Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128107
leve r was quite a ways off the handl e b ar . It cou ld probably be adjusted , bu t nobody seemed to be bothered by it at the racetrack. No ma t te r how evolv e d , t h e Du cati's cl utch and tranny will ne ver be able to hide their he ritage, thoug h maybe that's th e wa y that it shou ld be . T h um b th e 996 's s t a rt e r button and you are instantly gr e eted with an a ccompanying jangle th at signals the d ry clutch. In the past, we 've bitched a bout the fact that it takes the grace of a m a e str o to get the 996 to p erfo rm in concert with its transmi ss ion when pulling away fro m a dea d stop or when s hifting at lower rpm on the street. On th e track, these complaints seem to be less of a n issu e , although our panel of testers was deadlocked ov er just how well the 996 shifted . On e tester claimed to have no problems, wh ile anoth er sa id that he had a t im e of getti ng th e Du cati to ma ke c o n s ist ent up shi ft s . Still anot her claimed t hat h e was m issi ng do wnsh ifts , a nd then later, upshifts as well. S o e ith e r we we re confused o r the tranny is a little confused, b ut of thi s we co uld be c e rtai n: the stoc k ge a ring - a t least for Laguna - was a b it off, requiring c areful cog s e lec tion to maximize each la p . HANDLING You wo u ld t hi nk tha t t he diffe renc es in center of gravity a nd inertial influe nces bro ught on by the g reate r c ra nk s haft width of an in -line four vs . th a t' of a V-twin wo uld influence the handling of our t rio in diffe rent ways . But, jus t as with Japanese ma chin er y with like p owe rp lants, ju m p ing fro m o ne sa d dle to anot her in ou r tr io required littl e in t he way of a djustm e nt. In fa ct , th e knife-like carving cha racteristic s of the Ducat i and the MV were nearly iden tic al, with o n ly th e sound of the engine and the feel ing that each imparts to the derriere as it gets with the program be ing the te ll-ta le clu e s as to wh ic h was wh ich. Love t he de c ade -o ld tradition of Vtw in do mina nce po rt rayed b y the Ducati? Get the 996 . Like everything about t he Du c a ti bu t fancy a four? T h e n the MV Agusta is you r b a g , ba by. Both of them offer tremendous front-end feedback, wh ich allows you to ra il with confid e nce - the harder you push , the better - with the MV giving up just a win k of stra ight- line stability when c om pa red to the 996. Ab out our on ly observation with the MV is that its sexy bo dywork tends to catch your posterior when hanging off in the turns , giv ing the im pression that yo u're no t rea lly off the seat yet. Of course, stability is the hall ma rk of t he Ap rilia RSV Mille , wh ich felt un shakabl e no m att er what the ve loc ity. It ma y be m e re coi nci d e nce , bu t the Apr ilia is the o nly bi ke in the b unc h to s p o rt an a lum inum fra me . The extra rig id ity is appreci ated. If there is a weak link in the Aprilia 's handling process, then it is on ly the same one that we gri ped about the la s t tim e that we te sted a Mille: this moto rc ycle does not respond well to a flic k -it -in ridi ng style . Rathe r, the Mille 's geometr y seems m o re s u ited to graceful carving. The Aprilia also imparts a much la rge r feel than the other two . Make no m istake, the RSV will turn right with the 996 and the F4S, but d irection changes require a touch m ore deliberation. That, a long with a se a ting pos ition tha t fee ls like a La -Z-Boy rec line r compared to th e torture- rack ergonomics of the Ducati and the MV, shou ld make the Aprilia the b est cho ice for all -da y ru n s th rough your favo rit e tw ist ies . SUSPENSION All t hree o f o ur test s u bjec t s requ ired a bit of fiddling in order to d ia l in their sus pe nsion for Laguna. Pr im a rily , Hane y o rdered more preloa d fo r the front and rear on all th ree, alon g with a correspondent re bo und adj us tment to keep the pogo factor in check. All tol d , the Duca t i requ ire d t h e lea st fiddling , b ut then it also seemed to offer the stiffest ride of the three. A s we alluded earlier , the 996 's Showa fork legs negotiate the ripples well, which is a good th ing be c a us e the 996 p refers to be ridden on the front e nd. The Ohli ns -damped rear e nd always feels planted - never wan ders or wavers - but a savvy Ducati rider q uickly le a rn s to deal with the d e c ide dl y forward weight bi a s and a djust his te chn ique acc ordingly . Th e rea r c an pr a ct icall y b e igno re d. All t ol d, th e sus pe n sio n really shi nes when the bike is ridden aggress ively . Th e same can be said for the MV Ag u sta , a lt houg h it tends to prefer be in g ridden a b it more toward the m idd le of the motorcycle - this de spite a riding position that is strikingly s im ila r to the Duca t i. Th e MV utilizes 49 mm S howa forks up front a long with a S ac hs rea r shock. Actu a lly , o ur fork s were nearly p erfe c t rig ht off the bat , but the shock took a couple rounds of preload befo re firming u p to o ur satisfac tion. Afte r that, the F4S co uld be ridden as aggres s ive ly or leisure ly a s the ride r wanted . It nev er see me d t o t r a ns mi t any undue h a rs h ness t h ro ug h t h e bars , a nd it al ways tr acked strai g h t and true ... we ll, right up until a bo ut 5 p.m. ENGINE Liquid-cc cled. 90 -degree V-twin VA LV ETRA IN Desmodromic control; four valves per cylinder BORE X STROKE • . .. .... .. .. . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..... ... ... ..98 x 66mm DISPLACEMENT ... . . .. . .. . . .. .•. .. . . .. . ... . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . .. • . . . . .•996cc COMPRESS IO N RATIO 11.5: 1 CARBURETION Marell i electronic injection; 50mm throttl e bodi es IGNITION Electr onic CLUTCH Hyd raulic-assisted dry mu ltiplate TRANSMISSION Six-speed FRAME Tubu lar steel tr elli s WHEELBASE .56.4 in. RAKE/TRAIL 23.5 ·24.5°/91 -97 m m SEAT HEIGHT .31.1 in. SUSPENSION . FRONT Showa 43 mm upside down fork wi 5.0 in. travel; fully adjustable REAR Progressive cantilever; Ohli ns shock wi 5. J in. travel; fully adjustable TI RES FRONT Michelin S-pilot 120/70 ZR17 REAR Michelin S-pi lot 190/50 ZR J 7 WHEELS FRONT Marchesini 3.50 x 17 REAR Marchesini 5.0 x 17 BRAKES FRONT (2) Brembo 320mm semi-floating disc wi four -p iston caliper REAR . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .( 1) Brembo 220mm disc wi two-piston caliper CLA IMED DRY WEIGHT .436 Ibs. FUEL CAPA CITY .4.5 gal. MSRP : $1 6.795 The Ducati 's 996cc desmo, L -twi n motor offers more scoot than the competition - leaving them sucking f u m e s from its twin Termignoni s. cue I e n e _ S • JUNE 6 ,200 1 29