For the last 2 weeks or so I’ve been riding a newly purchased winter hack due to the roads being wet/dirty etc, EX650R , 2008 model, £1200, very impressed with it, goes well stops well, handles well, I was expecting it to be rubbish but its surprisingly good, but surely it couldn’t compare to my Dukes?, so today when the roads finally dried I was really looking forward to taking the Scrambler out, more torque, better handling, better braking ...except it wasn’t, dynamically it’s just not as good as the Kawasaki, and it’s less comfortable, there I’ve said it!, the Scrambler looks better but isn’t, front brake felt weak, doesn’t swap direction as quickly etc etc, disappointed! ... so it was with some trepidation that I wheeled out the 900ss, would my all time favourite machine now feel dated, awkward, underwhelming?, NOPE!, it felt sublime, great brakes, rock steady handling, lovely torquey power delivery, had a blast. Thanks to the blue BMW driver who wound his window down at the lights and said “nice bike mate”. Apologies to the Porsche Cayenne driver that I startled as I undertook coming off the Starbucks Little Eaton island Long live Ducati!
Nothing wrong with a jap bike! Are you local to Derby by any chance?! Would love a look over the SS when the weather brightens up!
I think you’re being a little unfair to the Scrambler, not really a like for like comparison, I’m assuming you’re running the standard “knobbly” Pirelli MT60s tyres and of course a larger front wheel which hampers turn speed but adds to the look and feel of the bike. Headstock angle and rake also differ enough to differentiate the bike handling enormously.ive owned a 2015 FT and now the cafe racer, along side a 1260s, I love the sheer simplicity of the Scrambler, it’s raw and basic, it puts a smile on my face when I ride it, it is what it is and not really for comparison to a jap parallel twin. Ride it for what it is
Cheers, a few pictures brighten it up, the Doninigton map used to hang in the Donington museum, now sadly closed down.
Never had a problem with mine,the cafe racer runs M4-32s so if anything they’re a bit “sharp” FTs were also v good, you may need to look at bleeding as a few on here have experienced the spongy vague feeling
There’s nothing wrong with the brake Nigel, it’s just a bit lonely up there on it’s own, Ducati made it a single disc to save money, it is after all their budget bike, it’s adequate but no more, I fitted EBC HH pads which improved it but it’s still not as good as my 900ss or the Kawasaki, you can’t beat a twin disc set up, it’s just physics.
With regards to the brakes....upgrade the caliper and buy a brembo master cylinder to match....you wanna stop better you gotta pay...everything is built to a budget...Master cylinder upgrade on my hyper, full frontal upgrade to my rsv4 and Brembo HPK's on my zed Jap bikes: Brilliant. On my second z1000 and love it. (going into 5th year of ownership with no problems)
No surprise there, think I'd rather ride a Kwaka than a scrambler as well , now give us a better pic of the 900ss!
Here you go, .......now don’t get me wrong, the Scrambler is a great fun bike, I won’t be selling it or anything, it’s just that compared to the Kawasaki it doesn’t ride as well, easy win for the Scrambler on looks of course.
Yes, if I’m honest I’d over cooked it a bit, went in too fast, had to lean it like Marquez (well Marquez’s granny), my tyres were nowhere near warmed up so it was one of those moments where you just hope for the best!, anyway got away with it, need to grow up a bit really.
