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/128239
A nd th e new seat has a w ider, softer uphol ster y th an befo re, wi th a ste p in t he mi d d l e emblazoned w ith the Duc at i logo which in theory at least should stop the pass enger from slid ing down it s slope and up against the rider, says Andrea Forn i. The passenger will also ap preciat e the improved ride qu a lit y of the uprated Sach s shock o ver ro ug h ro ad surfaces such as those I encount ered in the foothills of the Appen ines, an impression enhan ced b y the t ig ht , taut feel of th is prep roducti on bike . There are no rattles from the bodywork ; the mirrors don 't vi brate and give excell ent rear vision of something other than your shoulders. The bike also gets a r e a so n a b l y good paint finish and im po rt ant p rac ti c al t ou ch es lik e a side stand that is no l on g er suicide-s tyle an d mor eo v e r allows y ou to w arm the bik e up o n the c hoke ( the man ual vari et y - no auto matic enriche ner p rog ra m on th e Marelli EF I, fo r some rea son) . There's also a ce nter-stand inc luded as sta ndard , w ith a l ev e r that rota te s o ut from the left ben eath the seat to help you roll it o n to that. This comes in han d y when th e bike 's lo ad ed with luggage, usi ng the range of hard and soft fitments available through the D uc a t i Performan c e c at a l o g . D o n ' t l o o k for any hop - up parts fo r t h e three-valve motor in that same cata log - at leas t not yet. One negative is that there's no poc ket in the ST3 ' s fairing to park in freeway toll tickets and the means to pay for them; Co m e o n , Du cati - you got tol d that the firs t tim e around , with th e ST2. A nd wh il e the quality of fi ni sh of the bike is a definite step up from the ST2, the fi ni sh on th e ST3 's fo rge d uppe r t ripl e cla m p is unac ce ptab ly c h eap - looki ng - g et i t ano di zed, o r be tter yet polis hed , t o sto p it looking li ke it c am e off a Chi nese m otorc ycl e. Th e br ak e s are goo d w i t h the ex ce ll ent response fro m the m idd le-of the -ra nge Brembo pack age cert ainly enough to sto p th e ST3 . Du cati chose we ll fo r a model with wh ich t o la unch the newest m ember of its desmo V-twin family of eng ines . A s th e chosen veh icle for the debu t of th e desmotre motor. the ST3 repre sen ts a dynam ic improvem en t over th e ST 2 in every Sing le way , and ce rt ainly also a v isual on e that's appreci at ed e l sew he re. t o o . Th i s i s evi d en c ed w hen yo u see ho w BM W ' s pro tot ype fou r -c y li n d e r K -m od el ( tha t' s schedu le d t o be appearing a y ear from now ) has a near-identical " f ace " and eq u ally J -t y pe head lam p to the ST3. I foresee the new Du cati carving a deserved slice of th e growi ng sp orttouring m ark et, especi ally among those who did n't have the budg et or desire to str etc h to a Sup erbik e-with-pan niers in th e form of th e ST4S but ( per ha p s rig htfully) rega rded the desm odu e-powered ST2 as history on wheels. W e ll, now th e D uc at i Ch r o n icl es have turn ed a page and beg un a new c h a p t er with th e d esm o t re m ot or b ut still con tain ing t hat un m ist ake . able D u c at i D N A , a l bei t now done over. CN What are you waiting for? Call now to order a Cycle News Gift Subscriptio n! VJSI( '1 800-831-2220 And - we'll even send your buddy a card to let him know of your gift. cue I e n e _ s • N OVEMB ER 5 , 2003 15