Ducati Monster Forum

So, Ducati NY had a bit of a bad reputation on this board and amongst its members. I've watched a lot of threads regarding the store degenerate in to a slag-fest. I'm good friends with people who used to work there and also helped the store out from time to time though I didn't work for the store. With that in mind, I wanted to make a few comments about the store.

Firstly, the store is re-opening as Ducati Triumph New York with a new owner, that owner is the person who manages the store day-to-day and is on site, not some random chap with a bunch of cash to throw around. Many of the staff who used to work there do not (at least currently) work there now. The mechanics have changed and the service team has changed. The product lines and suppliers have changed (in some cases, the same brands but different suppliers).

Ducati New York (the old store) wasn't perfect by any means, there were issues with the way various parts of the store functioned. This is well known to the staff who worked there and the people who make up the new store. As an example, getting bikes in and out of service is painful to say the least when the union/building won't allow the lifts to operate on weekends. I've personally helped drag more than one bike up the stairs to get it to a customer. Also keep in mind that they're in SoHo in Manhattan, rent is hardly cheap. They're also in the motorcycle industry and while they're selling expensive stuff, there's still not a whole lot of margin in the bikes and the parts. There were, of course, other issues.

There have been several instances of people posting up bad experiences with the old store but haven't told the whole story. I've been close enough to people who work there to hear the other side (remember, there's always 3 sides to every story). I'm not suggesting for a second that there weren't actual issues, there certainly were, often with service. I am very good friends with Marcos who used to run service so I definitely have talked with him about stuff that I've seen on this (and the old) forum. The guys from the store read this board and they do know who is posting this stuff. That's not to suggest by any means that valid complaints shouldn't be voiced and honest reviews of store shouldn't be shared but I think there's a bit of a "blood in the water" vibe going on. The old store certainly had its share of issues which I'm sure, in part, led to its closing (I'm not alluding to something, I don't actually know what went down).

The new store - Ducati Triumph NY - is genuinely hoping to turn over a new leaf. They want to offer a better experience to Ducati owners, Triumph owners and motorcyclists in general because that's in their best interests. I don't think it's any secret that many of us would be very happy to have a good Ducati store in Manhattan. We all work and/or live in the area and all ride Ducatis (more to come on this in a second) so it's also in our interests to have a good Ducati store in the city or at least within reach. In that vein, I'd really like to encourage everyone to give them a go, I realize that may be hard for some of you. The better Ducati Triumph NY does, the better it is for all of us IMO because we'll then have the store we're looking for. When you have a bad experience, try talking with Steve. The internet is certainly a great place to share information and ideas but it's also very easy to hide behind a keyboard. Also remember that, while we feel that we're spending a bunch of money, there isn't a whole lot of margin for any motorcycle store, not at least in bikes or parts so when you expect the world, you should expect to pay for it.

I became friends with the people in the old store because I was polite and respectful. When things went wrong (and they did, several times) I stayed polite and respectful and in every case, I got my problem solved to my satisfaction. Over this time, I got to know the people working there and have maintained friendships with many ex-employees and a couple of current employees of the new store. My behavior wasn't specific to this store, I behave this way in every store I frequent, whether I'm buying espresso, a motorcycle or just lunch.

Ducati Triumph NY has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ducatitriumphnewyork (https://www.facebook.com/ducatitriumphnewyork). They're still working through getting the store up and running at 100% so they're still a bit rough around the edges but they're aiming high and hoping to keep existing customers of the old store, gain new ones and hopefully get the old ones back into the store too. I spoke with Steve about posting something which he was ok with but I didn't tell him what exactly I was posting. I've been wanting to say this stuff for a while.

On to the "we all own Ducatis" bit - I'm picking up my 1100 EVO from Ducati Triumph NY tomorrow.  ;D

Welcome back to the Duc!  Hope this one is more to your liking than the last!

I'll jump on here with my experience.  I dropped my 620 off on Friday to get some simple work done and the crew at Ducati Triumph NY were awesome.  I got out of work around 10am for this (but needed to be back by 1pm), so I asked Erich (service writer) if it'd be possible for them to do it right then so I could get back to work after 12pm (with some sandwiches for my coworkers from the close-by and must-try Alidoro shop).  He was able to squeeze me in and actually finished the job early.  The work, albeit basic, was completed perfectly and fairly priced I thought (only billed me for 0.75 hrs when I'm pretty sure they must have spent longer).

The showroom already has a couple bikes in there (with more on the way).  I spoke to Steve, the owner I believe, and you can immediately tell that he is trying to do his customers right and do things differently than the old shop.  He's also very aware of the power of social networking and word-of-mouth (hence his Facebook efforts).  As they continue to gain momentum, I'd expect that they get even more involved with the local Duc community (although I think they already donated a ton of stuff to the local DESMO BBQ).

I never had bad experiences with the old dealership, but I know that others did.  Nonetheless, my experience thus far with the new crew is already more positive and I am confident that others will feel the same way.

Great to hear, positivecarry.  They do have a good inventory and the shop is up and running at full steam.

Yes, Steve was very good to DESMO!  Over 20 T shirts (got tired of counting) including some really cool clothing for kids, some jackets and a bunch of gift certificates.  A big thank you to Steve and the staff at Ducati Triumph NY [beer]

Only mistake was prob staying in Manhattan.  When buying or servicing anything expensive, I stray from the city..  but I'm also cheap..  the coast to run anything in the city is ridiculous and it will always reflect on the price in some way..  this is just a general statement though seeing I don't have a duc..

Great location for people living and working in the city though.  Drop off the bike, take mass transit or walk to work, at the end of the day pick up the bike and go home.  For some, possibly even a cost savings.

Yeah, that's definitely worth a premium, especially for small stuff.  Like, for a big project (like 12K service or something), I'll ride out to ECS in Middletown and deal with the train back and forth.  But for other stuff, zipping down 6th ave works just fine.

Checked out the new store yesterday, glad its back because its feels right to have a Ducati spot back in Manhattan. Bought a back protector for my Dainese Jacket and picked up my first Ducati t shirt because it was only 25 bucks rather than 100. Left my bike out front for a few hours to do some errands in soho, peace of mind knowing it wouldnt be stolen or ticketed.

took this shot with my gopro in the holland tunnel
(http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/303235_555658229768_47701118_31367523_473923_n.jpg)

Sick photo...

Wow, what setting on the GoPro is that? I just got mine few weeks ago and brought with me to track (auto) events but haven't done much on the bike.

Great to have them back, I'm around that area a lot and it was depressing to walk by and not see all the eye candy out front. I wish them well it sounds like they have the good attitude, trying to get a customer instead of a sale. I'll be by to drool on all the new bikes soon (unfortunately can't offer them not much more business than drool for now: me - $$$ = >:(  )

theres only picture and video, so im just going to say its picture.  [thumbsup]

its not enough to mount to the bike without some sort of a clamp.

I took a polarized filter off one of my real cameras and stuck it in front of the gopro lens. Since the gopro meters automatically, this is the only way to control exposure. With the filter on it drops it about 1 f-stop so the exposure decreases to like 1/2 to compensate so it gives the blur effect. Its shooting in standard picture mode once per second and snapping away

I had it mounted to my chest so the bike looks a little IZ_ since the camera was not absolutely still. I need to mount it solidly and the it will look even better. . I have some expensive custom mounts I borrowed from work so when i attempt the redo its going to blow this away. I have it rigged up to shoot way out from the right of the bike looking at me and also down the tunnel so I'll have my helmet/face/gear/monster in the shot which will all be in focus and I'll be time warping through the tunnel.

this shot triggered right at the tunnel entrance where they have tungsten lights rather than flouro so everything looks yellow. The only photoshop is the 16:9 crop I made, no color changes or anything etc.
(http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/299121_555658184858_47701118_31367522_6593600_n.jpg)

If you can crop out the cars, it'll look like your going light speed..

(http://www.zgeek.com/forum/gallery/files/1/7/9/1/0/spaceballs_2_003.png)