Ducati (ex) owners?

[R748_imp]

Some interesting posts here. I've owned several Dukes and a Guzzi amongst others.

The Guzzi for me was all about the engine (and looks). Unfortunately, I'm not keen on oil/transmission leaks, bits falling off and the midget sized proportions. Sounded amazing though.

Best bike I ever owned was a 996 Duke. Superbly reliable, competent, enough power, easy to maintain, uncomfortable for some (I was younger and more flexible then) but my dear lord, words cannot explain the riding experience. Utter heaven. A few monsters later the only reason I stopped buying Dukes was the speed taxation in Aus and the cuss roads (no corners and decidedly average surface quality). Other than that i'd still probably have my M1100 as a do-it-all machine. Engine character, handling, comfort, feel, noise, practicality, reliability, everything was good.

I didn't get the testastrettas, the departure to wet clutches and the general "blandification" of the newer models. For me they lost the soul they once had.

Mind you, I think the same can be said for many manufacturers. Perhaps this is what we call "rose tinted glasses".

I think it's a myth that Dukes are all expensive (ok - new ones are). I bought all mine used from dealers or privately and although they hold value reasonably well, I still think I got good deals. Especially as many Duke riders don't ride all that often or far (for some reason).

Maybe back in the day, those older fellas who fell in love with leaky British twins had the same feeling when all the "newer" bikes came out.

Or did modern enviro/safety bullcrap destroy the art of the motorcycle?

[Riko_imp]

Topcase rack installed, and now I can use the same topcase as on my CB...




Still need a comfort seat though, thats another 350 euro or so cause the stock seat while comfy at short rides, its deceiving, because a few weeks ago, I really had discomfort after 2h riding.

Since a few weeks I have an sligth issue with my bike.
The front brake discs might be warped.
After a week or 2 ownership I began to feel vibrations only after hard braking.
Mainly on high speed braking, all other circumstances are okay.

I suspected it were the brake pads, and after looking into them....



On the pics you can also see one side is stuck a bit, after cleaning I saw that one piston was a bit stuck.
Should be good now...

But this made me break with my so called reputable Ducati/KTM/Kawa dealer.
Because after he misconnected my gps cable, he didnt check the whole braking system for wear and function
And this is a job he was obliged to do as part of a 35 point checklist to get the ducati extra warranty...
Here (in Dutch) you can see points 17 & 18
http://approved.ducati.com/nl_be/
Wear on discs and pads have to be checked and must be at minimum 70 good...lol my pads are clearly bellow that.
I'd say 70% bad.

So, he clearly didnt look at those.
Even more, after mailing him, he said my discs were good.
But after showing him the pics of the pads he admitted, but warned me that it would cost me a lot of mony if I replaced pads everytime they reached 60%
Implying my pads were at 60%

When I asked what the cost would be, he said 266 euro, thats about
300 USD

I said, cuss that, I'l buy and replace the pads myself...and I decided to go to another dealer!

Pads cost me 90 bucks from Italy and I have the latest LA Brembo pads that last 30% longer (in theory) than the OEM ones they use.
(service manual and a torque wrench is all you need)

But, unfortuantelly I still am feeling the vibrations even after changing with new pads, cleaning the dics and calipers.
The bobbins on my semi floating discs are not stuck either, I could clean them one by one, but I doubt that is the case.
So my feeling is, my dics might me warped...

Bike is going in for nice OEM crashbars but I'll wait and see how the braking evolves before I let the dealer check the system possible replacing my discs...

Might reserach myself first, unfortunatelly the stock brembo discs are reputable bad quality discs...wich sounds weird...being Brembo and on a expensive bike...

Gonna try finding it out while holding a screwdriver against my shock, not touching the disc and turning the wheel, should see that way if I have warped discs.

Other than that braking/disc feeling issue, the bike is addictive as he**!
I only use the CB to go to my garagebox to ride the Ducati
So far my Duc has already seen about 800 miles in less than a month and my Honda about 200 miles...

[Riko_imp]

while awaiting my premium Brembo discs, I've plasti dipped my sidecovers and removed the side reflectors on the forks.

[Riko_imp]

crashbars, a pain to install







the new discs are planned for begin july..

[Riko_imp]

bashplate installed, bike looks the par now imo

[the Ferret]

looks functional

[emullick_imp]

All the comments lead to the main conclusion: own and ride what makes you feel good.
Some bikes are “appliances”- reliable, high performance, and cheap. Others are “exotic” or “pedigreed” - less reliable, lower performance, and expensive. There is a good reason why there are so many low mileage Ducati’s and MV’s on the market, they are garage queens.

After many years of riding, racing, and track days on Japanese super-bikes, from a CB 750 to a ZX9R, with one Ducati Monster in the mix, I confirmed what I just believed for all those years.
The Monster is a beautiful bike, and I thought I would accept the maintenance premium, (11 little screws and 3 bolts to remove the tank, then to check valves you move or remove more bits and pieces).

I sold the Monster after two years and 5,000 miles punctuated with electrical, clutch, and fork repairs. It was replaced with a CB 1100. The old ZX9R is in the garage, always ready for a fast ride, but the CB whispers “take me”, and I can’t say no.

[Riko_imp]

Yihaa!!
short after my purchase I experienced specific high speed vibrations, only at medium to hard braking.

But now all is good and I've fallen in love again with this beast of a motorcycle...

The cause was a damaged right disc brake.
The mechanic saw a little dent in the midsection of the disc... and also some scratches on the big nut of the front wheel assembly, the bike seems to have expereinced a fall or something I guess.

The new high end Oro Brembo discs:




Now I have a spare OEM left side disc up for sale, 12.000km:




If anybody is interesred or knows somebody who is, shoot.
I heard Ducati asks silly prices for their OEM Brembo's...

[Riko_imp]

Again some (expensive) options added
Comfort seat and LED blinkers.






And waiting for the Puig Touring screen and the Ducabike protectors for the handguards.
After that, she's done!

[the Ferret]

Beautiful bike Riko, you must be infatuated with it, as you are certainly lavishing some love on it.