Ducati 821 - late summer release

[avsbezzy_imp]

I currently own 6 ducatis, 3 are vintage, two are sportbikes and the last is my touring bike. I've also owned many other ducs over the last several years and all of them have been 100% reliable for me. Been on a month long trek on the Multistrada covering thousands of miles and it has never let me down or given one second of trouble. Two of the Ducatis I have see frequent track use (abuse), they are ridden hard, at the redline much of the time, and they are also problem free and require pretty much nothing - just jump on and ride.

Ducati vtwins are not like a cruiser style vtwin with big torque and low RPM. They are built for performance and rev up to 10 or 11000 even 12000 RPM depending on the model. They really don't work well below 4000 and a good cruising rate is between 5000 and 7000RPM, above 7K they really start to come alive.

Ducatis are designed to handle like a race bike and many models are not great in traffic or around town - some are better than others for commuting and traffic but in general where they really shine is on the track or in the canyons.

Some bikes like the SBK and the Streetfighter are hot and cantankerous on the street and aren't happy until they are going about 100mph. Other models like the multistrada and the hyper are fantastic in daily riding situations and never miss a beat, even in traffic.

I think my multistrada is far and away the best all-around motorcycle I've ever experienced - works in the city, on the highway, in the canyons, and even on gravel roads - it's the ultimate sport touring bike. I ride it two-up much of the time and mostly for longer trips.

Hope that gives you a sense of riding a Ducati. And, don't believe the past myths about reliability, aside from a few lemons that any manufacturer gets (sorry ferret) Ducatis are just as reliable as any other brand.

Nice write up and awesome bikes!