09-02-2017, 01:50 PM
(09-02-2017, 01:10 PM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Ducati has a very rich history. Like any other motorcycle brand, you can get a good machine or a bad machine. Some people claim they have had Ducatis for years and never had any issues with them. My son got a brand new Ducati Monster 696 in 2009. His was one of the bad ones. The electrical system went out, it developed a persistant oil leak, and the transmission locked up on him. He also had a persistant brake squeal. He won't ride it very far from home now. Each issue required a two hour trailer ride to the dealer. A 2 week wait. And a two hour trip back to the dealer to pick it up. It has been running pretty well lately though. As far as maintenance, he still doesn't have enough miles on it yet to require a valve adjustment or cam belt replacement so I can't comment on how expensive that is. His primary bikes have been Yamahas, an 04 FZ-1 (40,000 miles, never in the shop) and a 2015 FJ-09, not sure of mileage, (maybe 10K) also never been in the shop.
His wife's cousin bought the next version Ducati Monster, a 796 I believe. He had persistant rear brake failures. After several tries for the dealer to fix it, he gave up and traded it in on a Triumph Bonneville.
My doctor friend bought a Multistrada. After several issues he traded it in on a KTM. He still has the KTM, but has since bought another Mulitstrada (and a BMW S1000), but then again he's rich and doesn't worry about exotics breaking down on him like you or I would lol
Ducati is doing well in MotoGP ( although that's a V4) and in Superbike, but race bikes have professional teams of mechanics to keep them running. They get great reviews in the magazines generally, but again magazines recieve professionally prepped test bikes and don't live with them for very long. A new Rider magazine came in today and they tested the 950 Multistrada against the Kaw 1000LT and Suzuki Vstrom 1000. The Duc finished last and the article states " although the Ducati is a blast on racer road, it's lack of low to midrange power and quirky brakes, clutch and seat turned us off".
Personally I would not buy a Ducati as a primary bike, but I might buy one as a stable mate to my primary bike if I was looking for a good looking, great sounding sporting Italian machine for blasting curvy roads on during weekends.
I hate to discourage someone from buying a Ducati, if that's what they want, but you asked for personal knowledge and not hearsay.
I'm sure someone will come along that got a reliable Ducati to balance the opinions.
See that above... that type of detailed thorough response is exactly why I posted that in this forum. Then again, I'd expect no less from The Ferret.
I rode with two buddies a couple weekends ago and both had Italian machinery.... one an MV Augusta, the other a Ducati. Before the ride was finished, the Monster threw an engine code. My other friend's supersport Ducati hasn't really had many issues, but I'm afraid I know more instances of friends who just deal with and put up with the issues because they enjoy the other aspects of riding them.
It's just I find that the sound of the old air cooled 992 twin spark motors with Termi pipes to be like a drug to me. It's the crazy, unstable and volatile GF you don't want to marry and know you should steer clear of that has that inexplicable pull. Wish I could own both my bike and one of those.
In the same way I'd never opt to ride in a Range Rover over a Toyota Landcruiser or Toyota Hilux in the middle of a barren dessert where it's potentially life or death being stranded, I'm guessing it's not smart to count on and rely on a Ducati as a primary means of transport.
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