Should I buy a ........ Ducati

[G Man]

So I started this motorbike thing passed the DAS and now want a bike, checked out the BMW's very nice but expensive, I always liked the style and sound of a Duke for years , since Foggy raced I guess.

So I want a touring bike, I have some great tours planned next year, then I found a Ducati ST4S , priced is great , condition amazing like new. Just one problem, I know this is a purchase of the heart not the head.

G man

[craggers]

Ducati is like Ferrari of bike. One work colleague at here got 916 and said great bike but not very reliable.

[m3psm]

craggers said:

Ducati is like Ferrari of bike.

Yep

Everyone should own a Ducati at some point. For touring though, it'd be the last bike on my list for reliability reasons.

[Kiwi_uk]

My mate has a 916 with 40,000 miles on it. Uses it for touring and weekend fund. As long as you ride them and don't leave them in the garage they'll be fine. It's when you leave them sitting for long periods that you start having problems.

[aeropilot]

G Man said:

So I started this motorbike thing passed the DAS and now want a bike, checked out the BMW's very nice but expensive, I always liked the style and sound of a Duke for years , since Foggy raced I guess.

So I want a touring bike, I have some great tours planned next year, then I found a Ducati ST4S , priced is great , condition amazing like new. Just one problem, I know this is a purchase of the heart not the head.

No, it is very much head decision. Any bike will be unreliable if it's not looked after properly, Ducati's are NOT any more unreliable than any other bike.....BUT.....only as long as they are looked after properly.
You can not treat a Duc like you can a Jap bike. You have to have the mindset for Ducati ownership, and understand they need more time and more money spent on them.

[podman]

Sorry, they DO have a reputation for being un reliable for good reason.

Everyone I know who has had one , has had problems with it and expensive, internal engine/gearbox problems at that along with electrical problems.

having said that, if i could live with the riding position of say a 916, it wouldnt stop me buying one but it would always be in the back of my mind that the bike maybe one day wouldnt get me where I needed to be..

Cant beat the look or sound of them thou'

[catso]

I've had a 916 for 9 years and it has been as reliable as any other bike I've owned (better than some) with no major issues, it has cost more in maintenance though.

[rsv gone!]

G Man said:

So I started this motorbike thing passed the DAS and now want a bike, checked out the BMW's very nice but expensive, I always liked the style and sound of a Duke for years , since Foggy raced I guess.

So I want a touring bike, I have some great tours planned next year, then I found a Ducati ST4S , priced is great , condition amazing like new. Just one problem, I know this is a purchase of the heart not the head.

G man

I had the earlier version; the ST2. I would never recommend one of those to anybody, not least because they were so rare that you couldn't get spares for them. (They used a 944cc water cooled engine which was specific to the bike)

The finish is very good on the bikes and they shrug off winter use much better than some jap bikes (Kwaks and Suzis especially).

I'd consider a ST4S because that had the 996 (or was it 998?) engine so second hand spares should be far more plentiful.

Running gear on them is the same as the 916 etc bikes. ST4S gets Ohlins IIRC.

These bikes need to be used properly and frequently otherwise they seem to get a bit flaky and unreliable.

[r5gttgaz]

Early 916's had a few problems but they got ironed out, anything from then onwards was massively improved. I fancy a 748 for nice sunny weekend blasts.

[G Man]

Must admit I like

[aeropilot]

podman said:

Sorry, they DO have a reputation for being un reliable for good reason.

The reason being people don't know how to treat them.

podman said:

Everyone I know who has had one has had problems with it and expensive, internal engine/gearbox problems at that along with electrical problems.

Funny then that, I certainley never had a problem with mine, nor did my best friend who did 15,000miles a year on his, and I knew very few people in the various Ducati clubs I was in that had anything more than any other make of bike.
But, the ones I know that have had problems have all not heeded advice given to them about owning them.
Like I said, if you can cope with having an expensive sexy Italian mistress, there's not much better, if not, make do with a chavved old slapper instead......

[996 sps]

I've had 3 Ducatis, 1st one kept hitting false neutral and had to get rid, 2nd one was perfect and my current Duke runs perfect but the sprag clutch did go on me at the TT cost me 556 quid, service before I left 200 quid and needs belts next year, so bloody expensive.

Another issue is my bruv has just brought a K7 Gixer it is so easy to ride handles better and you could go touring on it but every time I look at my bike I just can't sell it.

[mk1fan]

aeropilot said:

Like I said, if you can cope with having an expensive sexy Italian mistress, there's not much better, if not, make do with a chavved old slapper instead......

Post of the year for me.

[anonymous-user]

The Aprilia Futura is a worth a look - reliable rotax engine, good chassis & the best looking sports tourer imo...

[uriel]

aeropilot said:

The reason being people don't know how to treat them.

What exactly is it that needs doing to ensure a long, reliable life from a Ductati?

I ask because I'm in the middle of doing my DAS and have a 2001 600 Monster stashed away for (fingers crossed) when I pass. I looked into the reliability issues before buying the bike and that's what I always hear on Ducati reliability, but nobody says specifically what needs doing, other than the belts, or how they need treating that is different to an equivalent Jap bike.

[fredd1e]

I've done 10000 miles on a 916 and had one breakdown (regulator failure on the day I was selling it! a known issue for the model year) and 11000 on BMW1150GS which was in and out of the dealers some 9 times for various issues.
The ducs do have servicing requirements which can work out expensive on occassions ie when the valve clearances and belts need changing, every 2 years for belts, valve clearance changes are variable depending on how accurate luigi was when the motor was built and how good the servicing mech is. These are possible for the home mech if you have the time, patience, mechanical sympathy and dexterity .

[r5gttgaz]

uriel said:

aeropilot said:

The reason being people don't know how to treat them.

What exactly is it that needs doing to ensure a long, reliable life from a Ductati?

I ask because I'm in the middle of doing my DAS and have a 2001 600 Monster stashed away for (fingers crossed) when I pass. I looked into the reliability issues before buying the bike and that's what I always hear on Ducati reliability, but nobody says specifically what needs doing, other than the belts, or how they need treating that is different to an equivalent Jap bike.

On time servicing and warming up, and don't ride it like a 4cyl.

[uriel]

r5gttgaz said:

uriel said:

aeropilot said:

The reason being people don't know how to treat them.

What exactly is it that needs doing to ensure a long, reliable life from a Ductati?

I ask because I'm in the middle of doing my DAS and have a 2001 600 Monster stashed away for (fingers crossed) when I pass. I looked into the reliability issues before buying the bike and that's what I always hear on Ducati reliability, but nobody says specifically what needs doing, other than the belts, or how they need treating that is different to an equivalent Jap bike.

On time servicing and warming up, and don't ride it like a 4cyl.

So it's not so much a case as them being unreliable, but not withstanding abuse or neglect as well as Japanese bikes? Champion, that'll do me.

[black-k1]

JS99 said:

The Aprilia Futura is a worth a look - reliable rotax engine, good chassis & the best looking sports tourer imo...

I liked those but I think Aprilia missed a trick there. Had they issued the Futura with the same level of tune as the RSV I think it would have been a great success. It would have been a real sports-tourer. Instead, it looked different and didn’t really offer anything extra over the competition. (ST4S, VFR, R1100/1150RS etc.)

[r5gttgaz]

V-Twins are a different pot of haddock to the 4cyl, you don't need to be pinging them off the rev limiter or indeed trying to get them to go to 16k rpm in every gear, there is just too much rotating mass.

Go flying into a corner and knock the 916 down two or three gears, see what happens

Also people get a mardy on if an indicator lamp pops - my Fireblade ever had an indicator fail blah blah blah. Thus the story of Ducati not as good as the Jap starts (I think they are just jealous for all the SBK wins)

Depending on what you want John Hackett a good Ducati guy and they have fixed price servicing too. Some of the Duke engines require the Desmo rockers to be renewed as they are a bit weak sometimes you may need a couple changing at service time.

Ferrari or Suzuki Baleno?