Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

tion period between engagement and disengagement. This is especially noticeable when starting out on a hill. We found it best to gently let out the clutch lever, while appl ying as little " throttle as possible. Once the lever is com pl e te ly ou t, just above stalling spe ed, the throttle can then be slowly rolled on, allowing the engine 's awesome torque to take over. Torque. Th is is so mething the 907 has plenty of. As soo n as you roll on the thr ottle , you'll immediately forge t about the bogus clutch, as you r a ttention suddenly changes to just hanging on to the handlebars. Clicking the 907 thr ough the g ea rs fo r the first few times , it becomes evi dent that the bike little hard to read at a qu ick glance. The nu mbers are pretty small. The fuel gauge seems accu ra te, but the br igh t g reen low -on -fu e l warn ing light is an noying. Grab a handful of front brake, ma ki n g the gas s losh around , an d the light starts to blink erratica lly when the fuel gauge still reads ha lf fu ll! Und er hal f a tank, it blinks almost constan tly. The rear view mirrors are mounted quite Iow a n the fair ing and barely s tic k o u t at all compared to most street bikes. Th is makes the bike feel very narrow and comfortable while (Right) Th e 907 is fairl y wide and is very com fortable. (Below) The red on b la ck readout s on the i ns tr u m en t panel are tough to read at a glance. w or ks best at low er rpm rather than re vved out on top. It likes to be shortshifted in order to take advantage of the excellent torque produced by the big V-tw in motor. Vibration is notice able but not overly annoying. As we mentioned earlier, the 907 is g eared extremely tall, which is very nice for the open highways and freew ays. It's obvious the 907 is geared for the high sp eeds of the au tostradas i n Ita ly, as the e ng in e near ly b og s around 65 mp h wh ile in top (six th) g ear . Fo rt u na te ly, the 907 cruises al on g comfo rtably at our more often t han n ot mandated 55 mph speed lim it in fifth gear. Th e transmiss ion works well, althou gh the shift lever throw is quite a bit longer than mos t Japanese-bu ilt street bikes we 've ridden. The 474-pound (d ry) 907 is a big m ot orc ycle . lt feels wi de and heavy; yet is very comfortable for all types of r id in g. T he spacious layout, ver y w ide. an d thickly padded seat, and neutra l-position handlebars makes the big Oucati well-suited for everyday commuting, as well as back roads cru is in g . However, taller pe ople might fe e l tha t the fo otpegs are mounted a litt le too high. For a big bike, the 907 corners qu ite well. It doesn 't take much effort by the rider to initia te t he tu rn ; o nce it's lea ned over, it tends to stay there while ho ld ing its prescribed line. It is by no means a sq uirre ly or tw itchy mo torcycle. Instead, it's s mooth a nd '. . predictable. Ver y solid. Th e bike d oes feel a little top hea v y, t hough, and the front end tends to d ive slightly in tight turns at low spee d s. It is more comfortable in the wide, sweeping turns. And the faster , the better. (Above) T he b ig, 9O-degree, V-twin moto r is t o ta lly e n cl o s e d by th e fai ring. (Below) A Marz occhi fork handles the front susp ension chores . lane-spli tti ng (yes, that's still legal in Californ ia ). You can see th e top of the you r th ighs in the m ir r ors, but the overall rearward Visibility is good, though it still takes some body bending a nd twi sting to see directly behi nd you. One th ing we reall y don 't like is the automatic fold ing s id es ta n d. It 's spring-loaded so wh en the stand is unweighted , it immed iately s na ps back underneath the bike, usually when you 're not ready. We dropped the bike once because of this , resulting in a broken front turn signal lens and a small scratch in the fairing. Mo re than once, we came close to dropping it again. It's best to use the centerstand whenever possible. The 907 comes with a helmet lock, but you 'll fin d that it's easier to just carry your helmet because the lock is extremely d ifficult to get at and to o perate. Overall, the 907 is a neat bike. Perhaps its best feature is tha t it's j ust p lain diffe re n t, an d it never fails to turn head s. The br ight red co lo ri n g is s tri king, and the low rumbl e of th e m ot or so unds like no other. Performance-wise, the 907 does the trick , the motor is po werfu l, it ha nd les well and the s uspe nsio n soa ks up the bumps nicely. But we must say th at w e d id n ' t ca re for the g ra bby clutch , the clankit y-c lank sou nd ing e ngi n e , and the side stand. Now for the big qu estion . Is the 907 I.E. worth the hefty $8950 price tag? We th ink so, but not because of performance a lone. A lth ough the bike w orks well, it's the 907's one-of-a-kind s tyli n g, brig ht re d p a int and that Italian "Ferrari" au ra tha t makes it so appealing. At least the 907 looks like a 59000 mo torc ycle. And that righ t there , for man y , is justificati on en oug h. £N Rear whe el travel 2.7 inches Front brake Dual 320mm floating Ducati 907LE. rotors with hyd raulic four piston calipers Engine type Liquid-cooled,90 Rear brake .........Single 245mm fixed rotor degree , V-twin, 4-stroke . with hydraulic caliper Bore x stro ke 1192 x 68mm Front tire 120/70 ZR 17 - A 59X Displacement 904cc Michelin 170/60 ZR 17 - M 59X Compression ratio 92:1 Rear tire Carbu retor None Michelin 474 lbs Ind uction WEBER digital electronic O aimed dry weight 27.5 in. indirect fuel injection Overall wid th 45.6in. Starting system Electric Overall heigh t 58.7 in. Ignition ElectroniclAW type with Wheelbase Inductive Discharge Fuel capacity 5.5 gal. 1.3gal. Lubrication ...... Forced feed OUCA11 gear Reserve driven pump with replaceable filter Ground clearance 6.7 in. 30.7 in. Final drive 0 .1.0520 VU, 5/8 x Seat height 1/4 in. x lOS L · Colors Red or black $8950 Clutch Hydraulically actuated dry Retail price DucatiMeccanica multi-plate Manufacturer Frame ..... Double crad le, perimeter type in S.p.A, Bologna, Italy square section Cr Mo 4 steel tubing Importer Cagiva North America, Rake 25· Inc, Fairfield, New Jersey Trai l ; ;.. 107mm While Cycle New s believes the foregoing Front suspension Marzocchi M1R test reliable, it is the opinion of the reviewer Fork tube diameter 41.7mm only and should not be relied upon in deterFront wheel travel 5 inches mining the performance or safetyof the vehiRear suspension Soft Damp, single cle. The reader should make his or her own shock, aluminum swingarrn investigation. Specifications The brakes are extremely strong, especially up front. Both front and rear binders have good feel, but after a while, the front brake lever developed too much play. Afte r racking up a little over 1500 miles, the front brake lever almost hit knuckles before th e pucks effectively clamped down on th e discs. Un fort una tely, there is no easy way to rem ove the excessive play like you can by a quick ad justment on most Japanese street bikes, an d ad just ing the Ouca ti's brakes w ill re q ui re dealer attention. The red on black read outs on the ins trument pa ne l look trick but are a 21

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