living with a Ducati?

So my friend Jack and his 'ride my ducati whenever you like' policy seems to have finally reached a point where its gonna cost me some money

Jack's got a S2R 1000 and its an absolute hoot to ride. Its one of the two bikes I've lusted for since I became truly aware of motorcycles in high school (the other being the 99-200? SS's) and so far its the only bike I can imagine replacing my WR250X in my driveway

The 1000 motor is a bit... much for my license on the road and Baltimore traffic imo, but there's a dealer close by with a 2001 750SS dark for sale..

So the GRM community knows all... whats it like to live with one of these beauties as something more than a garage queen? There's a good chance I'll put 10-15k miles a year on it... Good stories? Bad stories? Story stories? Would you commute and travel on these bikes, weather and resale be damned? I'm only mildly scared of the valve checks and not scared of the belt replacements, and definitely sticking to 2v air cooled motors...

My wife and I bought used (2007) Ducatis last March. We have small kids, so we don’t get a lot of riding in on the weekdays and where we work, we can only ride to work on Fridays.

But we did do a lot of long trips on the bikes. 600+ mile weekends with almost no highway. Total we put about 3800 miles on each of them. This is my third Ducati and my wife’s first. I also had an Aprilia Mille. I have friends with Duicatis that also don’t live up to the normal internet problems per mile.

Other than a battery that died for no apparent reason this summer, I have not had any mechanical problems on any of the bikes. Two of my Ducatis and my Aprilia had problems with stalling when at idle, but that is more of an annoyance then anything. The other bike had carbs and ran great even thought I bought it from a salvage auction and it sat outside for who knows how many months before I got it. Reliability wise, they are on par with the Hondas and Yamahas that I have owned.

Now maintenance is different from reliability. Belts and valves need to be done. I have both of our bikes scheduled to go in this week for the 7500 mile service. I am looking at $1500 for the pair.

Air cooled bikes are nowhere near as bad. I also remember seeing a website that rented the tools needed to properly tension the belts and do the valves. You gave them a deposit and rental and they credited the deposit back.

Current – 1098 – Wifes Monster S4Rs – mine

Past – Monster S4 Monster 750

If you can't deal with the relatively low power of a Monster S2R 1000, you should spend time learning throttle control and common sense.

I would commute and travel on a Ducati. I was actively looking for one before I got the Guzzi. I only ended up with the Guzzi because I found one for sale near me and had to have it. Someday I will own a Ducati as well.

You may want to take a look at Moto Guzzi as well, V11 sport or Lemans. They are ridiculously easy to maintain but heavier than the Ducatis.

rotard wrote: If you can't deal with the relatively low power of a Monster S2R 1000, you should spend time learning throttle control and common sense.

I took it more as the power of the 1000 is entirely unnecessary for the type of riding he does, not that he can't handle it.

EvanB wrote:

rotard wrote: If you can't deal with the relatively low power of a Monster S2R 1000, you should spend time learning throttle control and common sense.

I took it more as the power of the 1000 is entirely unnecessary for the type of riding he does, not that he can't handle it.

This. Also we have speed cameras now here. I dont need a bike to compensate for anything as my 250 is enough 90% of the time. Id rather have 75% of the 1000's power for me and my riding.

thanks!

Rusnak_322 wrote: My wife and I bought used (2007) Ducatis last March. We have small kids, so we don’t get a lot of riding in on the weekdays and where we work, we can only ride to work on Fridays. But we did do a lot of long trips on the bikes. 600+ mile weekends with almost no highway. Total we put about 3800 miles on each of them. This is my third Ducati and my wife’s first. I also had an Aprilia Mille. I have friends with Duicatis that also don’t live up to the normal internet problems per mile. Other than a battery that died for no apparent reason this summer, I have not had any mechanical problems on any of the bikes. Two of my Ducatis and my Aprilia had problems with stalling when at idle, but that is more of an annoyance then anything. The other bike had carbs and ran great even thought I bought it from a salvage auction and it sat outside for who knows how many months before I got it. Reliability wise, they are on par with the Hondas and Yamahas that I have owned. Now maintenance is different from reliability. Belts and valves need to be done. I have both of our bikes scheduled to go in this week for the 7500 mile service. I am looking at $1500 for the pair. Air cooled bikes are nowhere near as bad. I also remember seeing a website that rented the tools needed to properly tension the belts and do the valves. You gave them a deposit and rental and they credited the deposit back. Current – 1098 – Wifes Monster S4Rs – mine Past – Monster S4 Monster 750

Regular maintenance really is relatively easy on the aircooled motors. Once you do it a couple times, you'll get the hang of it and it won't be a job you dread. And aside from belts and valve shims, they don't need any weird parts.

I always wanted a 900SS. Ended up with a TL1000S instead, but one of these days I'm going to paint the frame white, the bodywork blood red and the drivetrain black...

I have the 900 version of this bike and I love it. Air cooled engines are fairly low mant. compaired to the others, it is a two valve engine (4 altogether ) so time wise does not take long to check . My local dealer will let me swap shims so there is no cost to do them just some time and gas . Only part I don't like about riding is stop and go traffic , it does a number on my wrists after a little bit. I have owned the bike for a few years and put about 16000 miles and has been completely trouble free so far ( knock on wood ) . Good luck in your searches

Ok I'm home and mostly thawed, it got damn cold quick once the sun went down... probably all the snow on the way tomorrow. \:(

So, whats it like to ride your first dream bike? What happens when it doesn't live up to your expectations? Or worse, what happens when you realize its everything you thought it could be and its very possible with a little work it could be yours?

I rode out to Duc Pond Motorsports this afternoon to check out the 2001 750SS they have for sale. Its the dark model, so single front disk, flat black paint, half fairing, and somewhat lower spec suspension bits. Its a wet clutch instead of a dry clutch too. This particular bike is a 1 owner with just over 14k miles and a stack of service records and receipts documenting its history.

Duc Pond, for those who don't know of it, is owned by Donnie Unger, a former AMA Pro Racer who won a ton of races for Ducati in the US in the 90's until he shattered his back at VIR in 2002. After the crash Ducati approached him to open a dealership. They are one of the best Ducati shops in the country, and sell nothing but Ducati's. Donnie is the master tech too, so he personally works on many of the bikes that come through.

I talked with the salesman for about an hour about the bike, the maintenance requirements, and the kind of and amount of riding I do. Basically let them warm up in winter, keep up on the maintenance, and ride the damn bike instead of letting them sit... sounds good lol.

On to the test ride. Chad, the salesman, led me on a test loop in the surrounding area, with a bit of twisty lumpy back roads, some in-town stop and go, and a little bit of highway. The ergo's are so different from what I normally ride and anything I've ridden recently its hard to comment... but I'll say that it wasn't terribly uncomfortable. The bars are way out and way down there of course, but not as aggressive as the Daytona 675 I've ridden. Part of the discomfort was for sure the gear I was wearing; my Klim jacket isn't cut for a sport bike riding position and my Aerostich AD1 pants had 0 grip on the seat so I was sliding all over the place. It took a couple minutes to find the right spots on the pegs but afterwards was comfy on the rearsets. Some combination of sport riding gear, different clip ons, and maybe slightly lower pegs will fix my comfort issues I think. The gear will come first, followed by hard parts if needed...

What a wonderful motor! Absolutely wonderfully perfect motor! Plenty of torque and power to keep things extremely interesting when you twist the grip, but not so much that the bike feels like a caged animal on the street. You can actually romp on this for a bit without fear of doubling the speed limit everywhere... unless you want to cause it'll do that too. Clutch was a tad heavy but everything's heavy compared to my WR's. The suspension felt well damped and controllable everywhere to me. The bike is definitely happy to lean and feels really stable and lightweight. Loved it! Just simply loved it...

CN: My WR250X is for sale and the Duc is on hold. fingers crossed

Very nice. Does it have the stock exhaust or aftermarket?

Good luck. I have my eye on a new 696 myself. I absolutely fell in love with Ducs back in HS when my father frequented, and then worked at the local Ducati dealer.

skierd wrote: CN: My WR250X is for sale and the Duc is on hold. *fingers crossed*

Whats the asking price for the wr250x?

The Duc is all stock, just the way I want it. They also have a sargent seat sitting unloved for one in the parts department, which will probably get picked up too.

The WR250X I'm asking $3000 It is still under Y.E.S warranty (unlimited mileage) until January 2013 which I will be happy to transfer.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=762809

too rich for my blood. looks like a hell of fun bike....the wr250x that is

Oh man...if I could find $3,000 laying around I'd be all over that WR-X.

Ducati's are great but I'd rather have them in Motard format than in Sportbike format.

Just can't get into that position.

Am always open to reasonable offers lol.

ProTip for comfort on bikes with low clip-ons: grip the tank with your knees and support your upper body with your core. And get the balls of your feet on the pegs for better support and weight transfer. Proper lower body position leads to good upper body position. It keeps the weight off your wrists for better control and stability, not to mention less soreness.

Get in the habit quick and you'll build the muscles you need in no time.

alex wrote: ProTip for comfort on bikes with low clip-ons: grip the tank with your knees and support your upper body with your core. And get the balls of your feet on the pegs for better support and weight transfer. Proper lower body position leads to good upper body position. It keeps the weight off your wrists for better control and stability, not to mention less soreness. Get in the habit quick and you'll build the muscles you need in no time.

great advise- it took me a bit to get comfortable on my F4i but once I used my knees and built up my core, I'm good for hours at a time without pain in my wrists or back.

My neck is usually the first thing to get sore.

Yeah I've always ridden with me knees, so to speak, really helps keep the old bike stable when riding in gnarly dirt or just keeping things comfier on pavement.

I had a little problem at first finding a foot position that didn't cramp my legs, but within 4 or 5 miles my foot seemed to naturally find its happy place and all leg discomfort was gone. I definitely know one of my big problems was the slippery aerostich pants not grabbing anything and sliding around on the seat/tank. The pants are pending sold. The Klim jacket doesn't have enough reach to get to the bars comfortably, my wrists felt fine but my back, arms, and shoulders were restricted. Its pending sale too. So is the wr250x...