Can 90's Superbikes still cut it? We Compare Ducati 748R and 2020 Panigale V2 With Bikeiconics 

I sold my R1m last year as it was a bit to much for the road and ended up buying a low mileage 748. I absolutely love it and it’s definitely a keeper like you say I’m not bothered it doesn’t have the latest gadgets I enjoy every ride on it an that’s what it’s all about

90s Ducati owner wants to consider a new bike but he's still making payments in 2020.

All these years and the 916 design still looks good. I remember being a kid and seeing the 916 and falling in love.

On the 748, you forgot the "Italian Mirrors designed to let you admire your arms of your jacket as you ride" feature. 2001 748 owner.

Motorcycles peaked 15 years ago when manufacturers perfected suspension valving. It's all been downhill since manufacturers started adding a bunch of unnecessary electronics and technology.

I've had my 748 for well over a decade. Never selling it. Choose right, choose once!

Best looking bike ever made. 748 998 anyday over new bikes.

My favorite thing growing up was the single swingarm that makes the bike look beautiful 🤫🤫🤫

I own a 748. I wanted one since I was 14. Sure there are faster bikes, and bikes which are cheaper or more reliable. But there's not a bike out there who can match its handling, sound or looks

I really don’t care about the performance anymore I can use it anyway, I like the classic motorcycle

Always loved the look of the 916 in red, in my teens.

I´d like to upvote that video 100 times, as it explains 100% my thinking about riding motorcycles. Thx, mate.

90s superbikes are about to be the only bikes (normal) people will be able to afford

90s was the golden era in terms of aesthetics design and overall proportions both in 4 and two wheels

Had a 996 a few years ago,it wasn't the fastest or most powerful bike out there but it wasn't about that,it was the sound,the looks,and how it handled that made it special

I rode a mate's 1998 748R around 2000. So utterly mechanical, tractor-like power and a front-end very nearly as good as the aprilia RS250 - which is saying something for a 198kg vs 142kg bike. So good! And yeah, you absolutely do not need 200hp for a road bike.

Some people are having trouble to go with the technology. Ducati 748 was a great motorcycle, a real masterpiece, but a modern Ducati Panigale is a masterpiece now. I never looked back. I don’t need anything old, it is more than enough that I am old, ha-ha.

The sound of that dry clutch is pure eargasm.

Videos like these only makes me want to work harder. So one day I can have a collectable garage of my own. Every car he mentioned in this video is my dream cars and many others. This type of videos make me feel motivated. Also hungry for success. Like I want to do it now.!

i own a 01 Ducati monster 750 dark edition ...owned it for about 5 years ..last year i was thinking about trading her for a new ducati ...test ride the xdiavel..and other ducatis ...but for some reason i felt that my monster handles better with out all those gadgets and bells...so i told the sales guy let me think about it ..rode back home with my monster thinking nope i can actually drop my knee better with youbaby....lol but i always wanted a 996 99(sex) red ..DUCATISTA love the video mate oldschool is cool retro rocks .

I prefer the thicker tail design of the older bike. Makes it look more voluptuous.

This is some incredible and beautiful cinematography.

mybe i'm the part because i got 998, but i think it's much more beautiful than panigale. 916-996-998 is an highlander race bike style!

There's like an autotrader vibe to this video hahaha. Great review and comparison once again! My dream bike has always been the 748,/916/996/998 line. Would be cool to have a cagiva mito park beside it

999 anyone? Maybe not.....I'll get me coat.....what were they thinking

Amazing video!!!!! I own a 2012 ducati 1199 Panigale..... love the character

The 748r still looks so good!

Loved the 748 as a teenager although the closest I got to owning a super-sport was a CBR600RR - which was brilliant!

Booth beautiful bikes but 90s was the golden years for me old bikes have a special carachter...

Great vid, your reviews are top and they capture the essence of riding for me!

Great video. I also own a 748 (2001) and love it to death. Perfectly quick for its era and insanely stable in the corners. I eventually moved on to an R6 as well. One thing I do sometimes laugh at though is the overplayed romanticism Ducati enthusiasts sometimes play up. Progress is progress in my opinion. You're always going to have those old guys who, when introduced to a modern monstrosity of motorcycle technology (any modern sportbike), they virtue signal with, "Oh, you can have all the bells and whistles, the high tech and the horsepower, but old simplicity will always win and horsepower is overrated." Um, no. Most of the time it's pretty straightforward: The bike having the genius engineering of advanced electronics and double the horsepower *is* just better. Plain and simple. Like I see my Ducati as a modern classic that has a certain beauty. It has racing pedigree that backs up its beauty, but it's more like a legacy from its time, not "absolute ability" as of today's motorcycles. My R6 is a thrilling new machine that gives me bragging rights for today's standards. How about if I build a cafe racer? It's to make a quick motorcycle like my own artwork. But I'd never try to claim that it's better than a modern superbike that's twice as powerful. Different bikes are enjoyed for different sentiments. Sometimes it's for competitive performance in the now, and sometimes it's the enjoyment of a classic icon of the past. Currently, that's what the 748 is becoming as horsepower rises and weight drops year by year. Still a "quick" bike by today's standards, but not a competitively "fast" one.

I like how you describe the mechanical bond on the 748R between man & machine.

I love the misery of my old Laverda, a hero bike I met after a 30 year wait..

I own a 998 monoposto, and I just did another track day with it last weekend. I was surrounded by Panigales and the like. All the electronics let riders use the higher horsepower with more confidence. That's all well and good, especially for safety. We can argue about the virtues of analog v digital bikes, but I guarantee that I had just as much fun as anyone and can't wait to go back. So, I guess as long as the smile factor is there for you, then you have the right bike.

This video is too much style of any real substance. It's a commercial not any kind of review.

Love the 916/748 era. everybody declared me crazy buying a 900ss with 2 ratling cilinders and noisy clutch. I love it !! What matters is the feeling the bike gives to YOU and nobody else. After I mounted a pair of Termignoni,s I never heard a better sound again from any bike. except maybe a 851.

Yes, you are correct. that 748 is my dreambike when I was a teen. Now that I'm all grown up i bought a1299 Panigale. But the real dream is that 748, 916 and 998

There's that feeling of a throttle cable being pulled that I can't explain. I've ridden a newer Honda CBR1000rr and I can't help but feel like I'm playing a video game whenever I pull the throttle, there's to tactile feedback. I've gone back to riding a carbureted bike, a 1991 Honda CB400.

I've owned a vanilla 748 since 2000 and it's so much more sophisticated than my '82 Suzuki GS1000 Katana that it feels like a spaceship. A Panigale would probably make my head explode.

this video makes me miss my '02 996. Best bike i've owned.

I was lucky enough to ride a 748 R years ago. What a fantastic bike . (It was yellow.)

You have just backed up my reason for not changing my 2006 ZX10R after 14 years - no fancy bells and whistles, power connected directly to the throttle!!! Give me the 748 any day of the week. 👍 Great video.

Could have bought the new panigale but bought a 1098s in pristine condition that I will keep forever. I can add panigale to the fleet but will never get rid of the 1098s.

this is awesome. btw please sort out your microphone

I've never had a car or bike with electronics, driven and rode a few and it just doesn't feel the same...

I really miss my 1098. Last of the purebred ducati's

My TRX 850 Yamaha sounds every bit as good as any Ducati, was inexpensive and is reliable.

Best ever real world,road going Ducati for me was the 1000SS ie. Two valve heads give it immense low down strength. Coupled with razor sharp fuel injection meant you could fire yourself out of tight A and B road bends like a bullet. Masses of traction and trellis frame. Awesome and massively underrated bike at the time. They rarely come up for sale now and for very good reason.

My old man had a brand new 2001 model 748r in yellow. Most exciting bike I’ve ever ridden. I wish I could’ve bought it off him at the time. He upgraded to 999R which he still has. No electronics just man and machine. Both awesome bikes

Brilliant video mate. Keep it up.

Great video and asking some questions which nobody seems to be asking......have superbikes gone too far for the road? Yes absolutely 200bhp is ridiculous if you want to get value for money. Theyre amazing bikes, theyre exotic, exciting, but it's all connected to a computer. Analogue is the way to go :)

Nice video, my first bike was a 03 749s testaretta. Had it for four years and maybe one day I’ll have another one.

Ive had sport bikes for years now from a 1995 Honda cbr , fireblade , R1, gixer , rd 350 ypvs , lol ! The roads a far to busy now an u cannot use them really 😏 , unless u wanna spend ur weekends on a track an then carry ur pride an joy home in a box , maybe . I’ve been riding since I was six years old an now 50 ...ish , so I went on the search for a more classic bike an found a 1978 Bmw r80 / 7 an now I can actually see the country side an not a blur , lol . Enjoy ur biking , what ever u ride an stay safe . Greetings from Portsmouth England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 .

I’ve owned about 40 bikes in my 50yrs of riding.. I still ride my BMW S1000RR everyday and I can confirm that older is better.

Great video! Can you please tell me where can i buy those front and rear black stickers of the panigale v2 please!! Looks amazing

Great vid!! So accurate. I just went through this last Christmas. I've had a 2000 R1 that I love. Decided it was time to add a new bike to my garage. I was torn between the '19 R1 and 'a 20 Panigale V2. Contemplated the R1M and V4 as well. Then I saw it!! A 2012 848 EVO Stealth. Only 1205 miles with all the fixin's already installed. Just me and the machine. I talk to it, it talks to me. None of that fancy A.I. like K.I.T.T. stuff "correcting" my wishes. Plus when it comes to looks, nothing sexier than a Trellis framed Ducati, Especially in Black. Great vid.

The mechanical sound of the Ducati V twin is pure poetry.

Love the older bike. The new bike is ugly. Tank, tail, digital dash, exhaust, rear suspension....from every angle it's f#@*ing ugly!! I loathe thee!!

I could buy 3 748s for the price of a pannigale and there are only two days in a weekend

2 or so years ago I bought myself a 90s bike and was like: damn that shit is high tech...fuel injection...holy shit. Yea, I`m old school....and cheap. :D I meen, for a normal dude, driving to work in the summer, going to the icecream parlor on sundays, whatever, on normal roads, a 90s or even 80s superbike is still scary fast...you want to win some races, go ahead, have fun, I`m too old for that shit anyway.

Great video. Went from a monster 1200 down to a m1100. Love the 1100 so much more. Lighter. The clank, clank, clank, the raw, visceral rumble. Nothing better. You don't need any of the new shit, at all.

Can you feel all the italian Coffee, bmw drank while designing the V4?

Great video, thanks. Miss my old 916...

Europe may get cooler cars and bikes than we do, but that license plate...no way. It's the size of a billboard. Ours are nice and small. Oh, and we get to have guns, that's also nice.

It's a nice put together video with good elements but the continuous contradictions & false narratives are grating. You say you yearn for the old mechanical throttle system & feeling not trusting the new Ride-by-wire systems at the start of the video & then praise the latest electronic throttle as fantastic at the end of the video. Ride-by-wire has been proven beyond doubt & offers real world benefits that just cannot be ignored. Or saying that electronic suspension means the bike feels different every time you ride it. Really? Electronics are everywhere in modern life & should be used where they are beneficial. Ducatis of 90's era were never reliable & the tyres are so different now in profile, construction & geometry that it's fortunate & a testament to the tyre engineers the older bikes still handle well with their classic frame geometries on modern rubber. New bike safety aids cannot be criticised for road riding so making statements like not being able to learn the limit of wet grip on the road without ABS is just a ridiculous statement & tarnishes the integrity of the journalism. Modern bikes of equivalent class have far better fuel economy (it matters), reliability, safety systems, performance, handling than their relatives of yesteryear. Technology waits for no man & things from 25 years ago are old no matter how good they still look or how much nostalgia you present on them - new bikes are measurably better in almost every manner & that should be made apparent by the reviewer. Fine if you want to say that the older stuff invokes joy for nostalgic feelings, visceral emotion, style, etc. or if you are aiming the video at a very specific rider market but don't conflate them engineering or capability wise.

I agree with your comments. I have a mint 2004 CBR1000R and when riding it I think for so many £1000,s for the latest model superbike am I getting so much more for that amount of money? Besides the kudos of not riding the latest supermodel, the answer is the blade does everything I need or want so why would I change?

Great Video Ben !

The 748 is a beautiful bike with a soul

I have an 03 Aprilia RSV R1000 old School and a Ducati 08 1098R with all the technology...Best of both worlds

I was a kid and seen the Honda CBR600F hurricane commercial and fell in love i was born in 1990 and am 30 years old and for the last three months I have got to ride my dream bike I found one in good shap for the year and traded my 4000 dollar quad for my beautiful bike.. you can check it out on my channel if you would like..

im not a fan of all the tech, i wish my R1 had a mechanical throttle but as far as these bikes not being good road bikes... its because they are NOT road bikes! dafuq? i ride my vstrom to get around, thats a road bike. these are street legal race bikes! They never needed to "accomidate the road rider"

I'm just trying to figure out how you guys get away with driving on the wrong side of the road... :-) Only got to ride a buddy's 888. So nice.

Agree I also prefer less electronics and mechanical throttle.I have a feeling we are going to go back to simplicity after mind fking complications.What he didn't cover the cost of repairing electronics.Bike wont start because of some sensor and you can't just go back garage pick up your tools its beyond you.You need dealer's diagnostics and that's lot of $$. Most riders like working on their bikes but not new bikes.This stupid trend is also on cars....nightmares specially on German cars BMW notorious having shitload of electronics failures.Time to get to the essence of riding!

I had Ducatis in the 70s, raced various bikes and was generally obsessed, but moved away to a rural university leaving all behind me. Forty years later I was considering a ‘utility’ bike as an addition to a motor home for shopping. - as you do. Perusing local ads for bikes was my undoing. I missed out on the progression from Dell Ortos to fuel injection, etc., but a 748S beckoned and 18 months later I feel I know how to ride again. The 748 is hot, noisy and physically challenging, it carves, is supremely balanced and poised, and brings a smile during every ride. The sensations from the 70s of being connected to the bike, especially when racing are there in spades. The 748 rescued me as much as I saved it from a sad decline. Going for a ride - and F the notion of a motor home. Being and feeling alive is abundantly more fulfilling than being comfortable.

I own a 748, and used to have a 959 Panigale. I kept the 748. Wasn't a hard choice at all. Panigale is cramped, hot, uncomfortable, and wouldn't let me ride it the way I wanted.

The panigale 2020 V2 really not looking good. In my opinion there is also nothing that can compete with the 748-998 models design-wise!

You could have compered that 748 with a 1985 rg500 suzuki they are also 100 ps ish and realy scare your self.

748R will hold its value better for sure, but collecting bikes and not riding them to keep the low milage etc.. is retarded.. for somone who wana ride their bike and not service it all the time a brand new v2 would be much more ideal , unless you got time and money to keep both :P ,, could go back and forth between the two.,, problem with that is you might forget your not on the v2 and take the 748R and crash xD

I owned a 748R and it was hideous to ride on anything but full throttle. My 998s was a much much better bike, smooth and easy to ride.

The 916 era bikes are beautiful. If you think getting a panagale will save you seconds then I hope your riding skill evidences that clearly

My first daily driver bike was a brand new Ducati F1A in 1985, which I took cross country as a young Marine one week after purchase. I was an idiot but it was amazing for the whole 20,000 miles I rode it. Now THAT was simple, and a tad slow but lovely.

Great video... the old Ducati was better newer isn't cooler😎

Loved my 90 Gsxr1100 and currently love my 07 zx14. I've ridden newer bikes but having no tech feels raw and like I'm in control. Down shift to fast and wonder why your rear is locked up when u didn't touch the brakes, oops you learned about your bike and better clutch control. Too much power in a turn in rain and the rear slides, you have to control the power slide to not high or low side and learn your bike. I completely agree there is too much tech on bikes and I hate front abs on any bike.

Instant sub from me. What a wonderfully put together and thoughtful piece of brilliance. I have been needlessly purchasing bikes over the last few months. Chasing that garage and always returning to my wonderful but ratty 749. I'm going to ride tomorrow and just remember how much I wanted that bike and now I get to actually enjoy it. Well done sir.

748-916-996-998 Tamburini's masterpieces 🔝❤

Mate that start of this video is spot on mate. It catches you and draws you in. Well done 👍👍 Not long and I be watching you on TV.

Really enjoyed this. I owned a 916 back in the day. I do somewhat agree with what you say about the electronics but on the other hand with the newer bikes making over 200hp I think having more electronics such as very extensive traction control is very important. You covered it all however so well done. I’ve subscribed.

A comparison of your favorite steak to your favorite ice cream. You can't pick a winner because they are elementally different experiences.

They will have to start adding KTM’s and Aprilia’s . Then a true dream garage.👍

Old school Ducatis are becoming something I long for. I haven’t been on a bike for close to 13years after an accident, but now I feel like I’m ready to get back on. Way older, more wise but still have the same passion I did when I was in my teens. I’ve been looking at 2004-09 Aprilia RSV factory models and playing with the idea of going with an 2006 749S, though I’m beginning to understand the appeal of the 748 and 998. Great bikes that you just don’t see on the road too often anymore

IMO the 748R was on a par with the 916 as the most beautiful bikes ever, unfortunately the R6 and to a lesser extent the ZX6 were more than a match for the 748 and 749 hence the reason Ducati kept upping the capacity.

With old carb bikes rider needed skills to master a bike, with modern you need to know which button to press to get a result, basicly today any housewife can pick sportbike and show good score on a track, with old sportbikes it wouldnt happend at all.

Another question is investment? High class cars with expensive gadgets loss the value quite rapidly. Now the bike industry is probably going same way. So many great car get scraped of to expensive repairs.

Nice video sir, really enjoyed it. Thanks

The bike that started it for me was the Honda CBX 1000, hope someday to own one. for now it is a 95 GSX600F with a laser k1 exhaust, just the the sound it makes ooooh mama

I gotta say I have the same model 748R and everytime I start it and ride it I understand completely, Amazing machine

You can't compare a 749r to a v2.

The old one was more futuristic than mine...

as my wife says the reason you like old stuff is cos your old 😀

I have deliberately not changed my bike because I don't want that electronic crap. More things to go wrong. The racers need that. Road riders not so much. If they do, is that a bike they should be on?