Sibling Rivalry
Despite a low seating position, the rider is still perched quite high and this makes for quick and responsive turn-in, at the expense of stability. That said, the KTM is solid once at max lean, it just takes time to trust the WP suspension. Up front is a fully adjustable 43mm inverted unit which we found soaked up bumps quite nicely. In the rear a WP shock, also fully adjustable, was accompanied by a ride height adjuster in the form of an eccentric ball joint. With five different height positions, we chose to leave it at the middle setting. The nervous feeling we were getting upon turn-in was likely due to a stiff spring rate that caused it to kick back abruptly once it reached the bottom of its stroke. Despite our best attempts at slowing the rebound circuit, the problem would persist.
Other than that, the KTM's engine won over the testers as its quick-revving nature required all of our testers to keep the engine spinning to have the most fun. Its nimble handling allowed us to put the bike anywhere we wanted, and drive out of turns was strong, assuming one was in the right gear to keep the bike in the powerband.
For the Ducati, shifting wasn't an issue as the monster torque would pull no matter what gear it was in. While it was slower to turn, the proven Öhlins suspension soaked up everything in its path and even worked well given the wide weight ranges of our test riders. With its forward riding position, front wheel feedback was almost telepathic and that allowed many of the riders to feel more comfortable attacking corners. All were in agreement that the Ducati took the point in the suspension department, with Steve "Hollywood" Mikolas summing it up best in his notes, "You can't beat Öhlins. Period."
Bringing both bikes to a halt are a pair of Brembo four-piston calipers, each radially mounted. The Ducati's clamp on 330mm discs, while the KTM's rotors are 10mm smaller in diameter. While it may be nitpicking, none of the testers could come to a unanimous agreement on stopping power as some felt the Ducati was noticeably stronger, while others couldn't tell a difference. Either way, both units bring the bikes to a halt quickly with good feel.
While not the TTX variety,...
While not the TTX variety, the Öhlins shock on the Ducati responds well to adjustments and provides a firm, yet compliant ride. No wonder it was a favorite of all the testers.
The WP rear shock did a fine...
The WP rear shock did a fine job of damping until near the bottom of its stroke, where the overly-stiff spring rate would overpower the rebound damping and cause it to kick back. Note the eccentric insert in the shock linkage and the additional subframe mounting point to adjust seat height.
It didn't take long on the jaunt home through highways and city streets-where a majority of owners will spend their time with these bikes-aboard the 1198S before joints started to ache and backs started to hurt. Not that the RC8R was immune to these issues, it just didn't occur until much later. As if that wasn't enough, at anything slower than hyperdrive the heat radiating from the 1198's underseat exhaust cooks your buns in no time. Mirrors on both bikes are practically useless and we've become harsh critics of the LCD gauge clusters as they are hard to read and display too much information at one time; none of which, mind you, includes a gear indicator. Throw in the hassle involved in trying to manipulate the different functions and one might be inclined to ride another motorcycle altogether. If we had our druthers we'd have an analog tachometer square in the center of the display. Everything else would be forced to fit around it.
After our street testing the KTM started to win us over simply because of its comfortable seating position. Despite a twitchy throttle and stiff rear suspension, it was able to hang with the Ducati in the tight stuff, and it's also easier to live with on a day-to-day basis.
Ducati 1198S
| TEST NOTES |
| + |
Monster torque |
| + |
Rock solid handling |
| + |
Öhlins suspension |
| - |
Slow to turn-in |
| - |
Torture rack ergos |
| - |
Gauges are hard to read and manipulate |
| x |
Ducati's years of experience are evident |
| SUGGESTED SUSPENSION SETTINGS |
| FRONT |
Spring preload: 24 turns out from full stiff; Rebound damping: 10 clicks out from full stiff; Compression damping: 7 clicks out from full stiff; Ride height: 2 lines showing above top triple clamp |
| REAR |
Spring preload: 12mm thread showing from top of preload ring; Rebound damping: 2.5 clicks out from full stiff; Compression damping: 10 clicks out from full stiff; Ride height: 0mm thread showing (lowest setting) on linkage strut |
KTM RC8R
| TEST NOTES |
| + |
Quick and agile |
| + |
Horsepower king |
| + |
Surprisingly comfortable |
| - |
Unsettled suspension at turn-in |
| - |
Twitchy throttle |
| - |
Gauge cluster too cluttered |
| x |
A very impressive attempt to dethrone the king |
| SUGGESTED SUSPENSION SETTINGS |
| FRONT |
Spring preload: 6 clicks out from full stiff; Rebound damping: 4 clicks out from full stiff; Compression damping: 10 clicks out from full stiff;
Ride height: 2 lines showing above top triple clamp |
| REAR |
Spring preload: 18mm thread showing from top of preload ring; Rebound damping: 21 clicks out from full stiff;
Low speed compression: 12 clicks out from full stiff; High speed compression: 6 turns out from full stiff; Ride height: position 3 of 5 on eccentric adjuster |