And what's with the race bike pictures? Compare 999 off the factory floor to the 1098 and tell me the 999 has better styling FFS.
Anyway @Robarano, you have another gem in your garage, a Desmo, surely that takes the title of "The Perfect Ducati" over the 1098R. Don't get me wrong, I think the 1098R is superb, however the Desmo just has that something very special about it.
All those ignorant 1098 buyers, not recognising the "beauty" of the 999. Source: Ducati (via Asphalt & Rubber).
Oooh look, the 999 outsold the 916 more % wise in it's first year than the 1098 did vs the 999 - so considering the economies of the time the 999 wins again!!! Beside, the first year 1098's were mainly warranty replacements Also the 1098 launched early / the 999 launched later and also ran alongside the 998 in 2003 - so the 999 becomes a clear winner. Next.................
Yeah, but it's double or triple the value, and starting a thread extolling the virtues of the Desmo isn't going to surprise anyone. The 1098R is a bona fide classic still within the reach of a lot of people and a while back (when I bought mine at the bottom of the market) I noticed people selling them to move to Panigales. The Panigale R, although extremely impressive just doesn't feel like it wants to rip your face off in the same way, if that makes sense.
WOW. Now that is desperation. How many hours with the crayons did that misrepresentation take? What on earth is the relevance of marketshare performance of 916 to 999 have to do with 999/1098 ? SFA!!! [/Citation Needed] AT LAST you lave a point. The graph erroneously has the 998 and the 999 as having the same volume in 2002 which is not possible. The first build date for the 999 was May 2002, never mind release date. The media release in Australia was December 2002. To achieve that volume the year must be 2003 for the 999. So the figure would be full year 2003 otherwise it would be ridiculously low. Nevertheless taking together the market share of the 1098 and 1198 (only an update and post global recession) it is crystal that this style embarrassed the 999. As Visor Down and Terblanche himself (2017) stated "Ducati unveiled its long-awaited and much anticipated replacement to Massimo Tamburini’s legendary 916 design in late 2002. And the world stood still. Then the world drew in a breath, paused for thought and formed a collective impression that this was indeed a very ugly bike. Despite being a better motorcycle to ride, Pierre Terblanche’s concept was panned the world over for its physical appearance. Sales were slow despite WSB success (in the UK the last 916-style bikes actually out-sold the 999 in 2003) and even a few tweaks to try to improve its look failed to help. The 999 was replaced in 2007 by the 1098, which looks an awful lot like an updated 916, something the 999 should always have been. Unsurprisingly the 1098 has proved a tremendous hit, breaking Ducati’s sales targets and helping the company climb out of the hole the 999 helped put it in. “Some people had a negative reaction to the styling, not everybody did,” said Terblanche in 2010. “Maybe it was a bit early, too futuristic, who knows? When you do projects like this you obviously intend that that they will be liked by everybody, but that doesn’t always happen.” NEXT .....
The 999 was a step to far for some people. Like it or loathe it, no other Ducati before or since has had such attention to detail in styling. For that reason alone, for me, means it will always be more interesting than a Daytona 675 copy.
