Mate, I just bought an 08 -848. I have to say that it's more than enough for the road. Like you I am no track day Demon and am way too old to ride it like I stole it; usually. I've been riding for nigh on 30 years and usually ride a KTM 990 ADV which is no slouch in its class and to be honest I'm not bad in the saddle when I want to be. However, in saying that the 848 makes it look slow as I can hit the national limit pretty much instantly and by the time I'm in third and it can be quite intimidating on hard acceleration. A bit like that scene in Star Wars when the Ewok steals the troopers hover bike and burns off squealing and hanging on for dear life; fun but there is room for improvement! I'm still learning to "explore" it's potential, like everybody else I've been limited by time , weather and lockdown. I have thought that if I had chosen the 1098/1190 route it would have been too much to handle on our crappy roads with limits, potholes and cameras everywhere and at 51 my desire to scare myself on a regular basis diminishes year on year! I want to enjoy the challenge of the experience, not look at it in the garage and choose another bike because the Duc scares me, which I think would have been the case with the bigger lumps.
That’s really useful, thank you. Anyone with a 1098 want to present a counter argument to these points?
I’ve owned my 1098s since new (2007) and have also ridden several 848 models all on the road. Both bikes are excellent however the 1098 suits my riding style as I prefer lazy bikes. I’ve ridden long runs with mates on their 848 models in the North of Scotland and let’s say spirited rides? They always made reference to ringing it’s neck to keep up and my 1098 which was hardly stressed. The other thing to consider is the dry(1098) vs wet (848) clutch. Personally I prefer the dry clutch but something to take into consideration if not used to noise etc. The other thing is ABS, traction control. My model has neither but I believe the 1098R and 1198 variants do. Same I think for the 848EVO. The other thing I noticed was seat height. I prefer my feet firmly on the ground which I achieved with the 1098 from the box but introduced sag to give more movement at the rear. On the other hand the 848 from the box had no height adjuster and I found the seat height much higher. Not a problem if your tall.
I’m sure you’d be happy with either, the 848 evo is hardly a moped is it? I’m not sure I share the points about the 1098 being hard to manage, for sure it’s not a bike for the town centre, actually it’s a pita riding the clutch at slow speed in traffic but open it up when you can & you’ll love it.
How easy is it to wheelie either bike? Is the effort in preventing it or making it happen? I don’t want to lose control :/
1098 - a baby could do it 848 - needs a more aggressive throttle or controlled clutch up - a baby couldn’t do it
Easy choice after seeing the two readouts ,it has to be the 1098 ,torque is king and the throttle goes both ways
