Ducati Monster Forum

I was at our local bike show today, chatting with friends, and one of them asked me when I'm getting my new bike - I'm patiently waiting for my Monster to arrive at the dealership.  When another acquaintance asked what I was getting, he remarked in a horrified tone that 'Ducatis don't corner well at ALL!  My friend who has a Harley and a Ducati hates the Ducati because it doesn't corner :o snickered and told him that it was probably the Harley that was the problem.

I don't think I've *ever* heard anything quite so....odd....and ludicrous.  Anyone else have any really weird responses to buying a Ducati?

Liz

At the risk of sounding like a recruiting poster, your friend has no idea what he's talking about.

Most people, unless they've owned one, don't know anything about Ducati other than "It's fast!"

As for strange responses to buying my bike, the strangest one probably came from my division chief at the time. (He rides a metric cruiser. Forgive me for forgetting which make/model.)

"Ducati, eh? Hope your life insurance is paid up"

 [roll]

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=2024.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=2024.0)

my recent experiences...

In my shop, we work on mostly european cars. We have a big showroom with various on going projects on display. My Monster is one...sitting next to a new Harley and a few other Cafe projects...CBs, a BMW etc..

Jackass with Volvo S60-"That red bike looks nice, but I prefer that black harley, I just don't think we need to support them Chinks and buy more rice powered bikes"

Me- Its actually powered by a nice basil and garlic Risotto...

Jackass- I don't know what means...


On a more fun note, a statement made by a friend of mine..."I don't mind Harleys, I just hate to have to dress up like a Pirate when I go for a ride"  [laugh]

He is correct the turning radius at idle or being pushed is terrible...
 
Since that is the speed most Harley's corner at,,, he is correct...

Thus the correct statement would have been Ducati's don't turn well, in the shop...

That's funny!  I'll have to remember that in case he brings it up again!

I get a kick listening to people who say things like that as well as reading these posts.  I own both types of bikes for different purposes.  Idiots remind me of why it's a good idea to thin the gene pool.

I had a guy offer me $35K for mmy rare Ducati M900Sie. I told him I would follow him to the bank and walk home.  [clap]. His wife draged him away :(

Let's see now...

Since buying my M696 two months ago I've been told Ducati's are unreliable......that I would never find any parts for it since it was "exotic"......that only "french" ??? people ride them....and that I'm a "drug dealer" because I can afford a DUCATI......little do they know that an M696 is only $10K [roll]

Why do people have to hate ???

My other friend joked that Ducati is Italian for expensive and lots of mainenance.  I countered with 'BMW is German for the same thing' - my current bike is a BMW F 650 GS....both that and the M696 I'm waiting on are the cheapest of their respective families LOL.

I was at a bar the other day and a group of sport bike riders came in and one of them asked me about my bike.... i was with my g/f and my friend who ride a 750 monster and a Street Triple respectively...

They said my bike was cool but they could never see themselves spending so much on a motorcycle....i asked them what they were riding and they all had 2008 and 2009 Liter Japanese Bikes...i just smiled;) Little do they know that all of there bikes cost more than my bike does...

Its funny how people see the name Ducati and say "wow, thats gotta be expensive" or "unatainable" i picked my bike up for $4000 and with some work might be worth $7500 now...there liter bikes are all around $8000 to $9000 easy... probably more with aftermarket considered... oh well ;D, more for the rest of us.....

Oh Lord....ROFLMAO

It's amusing that people assume Ducs are expensive to maintain.  Not really.. sure the valve adjustments come sooner than the i4 bikes. But when it comes time to adjust the valves on those jobbies... oh man. It'll cost you at least $1000 to even get them checked and up from there if they need adjustments. My last valve check on the 900, $180.

This thread brings to mind something I overheard at a bike rally I attended about 20 years ago.  It was supposed to be an all bikes/brands welcome rally but turned out to be mostly Harleys.  I was standing with who is now my ex, looking at one of the custom bikes when about 6 people walk up behind us.  I overheard someone ask one of the ladies in the group if she rode her own and what she rode.  Her reply 'I ride a Harley of course; what else is there (that was my first clue this was going to be a really intelligent conversation).  I really like it because it's really heavy.  It's kinda hard for me to get it up off the sidestand sometime but all the weight makes it handle REALLY well'.

The ex and I just look at each other, smile and walk away...

well i have to say the maintance is a bit of a pain with a duc. 

every 7500 miles my bill i swear comes out to around 1000$ from the dealer... then again it seems that every 7500 miles i do need the valves adjusted, belts put on, and it seems i'm now on the schedule wwhere my valve adjustments perfectly coincide with new tires every 7500 miles and new chain at every other one..well then again maybe that is why my bills are so high on the bike.

I honestly believe that most people who think that they have a bike with cheap maintenance cost just don't maintain their bikes.

If you put some real miles on your bike you end up spending about what per year?
- 2 sets of tires
- 1 valve adjustment (2 for us)
- 4 oil changes
- 2 "tune up" services
- 1/2 a chain and set of sprockets
- belt replacement (for us)

Not a lot of this increases the cost for us, but I just can't see many of the sportbike crowd I know doing this much work to properly maintain their bike.

I wasn't sure what planet this guy had just arrived from. 

I was in the grocery store yesterday, carrying my helmet, and a guy asked what brand I rode.  I said a Ducati.  His reply was, "oh, not very fast then," and he sort of disappointedly put his head down and just walked away.   ???

What could he have possibly been expecting to hear?  A jet powered monkey navigated rocket?

I get nothing but compliments on my bike - never have I gotten weird comments like the ones posted here.

What I find really funny is what compels people to talk shit about someone's purchase.  It's not like I go around to other riders, ask them what they ride, then say "ohh sorry to hear that" WTF!

No-real miles would be
- 8 rears and four fronts
- 4 valve adjustments
- 8 oil changes
 Etc.

Which is why it's sold  ;)

I notice you didnt put any $$ in there for cleaning of the bike either.   :-*

rain is free

That thing of cleaner you sent me?












I huffed it  [evil]

If Ducati ever went to timing chains and valve springs I'd be the first one there waving cash for a new 4V bike.

Neither would diminish the sound or performance, maintenance intervals would improve, and the same basic layout would still be there for ease of maintenance when it does come around.

Valve spring metallurgy has evolved to the point that there is little benefit to the Desmo valvetrain over a proper sprung equivalent. Other than it being really cool to us enginerds.  8)

^^

but Springmodromic has no soul  ;D

I'd consider giving up a nut for a belt final drive, even tho I know some people around here would burn me at the stake for that thought.


I usually get the "oh, those are expensive!"  I then have to educate them a little bit, generally to no avail.  Everyone thinks I'm loaded because I ride a duc, when really all I did was scrape and save just to buy my low end monster.

that is not "real miles", that is insane miles, what is that like 25-30k miles a year?  damn most people don't put that on their cars in 2 much less 3 years.

LOL

oh man getting rid of the desmodromic valves.. i'm not sure i think some of the sound of the bike would be lost if they went to springs, that mechanical sorta strange desmo valve sound is somewhat unique to ducati. 

but i agree if they got rid of the belt drive and went to the gear driven that would be good.. oh wait they do, but only on 80k dollar editions.

Desmodromic valve operation is what makes a Ducati a Ducati. I don't think the valve adjustments are that bad anyways. I get a lot of comments on how fast my bike must be when I tell them its a Ducati. It's a little depressing when I have to say, "Um, like a little over a hundred."

It's not uncommon in California.

I was told when the guy at a honda/suzuki dealer found out I had a monster that my bike is "nonsense" and the wheel base is too short and they handle like crap.  I should step up into a real bike their honda cbr600rr.

I never buy from someone who has to put down another product.  He didn't take an interest in your needs to match them accordingly.  I'd go in there as often as I could and shoot the shit with him as if though I was buying a bike and have him miss out on commissions to prove a point and then walk out.  Just saying...

That explains alot. ;D

[quote author=arai_speed link=topic=36746.msg647793#msg647793 date=1270567825
What I find really funny is what compels people to talk shit about someone's purchase.  It's not like I go around to other riders, ask them what they ride, then say "ohh sorry to hear that" WTF!
[/quote]

Yeah I really don't get that either.  But then, up here the season's short enough that anyone who rides is pretty ok in my book.  I've got ride buddies that ride Harleys and various Japanese sport and touring bikes as well as the European marques.  Life's too short to be overly snarky about bike choice, for goodness sake.

Now, my non-motorcycle parents who keep insisting my bike is <insert any bike other than what I own> gets a little tiring  ;D

I'm glad my parents think it's cool but they are too old and are considering a trike or spyder.  I'd love to take the sypder cruising if they spring for one.

Everyone that I know either thinks that I'm going to kill myself because motorcycles are too dangerous, ride Harleys and scoff at my bike, or ride four cylinder crotch rockets and are only concerned about going 100 mph too fast every time they ride.

It gets a little lonely sometimes...  :'(

It seems I went almost 2 years without hearing anything so silly I had to report.  I've gotten kick during that time of the things you all (I'm from the south) have heard.  Then all of a sudden I hear these gems in a day and 1/2:

1. Guy who has been giving the monster a once over, "Man you know you sure have some money tied up in this thing? (said as an actual inquiry).  After a purposely quizical look in return from me he says " Uh, yeah, I guess you do know..."

2. Another guy "What size is that? A 696?"
   Me "No.  Its a 1000."
   Him "Oh I didn't know Ducati put engines that bigger than a 750 in the monsters."
   Me "Uh, yeah."

3. While discussing the two tickets I received that morning another guy he says "Well what did you expect?  I think Ducati is the legal definition of "intent".  That one is my personal favorite from the weekend.

4. Owner of fully outfitted BMW GS1200 Adventure "That your Ducati?"
   Me "Yes."
   Owner of $30K BMW with AL panniers, gps, and all kinds of things that don't belong on a bike: "Man, that's an expensive ride."
The irony.........

5. Cop who issued me said tickets earlier in the day who was in the middle of citing about 15 classic Porsches at the TWO gas station:"Do all Ducatis sound like that?  The other Ducati we pulled over besides you today sounded broken like that too."
The response I didn't think of quick enough "We could fix our bikes if we didn't have to pay all these tickets!"