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SPECS · PICS · RATING
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Ducati ST 4 discussion forum:ST4SABS |
| ST4SABS |
| Mad Dog said 2005-10-03 08:12 |
| Bought a 2004 ST4S ABS with panniers and then sold my 750SS a couple of months later. Loved the 750, but the new bike was alsways being pulled out of the garage and I needed a good owner for the SS. THe ST is bigger, but more refined than my 93 SS. Smoother in all respects, but still sporty enough to keep a grin on my face. It was geared a little too high for Japan, so I went to the 14t front sprocket. Much easier to ride now, especially in traffic and the acceleration is of course much improved. 6th gear is a little more usable on the expressway as well (110 Kmh limit here). Response is great from 3000 up and lower rev ranges just bring a little bit of jerkiness, even though 2000 to 3000 is usable. Full accelaration leaves very little to be desired and 180 Kmh approaches real fast. I have been up to about 214 Kmh and the bike was pretty steady. Suspension is nice, though I could fiddle with it more. May be a little soft at the moment, but the rear is pretty accessible. I dial in a little more stiffness when riding two up. Front Showa is supple, but not overly soft. Headlight is bright and adjustable for load, a nice touch. Brakes are great once you get used to the ABS making them feel overly unresponsive, but I have found a good handful of brake can scrub speed quickly without any of the (rear tire) skidding I always had on the SS. Rear could be a little stronger though. Problems: First was the idle before 1000km service. Tended to spit and stop in inconvenient spots for no reason. An adjustment after the 1000 km service cured that. Gas indicator is not reliable or accurate at times. Really need to figure out what it is trying to say to me at times. Great idea, but needs some Japanese engineer to work out the bugs in the accuracy. Heat from the rear cylinder exhaust comes right up under the left thigh of the rider and passenger. Very, very noticeable in the summer, especially in traffic. Seat could be better, particularly the rear portion as the passenger continually slides into the rider when braking. I intend to get a Sargent seat to hopefully cure that. Finally, the installation and removal of the brackets for the panniers is not as well thought out as it should be. Very easy ot strip bolt holes in aluminium. Wiring changes to accomodate the integral blinkers in the brackets are also not easy to do. Simply making the wires longer and doing something about those atrocious Italian connectors would solve this as well. May just splice in new lengths topped off with easy to use connectors to get rid of this headace. Otherwise, bike is a blast and the yellow has grown on me. Also, the bike gets a lot of nice comments and looks, and a couple of ladyfriends love it a lot (one giving the bike a little love pat after our last ride.....not one for me though!) Haven´t hit 10,000 km yet, but my SS didn´t start running great until then. Hopefully, this will happen to the ST as well. Loads of grins now, though. |
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