Your Ducati's frame was made in India

[ducatiz]

Verlicchi makes the frames in a joint venture with a company called Hema.

Not clear which models are made in the Indian factory, but I'd assume at least all the "lower" end models for sure.  Probably not the SBK but I bet all the others.

http://www.verlicchi.it/it/section2_7/nv-hema.pdf

This relationship goes back to 1996, which would explain (to me) why the welds on the 1996 900SS never cracked but the ones on the 93-94-95 models cracked a-plenty.

[Raux]

who else uses Verliche?

BMW, Harley Davidson and Honda

[Mhanis]

I have assumed that a LOT of motorcycle companies no longer "make" very many parts for their bikes anymore; they are mostly design companies that assemble a collection of parts that are made elsewhere.

I cannot see a Ducati employee turning valves on a lathe one at a time. I assume that most parts show up at the factory in boxes from different vendors and they put them together.

So that being said; this news doesn't surprise me, or worry me at all.


Mark

[ducatiz]

I have assumed that a LOT of motorcycle companies no longer "make" very many parts for their bikes anymore; they are mostly design companies that assemble a collection of parts that are made elsewhere.

I cannot see a Ducati employee turning valves on a lathe one at a time. I assume that most parts show up at the factory in boxes from different vendors and they put them together.

So that being said; this news doesn't surprise me, or worry me at all.

It's not a surprise that Ducati was sourcing pre-built parts, I have plenty of photos of them coming into the factory that way.  (However, they do cut the heads in the factory on a CNC, heads come in as un-machined blocks).

I am surprised they are sourcing the frames from outside EUROPE though. 

Moreover, given the general quality, I'd say this fares well for Indian manufacturing.  Granted, it's Verlicchi who is overseeing it, but then again, it was Verlicchi who was overseeing the Italian-built frames before 1996 (with the crappy welds and cracking 900ss frames)

[Travman]

You are finding out all sorts of information with you aluminum tank investigation.

BTW, just picked up a used tank today that fits my 2005 M1000. Do you need one for your Indian aluminum tank project?

[freeclimbmtb]

You are finding out all sorts of information with you aluminum tank investigation.

BTW, just picked up a used tank today that fits my 2005 M1000. Do you need one for your Indian aluminum tank project?

[supperduc]

  Outsourcing a fender or something is one thing, but outsourcing the well-known trellis frame that is distinctively Ducati is something else . I would rather pay a few hundred dollars more to get my ducs' frame made by Ducati.

Great info though!

Man, do I feel stupid.

[zarn02]

Anybody have an idea who makes the frames that aren't made in India?

Outsourcing a fender or something is one thing, but outsourcing the well-known trellis frame that is distinctively Ducati is something else . I would rather pay a few hundred dollars more to get my ducs' frame made by Ducati.

Great info though!

Man, do I feel stupid.

I doubt Ducati themselves have the infrastructure to produce the frames in-house, at least not in the numbers needed for large-scale production.

For them to make the frame themselves, they'd have to invest in these new production facilities, and hire new workers. I suspect at the end of the day you'd be paying more than a few hundred dollars extra. And it's debatable that this would improve quality.

[Raux]

Just so you know.  lamborghini doesn't make their frames either

[thought]

In this day and age... having globally sourced parts is really not a big issue for me.  It's the nature of the world now, freaking out over it isnt going change anything.

As long as the QC process is solid, there really shouldnt be any difference.

[freeclimbmtb]

In this day and age... having globally sourced parts is really not a big issue for me.  It's the nature of the world now, freaking out over it isnt going change anything.

As long as the QC process is solid, there really shouldnt be any difference.

 


Not to mention the majority of Fords are built in Mexico, while Toyota is 86% (or something like that) in the US.  Theres really no fighting the global economy, we might as well support it instead.  (hey the best news in the world would be if my company moved to europe and relocated me for a few years...id be OK with that)

[fastwin]

Hell, half the crap in our houses is made in China these days! Again, no surprise about the Indian built frames. Maybe they should let them build the plastic tanks too. How could it be any worse?

[ducatiz]

If you look on Ducati's supplier page, they seem to have gone to great pains to list European and primarily Italian-sourced companies for parts and tooling. 

It's not that it is a bad thing, it's that it says something about Indian manufacturing -- i.e. that it's come a long way.

[justinrhenry]

doesn't matter to me where it's made as long as the quality is good. 

[ab]

   Ducati is starting to be less and less appealing to me.  Factories overseas , plastic tanks etc.   Ok, I lie, I still dream of an 848 and a street fighter.


[thread jack] [begin vent]
venting about out- sourcing below and not necessarily related to ducati

i hate global sourcing in general.  No job is safe it seems then.  What people don't realize is the QC in general is not up to par for most fields.  They don't give a shit, they are not the one consuming it or their people.  When contraband medicine pills ended up in Panama and killed people, it came from India.  They didn't give a shit, because it is not their people that suffer from contraband.  No stakes in it, other than the owners getting rich.


Actually first time I and the whole IT dept got outsourced, the executives had the audacity to call it "smart sourced".  Been outsourced few times since then. 

[end vent]