite the noise the Ducati feels smooth and refined on the move. The engine spins up easily, and with all that torque it's actually quite relaxing to ride - any one of three gears will do at any time: you just roll on a bit of throttle and off you go. The gearbox is light - nice to have a neutral available
- and the clutch is lighter than the infamous Tornado forearm-buster. The riding position is more of a racing crouch than the Tornado, though not uncomfortably so, and the narrow chassis and light weight make it easy to move from side to side, the contoured tank providing the perfect anchor for your onboard knee if you're really hanging it all out. So far I am impressed - it's not as harsh as I expected - the only discomforts have come courtesy of the hard rear shock (it's fully adjustable Ohlins though) and the heat from the underseat exhaust: you really don't want to sit in traffic for very long on a sunny day…
Overall I'd say the Benelli Tornado is the luxurious, exotic, sporty GT - think Aston Martin DB9 or Maserati Gran Tourismo. The Ducati is more track-focussed: a harsher ride and thinner seat, but a monstrous engine in a light chassis. Not unlike a Ferrari I guess (and I am very much guessing there!! :rolling: :rolling: ).
cheers,
Dom
