[ST] Ducati ST4S

[antony charles <antony_charles@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Today I had a two hour (80 mile) ride on a new (300 mile) Ducati ST4S
from the local dealer.

For those who may be interested I thought I'd post some observations and
comparisons to my 2 year old, 18,000 blue Sprint ST (stock, apart from
Triumph sport pipe).  Tires on the Duc were Michelin Pilot Sports and my
ST has Pirelli Dragon GTS (which btw are the best I've had so far,
compared to stock, Avon Azaro II and Dunlop 207s)

Not as attractive, but I think that was the colour - the one I rode was
a graphite grey. The other UK options are red and yellow, but the local
dealer hasn't got either, so I can't comment on these. The styling and
finish is fine - better than the ST in terms of attention to detail
(quality of brackets, tidiness of wiring etc. ). So if they did one in
the same colours as the Sprint, then it would probably look great.

Looks and feels smaller than the Sprint, both off the bike and on it.
The bar, peg position feels about the same - feels as if your a bit
further forward on the ST4S, but not hugely so. However the Ducati seems
to have less bulk, especially from the seat.

Like some other Duc's it sounds even more agricultural when idling than
the Sprint, but has that great twin roar when revved. Louder than the
stock ST, perhaps about the same as the Triumph sport can set up,
although quite a different noise.

Around town I found it a bit harder work - the clutch spring was strong,
so tiring to hold in when needed, and I think the bars and seat were a
bit less comfy (I'm 6'3")

Once moving above 50 mph the weight was taken off the wrists. The seat
was ok after the two hours, but did give a bit of a numb derriere, which
I've not experienced on the Sprint over the same time usage.

Wind noise and feel was about identical to the Sprint for me .My ST has
the normal Triumph screen - I tried a Zero G DB screen but it introduced
a bit of buffeting at my helmet level and didn't reduce rain (winter -
well, summer here too) or flies hitting my visor. I thought the Ducati's
strange shaped screen might introduce some buffeting, but it seemed to
leave a smooth airflow at my helmet level.

Being fairly new, I had to keep the Duc around 5-6 K (with the
occasional touch to 7K - those were the dealer's words - honest), so I
couldn't push it too hard and had to short shift more than I would have
liked. Even so, it definitely had more punch than the Sprint.  If you
opened the throttle wide below about 3K it vibrated a bit (not
unpleasant) before getting going. Above that it just pushed forward
hard. It wasn't night and day compared to the Triumph but definitely had
more oomph (to use the technical phrase).

Handling wise it was also a cut above the Sprint. Again using non
technical terms it felt much easier to go round corners. It turned in
easier and was just as stable in the turn. It was probably a combination
of the feeling of smaller size, the slightly sportier position and the
better quality suspension.  It just felt more natural going round the
twisties - and I probably went round quite a bit quicker than I would
have on my ST.

Straight line and dual carriageway/Motorway (Freeway) handling was just
fine - no problems with stability, passing lorries etc. Again comfort
was fine.



Miscellaneous details :-

Has a non positive sidestand - better than the previous Duc's which I
believe sprang up on you, but  still doesn't leave you feeling quite
sure that its properly down.

Dual headlight array, with one bulb for dipped and the other on as well
for main.

Security key detection - a la Honda Hiss - which arms the alarm
automatically and only starts the ignition with a valid key in place.

Under seat is a small "well" to put bits in, plus a small tray at the
back with the toolkit in it (usual not very useful tools), plus a U lock
on the underside of the seat (yes they provide one with the bike)

Has a choke - which is strange for an EFI system. I had to use it when
first starting, but not when restarting after a few minutes break (i.e.
when warm).


So, if I could afford one, would I get one ?

As a riders bike - certainly

Looks wise - Definitely if they had a nice colour to choose - but I've
only seen the grey, which doesn't grab you as much as the ST colours.

Pillion - my wife sat on it briefly and found it a bit higher than the
Triumph. The pillion seat is probably a bit less comfy, like the riders
part - but I haven't had chance to do a ride with a pillion

Reliability and cost of service/maintenance - now there's a question
worthy of debate. Some would say the Ducati's are unreliable ( they
certainly used to be), others say they've fixed the Q/A issue now.
Opinions on this list about Triumph's seem to vary too - mine's been ok
(fuel guage, broken chain and couple of brackets dechroming being the
only warranty items). I'd welcome comments from those who have
experience of current Ducati's (especially ST2 and ST4) about
reliability and service cost compared to the Triumph.

Sorry for the longish post - I hope it was interesting to at least some
of you.

Antony
- - sunny Scotland



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