Monster 795: 1000 km in

[DBEng]

Some Triumph models for the U.S. have been assembled in Thailand for years now which makes sense because a lot of content was local anyway. The majority of plant managers are from Hinckley and the QC is the equal to or better than Hinckley. This move has helped to keep Triumph competitive with the Japanese brands and few here appear to find this a turn-off.

I understand that quality may not be affected in reality, but Triumphs are a value proposition these days. e.g. Street Triple costs AUD14k, 696 costs AUD15.5k.  There aren't many (any?) 700cc nakeds (air cooled 2 valves no less) that cost $15,500.

[thought]

The way I see it...

If someone really really wants to pay a huge import tax just to have a little sticker that says "Assembled in Italy", all the more power to them, they can request to have one imported in for them.  The rest of the world will simply have to deal with their frame sticker that says "Assembled in Thailand"... right before they take the sticker off and spend the up to 300% less they spent for the bike on mods.

And lets be honest here... it's not really like italian bikes are known for their superior reliability and assembly.  Being caught up on where it was assembled pretty much is stating that all you care about is the bragging rights of having a duc vs riding it.

[bob795]

Completely agree with you, thought.

Not Dogbolter59 but here's a pic of my 795, in stock condition.


bob795 by BobPS, on Flickr

bob

[Dogbolter59]

If I wanted to buy a 796 here in Thailand it would cost me US$ 8,125 more than than a 795.

That figure is not a typo.

A Panigale starts at US$ 37,500 here thanks to import tax. 

The top model Panigale is US$ 46,875.

The 796 is US$ 20,625.

The 795 is US$ 12,500.

Weighing the warm feeling of owning a Ducati made in Italy against giving a huge sum in tax to the Thai Government I went for the 795.

[DBEng]

There are some people out there to which image matters.  It's naive to think Ducati don't market to them - why do you think they called it the Pannigale?
Personally, I don't mind where my bike was made.  At some point in the future I will have reassembled the whole bike any way - in which case it will be made in Australia!

My point simply is in Australia I don't imagine a significant (if any) price drop for the customer if the Ducs come from Thailand compared with Italy.
History has shown this time and time again with some 'premium' and 'prestige' cars in Australia now being sourced from Thailand  and South Africa.  The price of these didn't drop, the companies just pocketed the extra profit.

[monster 795]

Riding a 2013 795 in the Land of Smiles and having a blast with the bike. I'm not so thrilled with the roads or local drivers but that wasn't a surprise. My last bike was a Harley Road King Classic which was comfy as hell but handling was, well, a challenge expecially compared to the Duc.