900ss vs V11

[czakky]

The Terblanche SSs make cool street fighter projects IMO. I need to be more upright to be comfortable with that tank to seat ratio. The Tamburini SSs though, look perfect to my eyes. I think it’s like a poor boys 851. I’ve just never ridden one. Somebody mentioned Il Monstro, the early 94-00 900s with the good heads definitely get a look too. 
@Lowryter, you SS is poetry in motion but I’d have to sell my three bikes to have one and I just like having a vintage bike around! 

[Lucky Phil]

9 hours ago, LowRyter said:

I have the new SS 939.  Unfortunately, I've sustained some substantial damage to the exhaust system by encountering road debris.   I've posted some photos and description on Wild Guzzi.  Right now I am hopeful the cracked  replacing the front header from ebay take off flange can be welded ground out.  The muffler and bracketry have been replaced.  

I'll say that Duc SS 939 ranks top for anything I've owned or ridden.  The only nit with the bike, it "only" has 110HP.  It's light, comfortable, it brakes and handles better than anything I've ridden.  It's also beautiful and has factory saddle bags.   

I've ridden the 2nd generation SS version that Phil has and found the riding position very extreme.  Much more a full-on sportbike rather than a touring sport bike like the 939.  The 939 is actually little more touring oriented than the V11.  But it has 110 hp and is 100 lbs lighter and rides incredibly well.

I just wish mine was on the road again.

You know I'm warming to these a lot. It's not often you see a GT style bike that actually still looks good with cases fitted. These days 110 hp on the road is plenty for me.

Ciao

[swooshdave]

All I have to say is that if you've never ridden a Ducati do it at least once. That being said there is something more visceral about the V11 Sport. Which is saying something considering the opposition.

 

[Kane]

On 9/4/2020 at 6:30 AM, LowRyter said:

I have the new SS 939.  Unfortunately, I've sustained some substantial damage to the exhaust system by encountering road debris.   I've posted some photos and description on Wild Guzzi.  Right now I am hopeful the cracked  replacing the front header from ebay take off flange can be welded ground out.  The muffler and bracketry have been replaced.  

I'll say that Duc SS 939 ranks top for anything I've owned or ridden.  The only nit with the bike, it "only" has 110HP.  It's light, comfortable, it brakes and handles better than anything I've ridden.  It's also beautiful and has factory saddle bags.   

I've ridden the 2nd generation SS version that Phil has and found the riding position very extreme.  Much more a full-on sportbike rather than a touring sport bike like the 939.  The 939 is actually little more touring oriented than the V11.  But it has 110 hp and is 100 lbs lighter and rides incredibly well.

I just wish mine was on the road again.

Very nice. With Motto Guzzi no longer offering a LeMans or similar bike, this may be the Italian sport touring bike to look at. Is this Ducati’s sporty replacement for the ST4S? 

Is there a formula idea of what weight to HP feels like between bikes? Like how many HP do I need to add to my 500+ lb V11 to approximate the performance of a 110 HP bike that is 100 lbs lighter?

Here’s a quote from Massimo Tamburini:

"The ideal one would be a 750 with the power of a 1000 and the weight of a 500.”

[GuzziMoto]

On 9/4/2020 at 2:47 PM, LowRyter said:

GM, the first think I did to my 939 was install a 14T front sprocket ($20) (15T is stock).  Woke the bike right up, it was pretty doggy before hand.   The bikes have a close ratio transmission with a tall first gear and short top gear, no overdrive, no need to downshift to pass: pass a semi at 80 and get around him at 120.  

Yeah, we did that fairly early on to the wife's Monster. It makes leaving from a stop much easier, as well as making the bike feel a lot more powerful in normal riding. It is still geared too tall I think, but it is way better than it was stock.

I do like the old bevel drive Ducati's. We used to have (ages ago) a guy with a beautiful bevel drive 900 that raced it at Summit Point, Bill Dietz was his name. That thing was wicked cool. Of course, back then we had another guy who raced a Guzzi against Bill, my buddy Dave Fine. They were fun guys to race against.

[LowRyter]

9 hours ago, Kane said:

Very nice. With Motto Guzzi no longer offering a LeMans or similar bike, this may be the Italian sport touring bike to look at. Is this Ducati’s sporty replacement for the ST4S? 

Is there a formula idea of what weight to HP feels like between bikes? Like how many HP do I need to add to my 500+ lb V11 to approximate the performance of a 110 HP bike that is 100 lbs lighter?

Here’s a quote from Massimo Tamburini:

"The ideal one would be a 750 with the power of a 1000 and the weight of a 500.”

So far as a replacement for the Ducati ST, well the Multi Strada is considered more touring oriented and the 939 more sport oriented.  So I am not sure that either MS or 939 SS is a direct replacement for the ST models.  The 939 SS is considered a Touring Sports bike (rather than a Sport Touring bike).   The 939 Supersport is much more touring oriented than the old 1000 Supersport.  Although the new bike has more power and perhaps less weight.  The new bike has 110hp and weighs about 450lb gassed, it feels really light and responsive but it stable enough to lick the throttle and ride with no hands for miles.

[Kane]

1 hour ago, LowRyter said:

....The 939 SS is considered a Touring Sports bike (rather than a Sport Touring bike)....

What’s the diff? Are those terms actually distinct from each for classifying bikes?

The specs for the ST4S that I’ve seen rate it as making 117HP and 72 lb torque, and a dry weight of 467 lb. That seems pretty good. I wonder if the new SuperSport and the ST4S were lightened from removing the paniers which bike would out perform the other? It seems like the ST4S is hard to beat for a modern sport touring bike, or touring sport bike. 

Btw, the Ducati website shows the displacement of the new SS at 937.  Was it previously 939 and something changed? They call it the Testastretta 11 degree 937 engine. I don’t know what Testastretta or 11 degrees refers to.

I guess they both have wet clutches. I think if I had a Ducati I would want a dry clutch. I think they can be converted? The V11 has spoiled me on its dry clutch. I think I would really miss the sound and feel of it.

[Kane]

FWIW, here’s a description of the Testastretta 11 degree engine:

http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/multistrada-testastretta-11-degrees

[Gmc28]

i loved my ST4.  And love the ST2 and ST4S, but for different reasons, and never owned those 2 (but had a version of the ST2 motor in my Gran Canyon).  The ST4 (and the S) are in my mind a bit closer to the V11 in that they have the distinctive italian (ducati of course in this case) sound and feel, whereas the newer duc's (which i love) are becoming more "homologized"... not quite as distinctive sounding and feeling.   The longer wheelbase (or some other geometric features) on the ST4 made it better for touring but less ideal for tight corning/twisties (which makes sense).  i regularly consider buying another ST4, but come back to the "light" by remembering that I love my V11 for that delicious italian feel & sound, and then my late model Duc for long distance touring and to satisfy the need for stupid amounts of horsepower. 

The 900SS would actually be a fun variant, and one that i'd prefer for some fun track days over the V11 (or ST4).

[LowRyter]

GMC. I can only comment for my 939 SS.   It's the best handling bike I ever ridden.  I can also lock the throttle on it and go for a mile + with no hands on the bars.  I've got nothing against older bikes, I have two '98s , an '01 besides the '17 SS but really, there's no comparison to handling, stability and power. 

The feel for the older bikes can't be erased or compared to the performance of the newer bikes.

[mznyc]

I've always heard the late 80's,early 90's 2v motors are the smoothest delivery ,wide powerband rolling off/on throttle,when they went to the 4v they needed to be revved a bit higher as those bikes were essentially their Superbike engne design(I have a 9964v ST4S) and that continued on to the Monster 2v,many look at the Monster SR1000 as the best example of that in the later bikes...Big,buttery,smooth power but FI and more updated brakes and suspension...Would love one!

[Gmc28]

On 9/11/2020 at 6:38 PM, LowRyter said:

GMC. I can only comment for my 939 SS.   It's the best handling bike I ever ridden.  I can also lock the throttle on it and go for a mile + with no hands on the bars.  I've got nothing against older bikes, I have two '98s , an '01 besides the '17 SS but really, there's no comparison to handling, stability and power. 

The feel for the older bikes can't be erased or compared to the performance of the newer bikes.

I think i just had a longer-winded way of saying the same?  my '16 Multi enduro is magnficent in most every category that i care about, but apples and oranges to the older italians i have (or had).  Since the OP was talking 900SS vs V11, i just poorly attempted to steer my comments back in that direction :-)

And MZNYC, i'd 2nd that notion, albeit only loosely, in that the 2v 904 in the old Monster and the Gran Canyon has  "feel" of power that does NOT match with the low actual dyno numbers, nor the (heavier than one would think) weights. Fuel delivery and just general rounded power band are great, and very little if any fiddling with mapping is needed (for the few i've had).

[Lucky Phil]

On 9/12/2020 at 12:15 PM, mznyc said:

I've always heard the late 80's,early 90's 2v motors are the smoothest delivery ,wide powerband rolling off/on throttle,when they went to the 4v they needed to be revved a bit higher as those bikes were essentially their Superbike engne design(I have a 9964v ST4S) and that continued on to the Monster 2v,many look at the Monster SR1000 as the best example of that in the later bikes...Big,buttery,smooth power but FI and more updated brakes and suspension...Would love one!

The best, read "sweetest" version of the 2 valve rubber driven Ducati twins was the 600 Pantah. It revved safely to 12000 rpm was silky smooth and didn't stress its engine cases. It was the perfect balance for that particular design. It won multiple F2 world Championships with very little modifications. Pistons and barrels, cams, 42mm Delortos, valves, and porting and you have a stone reliable race motor that won world titles. Even the rods were standard items, polished, on the factory engines.

Ciao

[Rox Lemans]

I consider the V11 Lemans as the 900SS' fatter freakier sexy cousin. Both bikes are pretty. You'll spend more time gazing the Duc. You'll ride her but she's higher maintenance than the cousin with junk in her trunk who will let you ride her all day. 

Sorry if the analogy is a little too pornhub but remember we're talking Italian bikes here. 👊😎

[Lucky Phil]

On 9/30/2020 at 3:42 AM, Rox Lemans said:

I consider the V11 Lemans as the 900SS' fatter freakier sexy cousin. Both bikes are pretty. You'll spend more time gazing the Duc. You'll ride her but she's higher maintenance than the cousin with junk in her trunk who will let you ride her all day. 

Sorry if the analogy is a little too pornhub but remember we're talking Italian bikes here. 👊😎

Here's some images of my 900 Sport. I bought this bike as a cosmetic write off. They came originally with satin black paint and lower spec suspension and steel instead of alloy swing arm.The SS had the higher spec suspension and red paint.I repaired the cosmetics and painted it red. Sold it to a guy at work eventually. Personally I think they are MUCH easier to maintain than a V11.

Remove the seat and unclip a rubber strap and the tank hinges up at the front and stays there with a built in prop and you can access the battery and throttle bodies etc, brilliant. External oil filter, chain final drive which can be totally replaced in 30 min,complete clutch replacement 45 min including the basket, reliable electrics,light weight, Desmo valves every 15,000 klm, easy peasy.   

Compare 1000 SS DS

 

Ciao