Ducati 848Evo Modified Unique
This is my 2011 Ducati 848Evo.
With Termignoni Slash-Cut Carbon Fiber slip-ons and Gilles rearset controls. And CRG shorty clutch and brake levers and a Puig windscreen thrown in for good measure.
Without question, the bike looks better.
And, finally, growls like a real Ducati.
The stock exhaust, thanks to EPA concerns about noise, was lengthened more than three inches, jutting the clunky can far beyond the tail and killing off nine of the 10 additional ponies the 848 Evo engine kicks out over that of the previous 848 model.
Sounded like an electric type-writer (any readers out there old enough to remember those?) and looked like someone found the last set of cans left in the dust bin and attached them to the back end of the bike.
Oh, and did I mention the bike ran lean out of the factory? As in, holy-crap-there's-on-coming-traffic-and-my-bike-is-moving-through-sludge lean.
Yeah. Not exactly what you want out of your motorcycle when you are pull into traffic.
And then the timing went south. Fabulous.
Toss in the fact that I would qualify as vertically challenged (5'1" in the morning, pre-gravity) which placed my feet too far down and behind me, which in turn meant any time I push down on the pegs it drove me into the tank and transferred weight to my arms and wrists, and it wasn't exactly the optimal seating position.
Bike had issues.
But before I go any further, and you start thinking my 848 Evo was/is a total dog, I put 4,800 miles on him in four months, so he wasn't exactly unrideable.
I love the bike. Wouldn't trade him for anything. He just needed a little help.
Lean-ness and flat spot on acceleration? Gone. Although I'm having trouble keeping that front tire on the ground...
Missing nine-ponies? Found. And they are feisty!
Shifting and braking? Easier. Much easier.
Balance and twisties? My legs are up and feet are underneath me. I've added 20mph to my turns.
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