Rare, desirable but highly modified worth the headache. (Ducati mh900e)

I have had my feelers out for a mh900e for a few years, wanted one with some miles that I could ride. I have one from someone in the local Ducati club that I could pickup around 4-6K under market. 23,000K plus some fees with 2.5K miles. Low mileage perfect examples go for the mid 30's ones with miles like this are around 27-29K ready to display. 

But its been modified, has replacement rear sets, modified clipons, all the controls have been replaced with upgraded units, carbon fenders, carts in the front fork and bunch of other small items. But all the OEM parts which are unobtainable are not included. All the cool bits that you got with the bike like the stand and the crate are gone as well. 

It is actually a better rider with the control changes, plus I fit on it. It's a "high" mileage bike but it can never be returned to stock ever based on the parts availability. I intend to put 1-2K miles on it a year with the Ducati club so it could end up destroying the value anyway but who knows if that is what I would actual do over just buying a V2.  

Jump on it or pass and wait for a perfectly stock version that I could ride say 100-200 miles a year and display in the house. This is a dream bike of mine and its not terribly expensive all things considered but I had sold the 959 to get a MV Superveloce which I have not been able to test ride yet and this would take that place in the garage. Also the SV has all the modern safety stuff and is actually fast.  

I know the Paul Smart is the better bike but I do like the look without the fairing and yes I just sold a 200K worth of cars so I have cash burning a hole in my pocket right now so I am second guessing myself over the whole thing.  

Not the actual bike but a phoe so people can get a good idea of what I am talking about. 

The answer is YES! 

BTW, I only read part of the title 

Took these at Barber, you can spy a Paul Smart in the second pic:

And Paul Smart just because, but the MH is the one to get!

I mean,it's priced fair, and the mods make it more user friendly. Why not?

Buy what you want.  Money isn't an issue, so just get exactly what you want and use it as you intend to.

How important is it to you to have the "perfect" one as a display piece? Because almost everything else makes this sound like the better choice.

 While it involves more shuffling, you could always sell this one on if you found a more original one later. Living with this one might affect how much that matters to you in the interim.

So needed to add to this but want to find a better way to say it. 

The collectible market is weird right now. I get offer maybe 2-4 really good deals a year. Like its a no brainer I am going to make money or at least break even enough that I can enjoy it and not feel like I am loosing my shirt. 

I have seen 7 mh900e's come up for sale in the last two months. Three alone at local dealers. I got offered a LP640 recently at a price that I would have been insane to turn done. (Deal sent to a friend and I got paid for the referral). I buy and sell all the time and I do it for people as well and this is just the tip of the iceberg lately. I have had a easy 7-8 serious cars offered to me at discounts that I would blush to ask for if I was trying to buy them outright for a client. Really rare but weird stuff is coming out of the woodwork and selling at or below what I would expect. That has me on edge, likely jut a fluke in the matrix with everything coming up at once, or a bunch of wealthy people trying to buy the market dip in housing but it is hard to ignore. This is not just cars it is Daytona's and Submariners (I also flip these when I get a good deal though I prefer the sub's as they sell easier)

I have a really weird feeling about the market right now and it feels like there is going to be some stuff that I can get way cheaper then I expected over say the next 7 months and 25K does not stop me from buying the dip but it makes you think. 

As a example I found a Superveloce at 15K with a few thousand miles on it in Florida with the spoke wheels and all the good bits that is a better rider. 

Back to the bike. 

This one is a cheap example where I know I am going to likely lose 3K on it if I have to turn around and sell it because I don't like it. The market is interested in 100% originality but this is at a big enough discount where I will find another buy who wants one at a deal, but if they want this one with these mods is questionable. 

This is a beautiful bike that is terrible to ride. If it was a ugly bike that had a sublime riding experience, or a small bore bike that will be a serious classic in the future then I would feel better as it is not just a collectible that most people stare at. 

Rambling now will know if its a done deal later tonight or tomorrow morning as I needed to see some paperwork from the bike before I buy it.   

wearymicrobe said:

This one is a cheap example where I know I am going to likely lose 3K on it if I have to turn around and sell it because I don't like it. The market is interested in 100% originality but this is at a big enough discount where I will find another buy who wants one at a deal, but if they want this one with these mods is questionable. 

This is a beautiful bike that is terrible to ride. If it was a ugly bike that had a sublime riding experience, or a small bore bike that will be a serious classic in the future then I would feel better as it is not just a collectible that most people stare at. 

Those two paragraphs and your comment about the original parts not being included suggest to me that it's a bike I would pass on if I were in your situation and mindset. At least not without a bigger discount.

Re the market being weird, I've noticed that as well - usually I'm pretty decent at guesstimating prices, and I've had a few surprises recently (both good and bad). For one of them I should've opened the wallet if I wasn't out of space.

I ride my bikes, so I'm not interested in something that's just an art piece.  That would nix this for me right out of the gate.

Somebody else came along and payed more for the bike then we agreed on. Which is good and bad at the same time. Apparently I am bad at reading the market or somebody else had the money to burn and wanted it more then me. I feel like I keep getting skunked on things lately. So much money out there buying above even market when there is no reason and always right after I make a deal. 

Might be time to take a step back, been pushing to make deals to keep myself busy outside of work. 

wearymicrobe said:

Somebody else came along and payed more for the bike then we agreed on. Which is good and bad at the same time. Apparently I am bad at reading the market or somebody else had the money to burn and wanted it more then me. I feel like I keep getting skunked on things lately. So much money out there buying above even market when there is no reason and always right after I make a deal. 

I would trust your judgement and assume this is the case.  I think it's too easy to get sucked into thinking you lost out on a good deal or take up a not-so-great deal on impulse.

berkeley it I put the paperwork in to buy this today from the same shop that had the mH900e. They also have a modified V4S for sale that is about the same price and that I am going to test ride both and make my decision 

https://www.moto-forza.com/default.asp?page=xPreOwnedInventoryDetail&id=14240713&p=1&s=(Sort%20By)&d=D&fr=xPreOwnedInventory

Well that looks like a heck of a good time.

So v2 did not work out. Just as hot as my old 959 on the test ride. They put me on a V4s which is my dream bike and besides being the best street bike I have even ridden that was too hot as well. Heat was brutal in traffic felt like the exhaust was pushing the fumes up my pants legs. This was on a 10 minute test ride, even the 50mph ride back to the shop was too hot. 
 

Dealer had a v4 streetfighter which was the Goldilocks bike for comfort and speed but did. It feel special so I spent a E36 M3 tone of money and bought a used SP streetfighter. Carbon wheels, titanium exhaust, dry clutch. Will be here Wednesday I think depending on the shipper. 
 

https://www.ducatinewportbeach.com/--xInventoryDetail?id=14524723#accordionInfo

Very nice!

The V4 is an animal of a bike. I don't know why they don't cook your legs like a Pan, but they don't. I'm a big fan of the V2 in the Storm Green colorway, enough power to have tons of fun without the complete insanity of the V4 top end.

So now that I have a few hundred miles on the new bike I have to add some things now that FL has bumped this back up. 

The bike is like having a V2 and a V4 in one package. If you crank all the safety nannies up it feels just like numb V2. If you take the nannies off it is bonkers, like nobody should own one of these things for street use. Above say 8K RPM all hell breaks loose. I am not good enough to own this bike and use it past about 50% of what it can do on a track. It lifts its front tire more then a dog does its rear leg even at seriously low speeds. 

But somehow Ducati has made a bike that is perfectly happy at 4K RPM as it is at 11K, they had sanded away just about every sharp edge they could find and then electronically limited the bike in most modes from the rider doing something stupid. Below 6K RPM and at normal street speeds there is nothing better then this bike that I have ever ridden as a daily. Its a bit tall for some people in the seat but the seat is so comfortable. Compared to my 959 which was torture, in fact I think its better then my 950SSS with risers. 

It does not get hot in traffic, at a stop light it shuts down the rear cylinders like my Harley, the exhaust is loud enough for you to have fun but not so loud that you get tired of it (For 7K plus installation for the pipes it better be perfect).  The suspension is plush in street mode and it just floats over bumps. It did have way to stiff of a rear out of the gate and had no sag at the factory setting so I did have to adjust the rear spring. 

I am going to go out on a limb and say this bike is easier and safer to ride then a 600cc modern sport bike. I would go further and say if they locked the RPM at say 8K and left all the safety nannies on you could put a rider with a few months experience on it and they would not kill themselves even if they has no self control. 

So far I have yet to find fault other then the dry clutch is a bit heavier in the hand then most people would expect. But its light compared to all my shovels and flatheads. The gas mileage is horrible which is bad because for once I can ride further then the tank without a stretch. Again compared to the Harley's its more then enough.

The one thing that is outstanding is the cost, mine was 51-52K with all the carbon add-ons to the original owner. I paid 27K with 2K miles on the bike. There is no way anybody should pay that for what amounts to a discount superleggera without fairings. How people are buying the SP2 and then modifying them with 10K exhausts and even more carbon baffles me. But I will take almost 50% off to have somebody else do the break in and fart on the seat.