Any Ducati owners?

Cienciano

Thinking of changing my bike (bmw 1200GS adventure) to something a bit more exciting. Was thinking about a ducati, either the 1100 versions of the hypermotard or monster. Something that look and sounds great, and is good for short spins and the odd commute.
Just wondering if the scare stories are real (servicing every 100 miles that cost half the price of the bike, constant problems, starts when it feels like it etc) or are they decent bikes?
Will be buying second hand, probably in uk, so any advice on what to look out for/avoid appreciated.

P.C.

Zascar is a Ducati man.
He might be able to give you some advice.

AgileMyth

Always good to change away from the GS for a while. You can remind yourself how good the GS is then buy another one.

Next time don't get the 'Adventure' model.

Eight Ball

Get a newer one they are far better. Think the pre 2011 bikes have issues with expanding tanks due to the increasing amount of ethonal in petrol the last couple of years.

Cienciano

AgileMyth wrote: »

Always good to change away from the GS for a while. You can remind yourself how good the GS is then buy another one.

Next time don't get the 'Adventure' model.

I had a 1150 standard! I prefer the adv tbh (ok, different bikes!) Good protection from the tank. Nice not having to worry about fuel for so long too. But my touring days are limited with 2 kids now.
I do like the gs, great bike but just bored with it, had some form of GS since 2004! I want change, something that looks sexy, sounds sexy and will come close to killing me
Idealy I'd have 2 bikes. GS for touring practical stuff. Then something a bit different.

P.C. wrote: »

Zascar is a Ducati man.
He might be able to give you some advice.

Yeah, think I remember him posting in the photos thread. Savage bike to as far as I can remember.

Eight Ball wrote: »

Get a newer one they are far better. Think the pre 2011 bikes have issues with expanding tanks due to the increasing amount of ethonal in petrol the last couple of years.

I think a visit to a few ducati forums is in order. But with my budget I won't be getting anything too new.

galwaytt

I don't directly........but I plan to.......

More importantly for you though, I know a guy who does have one. Or did.

An early DS1000 Multistrada - the fugly one. A curious fish it was - not very smooth imho, and he had only a few niggles in his period of ownership.

Otoh, the engine never gave any issues, and the bike never actually broke down, so it's more niggly things - and personal preference. Comfort, riding position etc.

He's gone and bought a Transalp now, for a quiet life (literally).

I think if we were on the Med the Hypermotard would be a hoot. On this island it will look 10 years old after a week on our roads, with a gazillion places for muck to collect in and the impossibility of cleaning it. As a H-D owner I can testify to this.

So of the two you mention, I'd go for a Monster, and the newer the better. Quality has come on in leaps & bounds in the last 10 years so I think with proper maintenance it should be fine.

Herself wants to get a Monster btw, so there is one in our future at some stage.........

Zascar

I've had two and personally it would be hard for me to buy anything else really!! I've had a few small problems but really nothing major. The electrics are not great so bes to take it in and get all the relays relaced with higher quality ones. Some bits are not very water resistant but you can get better parts than they use in the factory. I had a Monster 620 which had some electrical problems where it simply would do nothing when you pressed the starter button - but then would be absolutely perfect the next day. The key is to get proper mechanics to work on it, I had a few random lads look at it and wasted time, brought it to a Ducati mechanic and for under €100 he rewired part of it and it never gave me any problems again.

I've had a 749 for over 3 years now and she has never really missed a beat. I had some battery problems at the start so had to replace it. A few times I would come down in the morning and the battery would be flat dead, however I think I probably just went one click to far and put the parking light on - as I stopped using the steering lock and have not had that problem since lol. Servicing is not that expensive, I use Robbie in http://mototechnic.ie - really nice guy and very reasonable. I've spent very little on it in the 3.5 years, and I use my bike most days. Can't complain of cost of running at all personally.

I'd say stay away from the older ones like 748 etc - you need to be handy with a spanner to own one of them I'm told. I'd love a new shape Multistrada they seem savage to me - a 'do everything bike'. I highly recommend you have a watch of this National Geographic Megafactoruies documentary on the Making of the Multistrada. However I heard a story of a guy who bought one new and the bike was back in the shop half a dozen times in the first year. In fairness that can happen with anything if you are simply unlucky.

The Hypermotard is apparently absolutely mental. A licence loser. But savage fun. Savage bike to have as a second bike but for me not your one and only.

The 999 is a cracker, bigger brother of mine. However two different Ducati mechanics told me that they prefer the 749, as the 999 "Can tend to run away with you". Personally the 749 is plenty enough for me but it depends on your experience and ability I suppose. I write a bit of a review mine here: Ducati 749 Review

Hope that helps, let us know your thoughts or any other questions... I hate to sound cheesy but there really is something a bit special about them compared to other makes...

Cienciano

galwaytt wrote: »

I don't directly........but I plan to...................... ....................., so there is one in our future at some stage.........

I don't plan on taking it out in the rain So at least it will stay reasonably decent. And yeah, I know you'll always get caught out the odd time. But in general, it'll be a dry weather bike. Lucky you having a wife that wants a monster. Seriously tempted by them.

Zascar wrote: »

I've had two and personally it would be hard for me to buy anything else really!! I've had a few small problems but really nothing major. The electrics are not great so bes to take it in and get all the relays relaced with higher quality ones. Some bits are not very water resistant but you can get better parts than they use in the factory. I had a Monster 620 which had some electrical problems where it simply would do nothing when you pressed the starter button - but then would be absolutely perfect the next day. The key is to get proper mechanics to work on it, I had a few random lads look at it and wasted time, brought it to a Ducati mechanic and for under €100 he rewired part of it and it never gave me any problems again.

I've had a 749 for over 3 years now and she has never really missed a beat. I had some battery problems at the start so had to replace it. A few times I would come down in the morning and the battery would be flat dead, however I think I probably just went one click to far and put the parking light on - as I stopped using the steering lock and have not had that problem since lol. Servicing is not that expensive, I use Robbie in http://mototechnic.ie - really nice guy and very reasonable. I've spent very little on it in the 3.5 years, and I use my bike most days. Can't complain of cost of running at all personally.

I'd say stay away from the older ones like 748 etc - you need to be handy with a spanner to own one of them I'm told. I'd love a new shape Multistrada they seem savage to me - a 'do everything bike'. I highly recommend you have a watch of this National Geographic Megafactoruies documentary on the Making of the Multistrada. However I heard a story of a guy who bought one new and the bike was back in the shop half a dozen times in the first year. In fairness that can happen with anything if you are simply unlucky.

The Hypermotard is apparently absolutely mental. A licence loser. But savage fun. Savage bike to have as a second bike but for me not your one and only.

The 999 is a cracker, bigger brother of mine. However two different Ducati mechanics told me that they prefer the 749, as the 999 "Can tend to run away with you". Personally the 749 is plenty enough for me but it depends on your experience and ability I suppose. I write a bit of a review mine here: Ducati 749 Review

Hope that helps, let us know your thoughts or any other questions... I hate to sound cheesy but there really is something a bit special about them compared to other makes...

That's what I want to hear! Nice one, I'm convinced. Got tyres done by Robbie, and tbh, that's one of the reasons I've decided to go for one. Bang on honest guy who knows his way around a ducati. And he's on my bus route to work. It's meant to be.
I have a car now, so bike is secondary. So it won't be my only form of transport. Read your review, and that's what I want. A bike that gives you that warm fuzzy feeling when you're walking up to it.
But not too mad on the idea of a sports bike. Prefer no fairing. If money wasn't an issue, the new multi would be an option. Was driving home today on the bike and was thinking what it would be like on the hyper with no screen at all. The GS has amazing protection. Then I thought "fúck it, I'd be on a ducati".
Think they call this a mid life crisis

Wossack

later ones went a bit more realistic with the service intervals also - do still need to be minded though

Cienciano

After doing some research, the hypermotard is fecken amazing. Only downside is the tank range is tiny (80 miles) and a set of termis is bloody expensive. On the GS if I had 80 miles left I'd be getting worried and start looking for petrol stations!

Lurching

The Hyperstrada has just been released over here. I was considering one, but the above opinions on the Hypermotard worry me. It's basically the same bike, from what I can work out.
Is the Hypermotard that lively?

Cienciano

You can get a bigger tank for the hypermotard, but they're not cheap.
http://www.sandbarcomposites.co.uk/displayproduct.php?product_id=694&category_id=44

I prefer the look of older hyper to the newer, but a new bike is way outside my price range anyway so haven't really looked into the hyperstrada at all. It seems to be a cross between the hypermotard and the multistrada.