Ducati 698 Hypermotard RVE – First ride review:
(Recent bikes include KTM 1098 and KTM 890R)
Bike is 10 months old and has 2k miles on it.
First thing to notice is the poor fuelling under about 5k revs. Pulling away is snatchy and not pretty.
Once you get the hang of balancing the clutch and using the right gear (it’s fussy about the gear!), it’s much better. But rather lets it down. Sport mode around town is particular fun!
The bike over 5k revs is like a different machine! The power delivery is smooth and the pull is a joy.
This half of the rev range is a bike Ducati can be proud of. Until the fuelling gets sorted, I’ll plan my rides accordingly to avoid stop-and-start town riding.
The front brake—wow! It's a tiny bit more urgent than recent bikes, but it has loads of stopping power. I even felt the back brake working well, too.
There were a lot of wet leaves around, so I didn’t try the ABS!
The handling felt nice and confident inspiring, better than I expected.
Scrolling through the settings is a bit cumbersome, I couldn’t seem to exit a setting/menus easily, maybe I should read the book!
On delivery the bike cranked well but wouldn’t start, it took a few attempts. It seemed better during the day, but not as I would expect.
I’ve had some Ducati sports bikes and understand they have some special noises, but this engine noise is not great when riding. You don’t notice it when revving at a standstill, but on a run, the ‘ticking noise’ is grating after a while. I’m told this is the desmo valvetrain, more like a bag of spanners. However, to be sure I’m back to the dealer this week to compare riding noises with another 698 they have, they can also take a look at the starting issue.
For me, it’s a fun bike, for me to get my ‘fix’ in short rides and seek out those B roads around here.
I’m just hoping the noise issue is just my bike and can be fixed, otherwise some loud exhausts may be needed!
(Recent bikes include KTM 1098 and KTM 890R)
Bike is 10 months old and has 2k miles on it.
First thing to notice is the poor fuelling under about 5k revs. Pulling away is snatchy and not pretty.
Once you get the hang of balancing the clutch and using the right gear (it’s fussy about the gear!), it’s much better. But rather lets it down. Sport mode around town is particular fun!
The bike over 5k revs is like a different machine! The power delivery is smooth and the pull is a joy.
This half of the rev range is a bike Ducati can be proud of. Until the fuelling gets sorted, I’ll plan my rides accordingly to avoid stop-and-start town riding.
The front brake—wow! It's a tiny bit more urgent than recent bikes, but it has loads of stopping power. I even felt the back brake working well, too.
There were a lot of wet leaves around, so I didn’t try the ABS!
The handling felt nice and confident inspiring, better than I expected.
Scrolling through the settings is a bit cumbersome, I couldn’t seem to exit a setting/menus easily, maybe I should read the book!
On delivery the bike cranked well but wouldn’t start, it took a few attempts. It seemed better during the day, but not as I would expect.
I’ve had some Ducati sports bikes and understand they have some special noises, but this engine noise is not great when riding. You don’t notice it when revving at a standstill, but on a run, the ‘ticking noise’ is grating after a while. I’m told this is the desmo valvetrain, more like a bag of spanners. However, to be sure I’m back to the dealer this week to compare riding noises with another 698 they have, they can also take a look at the starting issue.
For me, it’s a fun bike, for me to get my ‘fix’ in short rides and seek out those B roads around here.
I’m just hoping the noise issue is just my bike and can be fixed, otherwise some loud exhausts may be needed!
