Long-Term Update

Long-Term Update

Ducati 1098 Bright yellow gun

CAN YOU BLAME US? THERE WAS no way to resist adding a Ducati 1098 to the long-term fleet. Look at it, listen to it, ride it, and if you have a literbike-loving bone in your leathers, you would get your hands on one, too.

This fly-yellow standard model has remained stock in the short time we’ve had it. In fact, we've hardly worn the edges of the tires properly. That shameful situation will be rectified by some track days ASAP.

As for rectifying its stockness, a quick browse of the accessory section at www. ducati.com shows some extremely tasty bits, including fancy sprockets, slipper clutches, titanium connecting rods and all kinds of exhaust upgrades.

First entry in the logbook? “This bike makes you wear leather. Not just because it is a super-fast Italian sportbike, but because after riding it in jeans you seek some kind of gear to insulate you from the exhaust heat."

Maybe a much cooler-running catalyst-free exhaust system should be the first mod. In any case, we will look into the pipe options (the Termignoni full system with ECU and air filter is said to increase power by 8 percent) and perhaps do some research on ceramic coatings to help reduce radiant heat from whatever pipes are on there in the near future. ’Til then, Ow! This thing is fast!

$14,995

Kawasaki ZX-14 Lighter, righter Ninja

ONE THING IS CERTAIN ABOUT our long-term ZX-14: The more time we spend on the big Kawi, the more we like it. We’ve nevertheless come across a few areas that could stand improvement. For example, on the certified CW scales, our Ninja weighed 531 pounds dry. That’s 127 pounds lighter than the new Concours 14 but 109 pounds heavier than the ’07 ZX-10R.

Rather than fit carbon-fiber bodywork or a Ti exhaust system, we mounted a set of c-f BST wheels ($3916; www.mo-towheels.com). As you can read in an evaluation of the wheels published elsewhere in this issue, the benefits, especially the differences in steering response, were remarkable.

With the lightweight wheels, the powerful stock brakes required a surgeon’s touch, particularly on slick, bumpy pavement. Beringer’s BRI4 Radial Aerotec master cylinder ($500; www.bevinger brakes.com) greatly improved feel at the lever but required some monkeying for a perfect fit. Future plans call for a matching clutch master cylinder and four-piston calipers.

Another recent addition was an iridium-coated, c-f-trimmed windscreen from Magical Racing ($340; www.magicalrac-ing.co.jp). While it weighs next to nothing, the thin screen “flutters” at speed, a characteristic we didn’t encounter with the heavier-duty stock and Puig screens.

$11,499

Benelli TNT 1130 A work in progress

ENTERTAINING BIKE, THE TNT, BUT not always in the most rewarding way. Performance-wise, its threecylinder, 1130cc motor is impressive in its willingness to grind out prodigious, instantly available torque at practically any rpm; and if the pavement is at least reasonably smooth, the naked Beneili can slice-and-dice a backroad about as well as anything in its class. But otherwise, this Italian stallion has more eccentricities than a truckload of camshafts. The fuel-injection mapping needs some fine-tuning, the mostly non-adjustable suspension is too stiff, the brakes squeal like the pig-wrestling competition at a county fair, the headlights inexplicably turn off when the cooling fans kick on at low' rpm, the engine makes more mechanical noise than a can of ball-bearings on a paint mixer, and the seat is hard enough to cut diamonds. Not to mention the Wav of the Worlds styling that prompted a wiseguy at a gas station to give the TnT a long, puzzled stare before saying, “Take me to your leader.”

Despite the TnT’s idiosyncrasies, we're really fond of the basic running/handling package. So much so that we’ve decided to add the metallic-green naked to our long-term fleet, giving us plenty of time to fiddle with its many quirks. We don’t know how many of them we'll be able to fix, but it should be fun trying.

$15,499