Something goes, something comes. Ducati GT1000 Sport Classic and Kawasaki W800

Ducati 1000 Sport

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Moto 1000 from Ducati

The Ducati 1000 Sport motorcycle has a wide variety of equipment. The bike has a fairly comfortable two-seater seat, and also has very comfortable textured handlebars.

The bike was equipped with two classic shock absorbers. Featuring a removable rear seat cover, this motorcycle exudes the chic and unique style called "Cafe Racer".

The Ducati 1000 Sport motorcycle has been designed as a high-quality two-wheeled motorcycle machine. This concerns, first of all, the bike’s configuration, which uses a modern 43 mm Marzocchi front fork. This inverted iron horse element features a classic brushed aluminum surface. The rear suspension was created in the form of a massive 60mm swingarm with a pair of adjacent fully adjustable Sachs-type shock absorbers.

In addition to the above, we note that the suspension layout was done in order to provide the bike with classic charm, as well as demonstrate the superior grip properties of the Ducati Sport.

Description of the Ducati 1000 Sport motorcycle

This iron horse has an ultra-modern frame. Note that its tubular design using chrome-molybdenum steel became very reliable and beautiful overnight.

Special words should be said about the angle of inclination of its front fork, which is 24 degrees. This brings new advantages to the handling of the bike, increasing its stability on the track.

The front brake is a pair of semi-floating discs with two piston calipers. The rear brake system boasts a smaller diameter disc and a single-piston caliper.

The Ducati 1000 Sport motorcycle has compact wheels with size 17. The bike also has a compact fuel tank that holds 15 liters of gasoline. The latter's reserve includes a volume of 3.5 liters. At the same time, the weight of the motorcycle reaches 182 kg.

The Ducati Sport 1000 has a highly functional instrument panel. It houses a speedometer, tachometer, high beam indicator, turn indicators, as well as a fuel level indicator, emergency oil pressure indicator and a neutral gear indicator.

Alexander Dmitriev,
photo:
Ducati

Ducati Sport 1000:

Ducati Paul Smart LE:

What are the most beautiful sportbikes? What about the managed ones? The correct answer is Ducati. Where is the best place to test Ducati? Of course, in my homeland! There is no broken Russian asphalt that can destroy the thin chassis. There are also no German autobahns, for which 200 km/h is an easy warm-up. But there are many winding mountain roads.

And there is nothing strange that the company from Bologna decided to conduct the first official test of two new sports classics in the vicinity of Florence. And if so, then there is a good reason to visit this beautiful city. After eight hours on the road, it’s difficult to immediately “get into” the process, and therefore the first impression of the motorcycles is ambiguous: the designers were too carried away by the 70s. And who is this powerful old man speaking with a serious British accent? Yes, this is Paul Smart himself, who won the fateful race for Ducati in 1972, which became the leitmotif for the development of two models in 2005... “The dream has become a reality,” Paul simply glowed with happiness, “and these are not the same motorcycles at all,” he said without a shadow of regret... Yes, “that” Ducati, standing in the hotel lobby, really looks like a piece of history.

I don’t know, maybe motorcycle culture in Europe has already reached the point where you want to return to your roots, but I’m afraid that in our Russian reality, few people will appreciate these historical delights. However, what did we build in our time from Dnepr and Urals (well, besides choppers, of course)? There was also a sports style in homemade products from 15 years ago. At least the Sport 1000 reminded me of that weak trend.

To be honest, it was the Sport 1000 that I liked in appearance – just look at its mirrors. Have any manufacturers installed these in the last 30 years? However, the pendulum made of thick round pipes brought a slight melancholy - it is unlikely to be rigid. What about the tires? Despite the promising name Phantom, their design was reminiscent of last year's visit to the motorcycle museum of Giancarlo Morbidelli. Standard questions at a press conference - standard answers: “No, these are not rarities, these are modern sports motorcycles. Not racing, of course, but sports - tomorrow you’ll see everything for yourself.” The representative of Pirelli had a hard time - it was this company that implemented the requirements of Ducati designers to create new modern tires with tubes (no spoke wheels here!). How did you do it? What is the design? What does Phantom have in common with Diablo... And the same answers: the tires are sports, not racing, you’ll feel everything yourself. Tomorrow".

In the morning - good luck! I started the test in a group riding a Sport 1000. We drove out of the gate - and there was not a second to get used to it - a narrow city street curves downhill, and we rush down the oncoming road, overtaking a dead traffic jam at a speed of 70 km/h. Here the hackneyed phrase will be true: “I sat down not “on a motorcycle”, but “into a motorcycle” - the Ducati is so comfortable from the very first meters. You don’t notice the extreme landing with a strong forward lean and the footpegs set back, nor the fact that you are riding the Sport 1000 for the first time. And what convenient mirrors! They only show the picture from behind - you won’t see yourself.

Florence is a small city. Literally 10 minutes later the serpentine road began, ending only in the evening at the hotel. The morning turned out to be cool, and for the first 20 kilometers we got used to the technology. But as soon as the dew cleared, the usual road mayhem began, called the “Ducati factory test”, interrupted only by periodic photo sessions and in populated areas equipped with traffic cameras... A hard pace set by the group leader piloting a Multistrada (it seems that this is really the best and not only Ducati), as always, was somewhat frightening at first - you know, it’s scary to tumble into a turn closed by a rock at a hundred, but it contributed to quick adaptation behind the wheel. And a careful analysis of the motorcycle.

So: this is truly a modern sportbike without a fairing, perhaps, by the standards of some individuals, not powerful enough. In corners it is completely neutral: and the pendulum surprisingly does not spoil life. Well, maybe if just a little - and even then within the framework of still a small favor for comfort instead of hard “racing”. The response to the “gas”, the operation of the gearbox - everything is harmonious, clear and does not give rise to the slightest reason for making complaints. The 1000 DS engine takes the load perfectly, runs smoothly and is quite quiet, which is not typical for Italian motorcycles. The tachometer, pathetically devoid of a red zone, showed 6000–7000 rpm in those moments when I switched to the next higher gear. There is no point in turning the engine any more: like any V-shaped (or L-shaped) “twin”, it works perfectly “on the moment” - its maximum capabilities are quite modest.

Whether it was the lack of autobahns in the vicinity of Florence, or Italy’s strict speed standards forced the organizers to abandon high-speed sections, it is unknown, but I was never able to accelerate the motorcycle faster than 180 km/h. However, I note that at this speed the device is quite stable. In general, everything related to the presented motorcycles can be characterized by the term stability. Despite the imperfect surface of Italian roads with bumps encountered here and there when exiting corners, there were no problems with steering wheel wobbles at all. They know how to design the chassis for Ducati! Neither less nor more – it’s very rare not to want a steering damper installed on a sports motorcycle.

Unfortunately, there was a fly in the ointment, which, as expected, was the new “designer” tires. Either the design played a role, or the rubber composition or design, but the fact is that their quality is low. No, no question, for a quiet touring ride they are very good, but at the exits of fast turns the rear every now and then wants to slide off. However, here everything is quite predictable and smooth - you won’t fall right away, but these tires really limit the capabilities of fast motorcycles. So much so that we can recommend installing better tires. By the way, you shouldn’t be afraid of the cameras inside.

Sportiness also has another side: after two hours of dynamic movement, my arms were tired from excessive stress on them. Another hour later, my left hand began to cramp from the clutch. Then my hand started to get numb, so much so that before the lunch break I stopped using the clutch altogether. Having rested and slightly refreshed, I went to learn Paul Smart, and in splendid isolation: my foreign colleagues (alas, there were no one else from Russia) were all tired of motorcycles, which, for the above reasons, is not at all surprising. A colleague from Estonia, for example, switched turns with his right hand at the end of the test. In such an event, riding alone has both pros and cons: it’s more comfortable to ride alone, but it’s psychologically harder; you won’t be able to move very quickly. As a result, I drove the first hundred kilometers along the well-known morning route.

There was no limit to my surprise when I didn’t realize at all that the motorcycle was equipped with Ohlins - from the steering damper to the rear monoshock. Well, it's not very appropriate here. Maybe if the track was a little faster, the corners were a little deeper, and the road a little worse, I would have felt all the differences of exclusivity (the presence of expensive suspensions is usually noticeable). But it’s worth mentioning separately the brakes, which are the same on both versions. Migrated from the company's sportbikes, they work superbly: the front one is perhaps even too harsh, the rear one, on the contrary, is extremely softened, so much so that you can only lock a wheel on purpose.

However, in some places the form dominates the content: for example, the fairing is inconvenient - it pinches the fingers lying on the levers when the steering wheel is in extreme positions. It was not possible to test its effectiveness - 180 km/h, alas, remained the test limit. Unfortunately. The tank also turned out to be inconvenient - contrary to the traditions of the company, it does not contribute to the feeling of a narrow motorcycle and is uncomfortable for the knees. Well, we don’t have to talk about the fact that you can’t really see anything in the mirrors.

What's the result? Two excellent sports motorcycles designed for short and infrequent dynamic rides. Alas, the “budget” modification of the Sport 1000 seemed much more interesting to me than the Limited Edition. I concluded for myself that such a motorcycle should not be the first or even the second in the garage. But if you are a true connoisseur of motorcycles, pay attention to these beauties. Even if you don't like them at first sight.

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Something goes, something comes. Ducati GT1000 Sport Classic and Kawasaki W800

A holy place is never empty, as evidenced by which we can observe an interesting, albeit very sad, reshuffle in the classics sector. Kawasaki is introducing the classic W800 model to the market, and Ducati (you can't help but shed a tear - note from the back rows) quietly, without much fanfare, excludes the GT1000 Sport Classic from the 2011 lineup.

So, first the bad. The outdated 992 cc DesmoDue L-twin, installed in the Ducati GT1000 Sport Classic (and no other model), has long haunted the Italians. These motorcycles were bought quite rarely - only by true retro connoisseurs, and therefore there was little demand for them. But these air vents required plenty of service, causing headaches for dealers and the company itself, as well as for customers who often had to wait for rare spare parts to arrive from the main warehouse.

Another reason for the disqualification of the legendary motorcycle was the presence of a direct competitor in the Ducati model range. We are, of course, talking about the Monster 1100, which is much more in line with the modern ideology of the company, and fits the concepts of “naked” and “classic”.

However, it is too early for Reds fans to grieve, because no one yet knows what exactly, besides the Diavel, they have in store for the EICMA 2010 motorcycle exhibition. Perhaps, with the departure of 992 cc, the Italians will decide to release an updated Sport Classic with the GT1100 index? That is, equipping it with the 1100 cc engine used in the Hypermotard EVO and the same Monster 1100... We'll wait and see. But if you asked ordinary fans like us, we wouldn't mind the presence of a motorcycle icon, reminding us of the rich history of the Italian company. Still, classics are different from classics, and I would never have tried to make up for the disappearance of the GT1000 with the appearance of the light classic W800, if this had not happened almost at once. If the GT1000 is a motorcycle with enormous charisma, full of style and splendor, coming from the pen of the brilliant Pierre Terblanche, then the second is simply a modified copy of the British classics. Yes, the announcement in 1999 of the W650 model, the predecessor of the W800, would not have happened without the appearance at one fine moment of the Triumph Bonneville - it was these motorcycles from the 60s that the Japanese copied, improving the technical part of the British cars.

The Kawasaki W650 was produced for 8 years and managed to win fans both in Japan itself (although the W400 was also in use there), and in Europe, the USA and Canada. However, in 2008 it was discontinued as not meeting modern environmental standards. So, after slowly working on the filling and increasing the volume of the two-cylinder in-line engine, Kawasaki finally decided to announce the W800, timing the official display to coincide with the Cologne motor show Intermot 2010. In short, the Kawasaki W800 is: in-line two-cylinder 773 cc engine, front disc brake, clutch in an oil bath, a 5-speed gearbox, the absence of a kick starter and numerous external details that emphasize the retro style of the device.

To understand “what it’s like,” try to imagine yourself in the 60s (or today, but in the Urals), but without oil puddles under the motorcycle.