My son has refined taste!

Took him to the big motorcycle show this weekend. One maker very much caught his fancy.

Ducati.

And of the lineup, what did he like the most?

The Panigale.

Excellent!

And appropriately open-minded regarding the airbox-as-chassis. Too much conservatism in sportbikes, and I'm glad to see the new generation appreciates innovation!

I was also drooling over many of the Ducati motorcycles ,very nice. I might have to take a test ride in a few weeks.

"Big motorcycle show". Uh, where?

When I was at the auto show in Harrisburg there was one motorcycle display for, yep, Ducati. I don't get wowed by the looks of a motorcycle, but holy crap, do they look "right". The drool started to form, until I saw the price: $20,000.

My daughter and I were at the IMS this weekend. She, too, has good taste.

"I tried to put my knee out like the man in the suit but when I do that, I can't reach the pedals!"

We ordered her helmet, though. She is... excited... to say the least.

I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

rotard wrote: I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

Care to elaborate? If I were hypothetically drooling over a Ducati Monster 696 or Triumph Street Triple, are you saying the Ducati would be more trouble during ownership than the Triumph?

Beer Baron wrote:

rotard wrote: I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

Care to elaborate? .... are you saying the Ducati would be more trouble during ownership....

Don't let that stop you - pushing a motorcycle is fantastic exercise.

Beer Baron wrote:

rotard wrote: I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

Care to elaborate? If I were *hypothetically* drooling over a Ducati Monster 696 or Triumph Street Triple, are you saying the Ducati would be more trouble during ownership than the Triumph?

The Triumph Street Triple is a much more capable motorcycle than a Monster 696. There is simply no comparison between any air-cooled Monster and a Street Triple in terms of performance. The Ducati would be more trouble, and would also be more likely to have issues like gas tanks that don't like ethanol.

The maintenance on an air-cooled Ducati is something you could learn to do yourself, but shouldn't be skipped or stretched. It's really not that bad. Dealers, parts, and quality problems can all be a pain in the ass.

This one Dave. Didn't know you hadn't heard of it. It's well worth going to. http://cycleshow.net/

Here the son checking out the Ducati version of a "geezer glide" for the old man. A Diavel. Surprising to me how comfortable and reachable the bike was. Except for the way the seat, um, cups you. Now I know why all the Italian opera singers are tenors.

This is him on the Ducati Panigale, the bike he kept coming back to over and over again throughout the day.
He was asking them about accessories and such for commuting to school. You should have seen his face when we were over in the swap meet area and I found a set of scuzzy bags. He actually got an eye twitch going!

Interesting comparing the various bikes, and especially noticing how badly many of them fit smurfs. Some were just downright comical.

Like the Triumph Tiger Explorer, you've got to have legs 8' long to climb onto it. Sitting on their Bonneville T100 gives a new definition to pain. It's like the seat is board without the edges being beveled.

The Suzuki Vstrom 1100 had some bags on it that stuck out so far the bike was about four feet wide. The gap between the bags and the bike was so wide you could have fit another set into it.

Honda was demonstrating they still know how to build small scooters with spagetti noodle forks. The amount of slop and wiggle absolutely astonished and horrified my son.

Got to check out both the Burgman and the new BMW scooters, and verified that indeed, I'm too short for either. I have to scoot forward and off the seat to reach the ground. The BMW I have to stretch to reach the controls. BMW is planning to build a short version in the future though.

Did find that one of the Yamaha Star bikes fits me quite comfortably. Comical the confusion trying to figure out which one (check out their web site and you'll understand). The salesman and I both figured it's probably the 1300 V-star, but it might have been an 1100.

rotard wrote:

Beer Baron wrote:

rotard wrote: I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

Care to elaborate? If I were *hypothetically* drooling over a Ducati Monster 696 or Triumph Street Triple, are you saying the Ducati would be more trouble during ownership than the Triumph?

The Triumph Street Triple is a much more capable motorcycle than a Monster 696. There is simply no comparison between any air-cooled Monster and a Street Triple in terms of performance. The Ducati would be more trouble, and would also be more likely to have issues like gas tanks that don't like ethanol. The maintenance on an air-cooled Ducati is something you could learn to do yourself, but shouldn't be skipped or stretched. It's really not that bad. Dealers, parts, and quality problems can all be a pain in the ass.

Ducati has stretched the service intervals - 15k miles for belts and valves.

http://www.ducatiusa.com/services/maintenance/index.do

Rusnak_322 wrote:

rotard wrote:

Beer Baron wrote:

rotard wrote: I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

Care to elaborate? If I were *hypothetically* drooling over a Ducati Monster 696 or Triumph Street Triple, are you saying the Ducati would be more trouble during ownership than the Triumph?

The Triumph Street Triple is a much more capable motorcycle than a Monster 696. There is simply no comparison between any air-cooled Monster and a Street Triple in terms of performance. The Ducati would be more trouble, and would also be more likely to have issues like gas tanks that don't like ethanol. The maintenance on an air-cooled Ducati is something you could learn to do yourself, but shouldn't be skipped or stretched. It's really not that bad. Dealers, parts, and quality problems can all be a pain in the ass.

Ducati has stretched the service intervals - 15k miles for belts and valves. http://www.ducatiusa.com/services/maintenance/index.do

I'm aware of that. Compare that to a Hondayamasaki.

rotard wrote:

Rusnak_322 wrote:

rotard wrote:

Beer Baron wrote:

rotard wrote: I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

Care to elaborate? If I were *hypothetically* drooling over a Ducati Monster 696 or Triumph Street Triple, are you saying the Ducati would be more trouble during ownership than the Triumph?

The Triumph Street Triple is a much more capable motorcycle than a Monster 696. There is simply no comparison between any air-cooled Monster and a Street Triple in terms of performance. The Ducati would be more trouble, and would also be more likely to have issues like gas tanks that don't like ethanol. The maintenance on an air-cooled Ducati is something you could learn to do yourself, but shouldn't be skipped or stretched. It's really not that bad. Dealers, parts, and quality problems can all be a pain in the ass.

Ducati has stretched the service intervals - 15k miles for belts and valves. http://www.ducatiusa.com/services/maintenance/index.do

I'm aware of that. Compare that to a Hondayamasaki.

OK, now what?

2012 Honda CBR600RR - Direct shim-under-bucket valve actuation ensures high-rpm performance and durability with 16,000-mile maintenance intervals.

http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=6241-en

Rusnak_322 wrote:

rotard wrote:

Rusnak_322 wrote:

rotard wrote:

Beer Baron wrote:

rotard wrote: I like Ducati, but I think I've spent too much time on ducati.ms to ever actually own one. Have any of you checked out the Buell 1190rs? Saweeeet.

Care to elaborate? If I were *hypothetically* drooling over a Ducati Monster 696 or Triumph Street Triple, are you saying the Ducati would be more trouble during ownership than the Triumph?

The Triumph Street Triple is a much more capable motorcycle than a Monster 696. There is simply no comparison between any air-cooled Monster and a Street Triple in terms of performance. The Ducati would be more trouble, and would also be more likely to have issues like gas tanks that don't like ethanol. The maintenance on an air-cooled Ducati is something you could learn to do yourself, but shouldn't be skipped or stretched. It's really not that bad. Dealers, parts, and quality problems can all be a pain in the ass.

Ducati has stretched the service intervals - 15k miles for belts and valves. http://www.ducatiusa.com/services/maintenance/index.do

I'm aware of that. Compare that to a Hondayamasaki.

OK, now what? 2012 Honda CBR600RR - Direct shim-under-bucket valve actuation ensures high-rpm performance and durability with 16,000-mile maintenance intervals. http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?id=6241-en

The difference is that the Honda will need to be inspected at that mileage period. The chances of it actually needing an adjustment are slim. There are some people that argue that the extended service period on the Ducatis is bullE36 M3. Think of the Ducatis as an RX8. They're picky, require more maintenance, and can still leave you stranded after years of meticulous loving care.

That's not to say that all Hondas or whatever are always reliable. Every machine will fail at some point. My experience is that most people that claim to have super-reliable Ducatis only have a couple thousand miles on them.

Having owned 6 Japanese sport bikes from new (2 FZR600s, F3, F4i, 900RR & 929) along with several that were bought used (CBRF1, F3, FZR400 and 2 R6s). Most only needed gas, oil & tires and an occasional manual cam chain adjuster for the CBR600s.

I currently have 2 Ducatis and have owned two others along with an Aprilia. We have put 7500 miles on each of the current ducks and probably 10k miles on the past two combined. The Aprilia had another 10k miles on it while I owned it. Last winter I had both the Ducatis at the shop for their 7500 mile service and only one of the valves required a new shim. Both got new belts. Cost was $650 for my service and I think $750 for my wifes bike because they had to remove bodywork on hers.

Other than the belt/valve service, the Ducati's were very reliable, the Aprilia required/received zero maintenance (other then a warranty replacement for a swingarm) besides gas, oil, tires & brake pads and it was tracked as well as street ridden hard.

I do have two friends who each have multiple Italian bikes that never run, but that is due to them and not the bikes. I frequent several ducati forums, but like every forum, people complain about the problems. Read Miata.net and you would think that those cars are all lemons.

In reply to Rusnak_322:

That's good to know as the early RSV Mille's are coming down into my budget range and I've been eying them. But Italian motorcycles worry me with their maintenance and parts costs.

I've a Honda VFR, a VTEC model. Apparently the valves are supposed to be set ever 16k miles. And to do so, the cams have to come out. Twice. A Desmo Duc sounds pretty okay if the Honda experience is the benchmark.