Is the 1098 really better?

I am wondering if it is really better than the 999 and if it is going to be as great a bike as people say. One thing that makes me think this is that I am wondering what Ducati did to make it so much cheaper? I was looking at photos and there sure are a lot more scews in the body work than there used to be. That is one of the things I loved about the 749, only a couple scews/dzus and the body work is off.

Another thing I noticed, there are no adjustments in the frame geometry like there used to be. There used to be ajustment for the rake, swing arm, seat/tank location, and foot pegs. And some of these adjustments could be done pretty quick. But these are all gone, as far as I can tell. Even the GSX-R 1000 will have adjustable foot pegs this year.

Well anyway, I like the looks better, but I am wondering if there is something, "Ducati" being sacraficed with the lower price.

the 1098 isn't better. they are built for two very different purposes though. the 999 is a homolotgated race bike, the 1098 is not.

DZus style fasteners are expensive too - screws are cheap. building a frame and head that has geometry option is more expensive than a piece that hasn't got adjustment.

Ducatis plan is to produce the 1098 in higher quantities...

they haven't stopped production of the 999 either - it's still their race bike.

the FIM hasn't given the ok for anything over 999.9cc either.