I had a great idea today as I wandered back to the shop after my swim and it went like this: Why don't Ducati (in particular) offer bikes which have been painted only with primer, then future buyers could immediately get their own paint schemes painted on them? It seems a bit stupid to paint a bike to showroom spec, only to have it all taken off and repainted with a personalised scheme. You'd save money having the thing as a blank canvas. Ducati could charge less for it, which would mean less dealer margin on your unwanted paint, and less VAT on it too. Also less faffing around for the paint shop with reduced cost. It is a trend in consumer goods to want something personalised. I think that many of the Panigale paint schemes on the Panigale gallery thread look great - much nicer than the original (somewhat unoriginal) factory paint schemes. I bet a significant number of Panigale purchasers could afford (and want) a personalised bike. Do any manufacturers do this? If not, they are missing a trick. I rather fancy any future bike I own having personalised paint from the off. I'm a little bit bored with straight red, yellow, black and white. In the old days, my 851 was so rare and admired that it didn't need to stand out from the crowd - it already did, bog stock. But thesedays, you tend to own "just another Ducati". It is obvious that people spend a fortune on tarting up their bike in the effort to make it individual and aesthetically pleasing to their own taste. Surely having a paint option in this vein is just fulfilling an evident need?
Is it that the primer isn't waterproof? I know in automotive they supply spares in primer though so maybe not, although they are generally bagged. I wonder if anyone has ever tried ordering one? It might cost more
Primer is not waterproof and it porous so it probably wouldn't be sensible to buy a bike finished just in straight primer as it could have been quite some considerable time before it reached the stage of being painted, although Ducati themselves certainly used to supply 748-9** panels in primer as spares. However if a protectant could be used then that would be fine. The brown "primer" you see on car panels is not meant to be a primer but a protectant layer to stop or hold back surface rust and I have seen some panels where removal of this has been suggested in the painting instructions prior to being properly primed.
It's a great idea and all it'd take is a waft of clear coat to protect the primer, then body shops would have a very easy prep job
Panel vans are usually supplied in plain white, aren't they? Buyers spray them up to suit their tastes, or cheapskates just leave them in white. Is that the sort of arrangement you had in mind for bikes?
Yes, something along those lines. Whatever is cheapest to produce and most useful for repainting requiring the minimum of preparation.
an interesting idea Glid, but one almost an anathema to the accountants running the business, possibly? Introduce a second element to the production line, to manage and assemble unpainted bikes. More personnel, but still have to have the paint shop and personnel for the painted ones. Charge less for the bikes, but see above, need to maintain capacity and lines to manage production of both. Could be an interesting option if Ducati were to offer and handle the special paint job in house, maximise revenue from the additional options and workload - but given their track record on painting engine cases - would you? really? Could be interesting if there was some real buyer engagement - organise factory visit, make it special to the buyer , design paint job etc (similar to porsche factory visit option etc for a new car), but is the margin really in it? Not sure any premium retailer would want their goods going out 'unfinished' - almost an admission of defeat?
Terrible idea, what would they do offer a red as an additional option.?! ...what would be a good idea would be a custom paint order from the factory. But suspect it would be cost prohibitive. Porsche do it, and its thousands on top of a std colour
It had struck me that Ducati has in the past put a toe in this water, by producing the Dark bikes which were supposedly entry level, with the idea that as more funds became available you'd swap out the naff stock body work etc for things from the DP catalogue and real paint. So this is idea is really just a logical extension of this train of thought. At the top end of any market, people always want personalisation. Even for some SL owners, it just isn't exclusive and special enough (witness threads on here). I just think that this is a market need which should be catered to. I wouldn't have Ducati produce the custom paint. Just no end of hassle and they aren't set up for it. Also imagine the language difficulties in translating customer wishes to Italian painters. Better to talk it over (at length) with people who can understand you nearer to home.
It would be a better idea to leave off the exhaust and let customers select from a choice, it would probably produce more decent exhaust sales for them and prevent the aftermarket being quite so flooded that they lose out to alternatives or secondhand options.
Most premium automotive brands have similar to JLR's Special Vehicle Operations for special orders, maybe that would be a better system for Ducati
Glid me old china, it goes like this... A manufacturer has a duty of care to sell a finished product. A vehicle in primer isn't a finished product. Its got nothing to do with porosity or the like. With bespoke departments like JLR's for instance you still buy a finished and painted car, and then pay for extra paintwork even though the colour is done on the production line if a mainstream custom colour but if it was a House of Color candy for example,the car might drive round as a regular flat white car and then be stripped an re-prepped. Count, on the subject of exhausts, again a manufacturer has to fight the aftermarket war with one hand tied behind its back. You (the mfr) have to sell a product that is legal and will conform to all markets. You also have to sell a warranty and also have the item conform to various test specifications and certifications etc. Ducati and others get round this by having the 'option' given to you as in the old 916sp range where you got the termi pipes as a separate package to install after purchase or you go for the full waiver and follow the 'track use only' road and therefore can get away with little or no warranty or legal liability outside of these environments. Aftermarket boys don't have any restriction, thus can churn out any old tat. Lets take a super car manufacturer's bespeaking department (Ferrari, lambo, Macca etc) if they wanted to make an asbo exhaust say, they would need to either make it asbo but legal or go down the no warranty or liability road because as a manufacturer they have to be legally accountable for that and offer the same warranty and service/ support backup as their regular product. Or they go NFRU, and waive all responsibility apart from it not falling apart after five yards. Exige, the notion of a bike mfr doing a bespeaking service is good but other than some rag and fluff how much would it really be able to do? however theres got to be some profit in a set of liveried or bespoke bodywork from the source rather than aftermarket fred. However that said the official bolt on bits catalogue is a big money spinner for dealerships and so the bespeaking dept would have to offer something over and above what a dealer can do or is capable of. Now... it could make a lovely bit of cash building serious specials however, or factory built track day weapons. But the cost would be eyebrow raising - what price do you put on 'factory built' track day bike as opposed to a full on works bike? However as we have seen there's probably a nice market in people that want a 'works' spec item with a starter motor and lights, or converting ex works bikes into road capable machines. But always this won't ever be cheap. But as you have said, coupled with a factory visit, suitable fluffing and the feeling that your special is being done by the firm IS something that customer WILL pay for handsomely, as the big horse, bull and red tick have found out, people will pay through the nose for that metal plaque which says "Bespoke project built for Mr Glid by Ducati" Hypothetically speaking... imagine you had an 888 or a 900SL, what price would you pay say for the SL to have a full modern makeover with the latest high end chassis configurations, perhaps a febur swing arm or single sided conversion, composite bodywork and tank and a motorsport wiring harness. If it all came for argument sake 10K just in bits alone, how much would you pay to have that built for you by the factory's bespoke department and thus go down on their register as an official factory bespoke build with its own little headstock plaque?
Good reply. This ties in closely with top end guitars from Fender or Gibson Custom shops where you can have a guitar made for you by specifying all sorts of stuff - even the luthier who will make it. The market for this exists and must do for bikes too.
Not really. If someone wants it they don't want what the plebs have with a few trinkets, they want exclusive plus lots of trinkets Ducati will never get rich from that. Ducati specialists will
but that's why all the manufactures bes[oke departments charge kings ransom for the privilege. Take for example an 1199 built with corse parts and to a web spec but road going - if JHP / proTwins or anyone else builds is its a very nice and well set up special, but a bitsa none the less. If Ducati build it and register it in their system it becomes an official bitsa built by the factory. And people will pay through the nose for that sort of exclusivity. In essence, to do what Kope999r did with an 1199 it would probably cost him three times as much if it was done by ducati, and the only difference is that when someone enquires with ducati its recorded as being factory built options and therefore a legitimate ducati of sorts. They won't survive on that alone, no you're right, but they can reap a hefty profit from little effort and that is why the bespeaking departments in the large luxury marques exist, to cater for that desire of someone to have something very unique out of the factory. But you always need the mainstream market as your bread and butter all year round.
Disagree...what Kope did will never make the bike worth that much more but is what someone with enough money wants...what Ducati would do would not appeal to those people with that money. Same as green alien fella. They do it because they want exclusive and best. Pay 100k for the bike from Ducati, along with 500 others, not really exclusive, is it Plus, would you rather build a relationship with and know the builder or let friday afternoon louigi do it...(factory that is, not cap wearing Briztolian)
