My stint with the Streetfighter has been like living with a hot-blooded Italian girl. She's temperamental and quickly angered, yet so stunning and equally soul stirring it's easy to fall in love.
In stock trim the Streetfighter is one helluva bike that's unfortunately hampered by a few flaws. Unlike other hopeless bikes that haven't a shot at greatness, a few miles on the Streetfigher proved it was only a few mods away from being the ideal streetbike.
For starters, the 155 HP engine donated from the last-generation 1098 means the Streetfighter gets with it. But all that thrust came at the expense of ill-tempered partial throttle fueling. To say the FMF pipe and Bazzaz fuel management combo transformed the "ridability" would be an understatement. Looking back now, I don't know how I survived before the motor mods.
After fixing a few more follies I perfected the package with some quality crash protection, a tidy undertail, dashes of carbon fiber and quite possibly the coolest aesthetical mod I've ever seen-Rizoma clear timing covers. I mean, where else can you see your cam belts spinning and whirling away? It's a crowd favorite at the local coffee shop where onlookers stare in disbelief at the spinning clutch and whizzing cam gears.
In the end I not only tamed the beast, but made her even hotter than she was before. It didn't take much, but I've fallen in love with the Italian beauty. Whether it was smashing the canyons, commuting to work, racing the random Porsche or admiring her over a cappuccino, the Streetfighter is the real deal and only a few tweaks short of perfection.
Second Opinion
Ducati's Streetfighter is an odd one. After a quick rip through some dusty roads in the canyons, I'm swaying towards the click of the dislike button. The exhaust sounds cool, but doesn't have the same pitch as Italian systems. The fueling upgrades drastically improved the herky-jerky low speed woes, but I think it was at the expense of fuel economy. I did love the open engine covers to watch the motor work. I constantly ridicule Justin behind the reasons for swapping out bars. They're so high and upright it feels like a Ducati chopper. Fuck it-let's install a springer front end, suicide shifter and call it a day. - John