Jolley's 848 - Experience to Date!

[Jolley]

Right chaps. I have been understandably busy because I was only in the UK for 3 weeks. Obviously I had a lot of presents to sort, my brother had his second daughter, my girlfriend had been saving up a load of DIY, I had to spruce up the KTM for the young ‘un, and of course I picked up and ran-in my new toy!! So to follow is a short introduction to the past couple of weeks with my bike and some of my thoughts…

First off, I am new to biking. I did a 2-day DAS back in Sept 05 and failed with a dabbed foot on my u-turn (bugger!!). Did another 2-day DAS in Aug 06 and passed with 3 minor faults… bonus. I put my passing down to being an observant car driver and being confident on a bike following years of downhilling (mountainbike). The amusing thing to note is that I was found guilty of speeding in court the day I passed my test!!

Once passed I needed a bike. It had to be a V-twin simply due to the noise (I have had 2 impreza’s and the noise from those was blown away by my mates Aprilia RSV Mille). However I thought the Mille might be a bit much (and is to cease production this year), so I had set my sights on a 749 (an S or R)… in fact, if Ducati Aylesbury had not sold their 749R (to someone on here I believe!) I probably would have gone for that. Anyway, once the R had gone I saw an absolutely mint Mille at Hyside (Romford) so sent an e-mail enquiry. Unfortunately I went to another Island surfing for a few days and by the time I had checked for the reply the bike had been sold. That day also happened to be the same day the 848 release was announced (stroke of luck or fate?!). As Hyside are a Ducati dealer I enquired instead about how I might order an 848!! … why not, as my father says, you only live once. Get what you want while you can enjoy it!

The most amusing thing for me was the process of ordering a new bike. I have ordered new cars from dealers and there are options on everything…. Colours of seats, carpets, seatbelts, types of stereo, pollen filters, wheels, numbers of airbags, sunroofs… the list goes on. My choices when ordering the 848… would you like that in Red or White?!! I said White straight away because I thought it looked gorgeous, but I did keep having second thoughts having not seen either of them in the flesh. I can confirm now that I have it that I made the right decision (it contrasts perfectly with the Carbon!!).

Fast Forward to the 13th December. On my way to drop off the hire car to get the bike a van ran into the back of me at a roundabout and then my lift from the drop-off to Hyside fell through… this being the 13th and the old wives tale of things always happening in 3’s did make me think twice about picking it up. Especially as I was picking it up at 4pm and it would be dark and icy. I had only driven on the roads for the 4 days of my two DAS courses, and had never driven in either of these conditions, let alone on a £10,000 Ducati!! So I took a couple of piccies before I left the shop encase I dropped it at the first roundabout:







Preparing to drive away from the forecourt I was absolutely bricking myself, but once moving all was well. Took it easy and made it home cold but in one piece. I then proceeded to put 500miles on it in 4 days (all in sub-zero conditions), because I wanted to make sure it had the first service before I put it away. During this time I only had 4 scares: The first time I came past a lorry on a windy day (knocks you a bit!!), a front wheel lock up when I didn’t notice a car stopping in front of me in town (bit of a wobble, but the bike stays surprisingly upright when done in a straight line), the rear stepping out on a clumsy downchange for a roundabout when it was about -3C (woke me up!!), and at least one car pulling across on me on the M25.

I eventually put another 400 miles on it before putting it into storage, and on one particularly frosty morning I couldn’t miss the opportunity to take this photo which won me photo of the year on this very site!


A few photos before I packed it away until my return in April:






My chicken strips after 900 miles (my excuse it the weather!!):


It is a gorgeous bike and so easy to ride. I know a lot of people say to get a second hand cheap bike as a first bike and stick to something no bigger than 600cc, but this isn’t massively different in performance to a 600cc sportsbike (which I personally think would encourage me to drive faster due to its revvy nature – I like to bumble loudly along at a safe pace). It is also very easy to ride. Also, I figure that if I do drop it (it is possible), then hopefully it should not cost me any more to fix than I would lose running and selling on a lesser bike for a year. Ultimately, I know my limits and I know I will stick to them. I drive cars quite quickly, but whenever I get a new car it generally takes me 3 or 4 months to gradually build up my speed feeling for what the car is doing. I knew because of my approach to building up to speed in a new car I could trust myself to get used to a new bike.

One complaint... bike wheels are impossible to clean... brake disks and sprokets all in the way!

I do not regret it one bit… but I should definitely invest in Carbon shares the rate I am going!!

[Steve GD]

Great write-up, Jolley, and the bike looks wonderful, epecially in that really moody, frosty shot in the park. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say, and when you get back in April, hopefully the ice will have thawed at least.
It sounds from the front wheel lockup you describe as if you had left a gap between you and the car in front which would have been adequate had you been driving a car. Cars have a braking advantage over us, though , so most riders make a conscious decision to leave a bigger gap for just this reason.
Now....where are you buying your carbon? I need to know whose shares to buy.

[RichieW]

Nice bike buddy and I enjoyed the write-up. Take care on it. I still have not seen these bikes in the flesh and it hurts!!!

Richie.

[SlowLearner]

Excellent Post !

I picked up my Tricolore in mid december and have done 500 miles so far ....... :-)

Once the first service is done i cant wait to 'exceed 6000 revs' :-O

Steve

[Richard]

Great write up and lovely looking bike. Saw one at my local dealers and I'm considering trading in the 749s for one. Looks great in white!!

[Bananaduke]

Good write up!! Glad to hear your enjoying it. Roll on April, You must be so excited about geoing on her again.

And I have seen and drooled over your very own bike, I picked up my 749 from Hyside on Dec 10, and remember spending a very long time just looking at every single curve on your bike.

[Jolley]

Cheers guys. Nice to know I wasn't wasting my time!!

Originally Posted by Bananaduke

Good write up!! Glad to hear your enjoying it. Roll on April, You must be so excited about geoing on her again.

And I have seen and drooled over your very own bike, I picked up my 749 from Hyside on Dec 10, and remember spending a very long time just looking at every single curve on your bike.

Ahh, cool. That was before they added a few Carbon extras. Actually, did you pick up your bike quite late (around 4 or 5?). If you did I think you were just leaving when I turned up to arrange my pick-up. Will have to give you a shout and go out for a ride when I am about next.

[Bananaduke]

Originally Posted by Jolley

Cheers guys. Nice to know I wasn't wasting my time!!


Ahh, cool. That was before they added a few Carbon extras. Actually, did you pick up your bike quite late (around 4 or 5?). If you did I think you were just leaving when I turned up to arrange my pick-up. Will have to give you a shout and go out for a ride when I am about next.

I did leave at about 4ish. It was just getting dark.

What a small world.

[Jolley]

Originally Posted by Bananaduke

I did leave at about 4ish. It was just getting dark.

What a small world.

I had travelled from the Maldives that day. It was my first port of call from the airport. So it was even more of a coincidence after travelling 5,500miles over 24hrs. I think they were actually warming your bike up out the front when I arrived.

[airwolf]

This bike is just gorgeous...........

Need I say more.

Loved the pics..... If you ride her in April we could do a 848 day!

[955SP]

Originally Posted by airwolf

This bike is just gorgeous...........

Need I say more.

Loved the pics..... If you ride her in April we could do a 848 day!

Sign me up! I'll be there too with mine.

[Multimental]

Originally Posted by Jolley

One complaint... bike wheels are impossible to clean... brake disks and sprokets all in the way!

I do not regret it one bit… but I should definitely invest in Carbon shares the rate I am going!!

I always remove my back wheel when I clean my bike. It's easy enough to do all you need is a paddock stand, a big torque wrench and ans suitably sized socket. Makes cleaning that back wheel and the surrounding area so much easier.

[Kenoir]

Originally Posted by Multimental

I always remove my back wheel when I clean my bike. It's easy enough to do all you need is a paddock stand, a big torque wrench and ans suitably sized socket. Makes cleaning that back wheel and the surrounding area so much easier.

The rear paddock stand goes through the back wheel on an 848/1098. I'm sure you could support the back end some how but I've not yet figured out how the front paddock stand works so I'd be stuffed!

[Jolley]

I am actually nowhere near the bike at the moment, but that has created a problem... because I cannot ride it, I keep buying things for it!!

Upgrades so far:

Carbon tank Pad (£16)
Carbon front mudguard (£120)
Carbon Rear hugger (£120)
Carbon exhaust heatshield (£63)
Carbon dash cover (£66)
Carbon Keyguard Cover (£65)
Carbon Sprocket cover (£45)
Carbon Chainguard cover (£52)
Black/Silver Pazzo shorty levers (£129)

Ducati rear paddock stand (£125)
Ducati Front Paddock Stand (£125)
Wheel nut tool (£45)

Cost to date is £971.

I will update when I next get bored on the internet with my wallet, and post pictures when I come back to fit it all.

[andyrh]

So easy done tho Jolley

TBH the mudguard, heatshield & hugger are must have's anyway 8)

So what is the wheel nut tool?

Expect April can't come soon enough for you, are you going to make it down to Bristol on the 26th?