I took the V4S for a test ride after owning a 2010 MTS1200s for previous 6 years and although the V4S was a very capable bike i did not like the 19" front. My 1200s seemed to handle easier. Waited for a V4 PP and took delivery last July. Am so glad i did. What a bike. Takes everything in its stride. Truley is all the bikes you need rolled into one!!! Feed your soul and get one!!!
LOL that's a fair point! No diss intended to you Ducati boys, of course! A less friendly community might have flayed me for that remark. I started a similar topic in a KTM forum while I was still deliberating between the two options, those KTM boys seem to have a bit of a chip on their shoulder! Inferiority complex maybe? Like I said I've never had anything against Ducati in the past, it's just none of their bikes ever appealed to me before. It's only this new breed of V4s that has piqued my interest. And what looks to be my final decision on the quandary is based on what the bike has to offer, not on brand loyalty. On the topic of V-twins; I had a Honda NT650V Deauville for a very short time, that was gutless and uninspiring! My wife actually owned a Ducati Monster 696+ for a short while as we bought this for her to do her DAS on. Neither of us got on with it, really. She found it too jerky and difficult to control. And two KTM 1290s I took for a test ride (a Super Duke and a Super Adventure). So you can see that my experience with V-twins is far from extensive, I've just never been a fan of the way they deliver all their power and torque low down and run out of puff further up the rev range. Maybe I'm talking bollox and haven't found the right bike for me yet, or am riding them incorrectly. Just always preferred inline 4s and that Yamaha crossplane just blew my mind! Looking forward to sampling a V4 as that's one engine configuration I've not had the pleasure of yet. Who knows, getting this bike could turn me into a hard and fast Ducati fanboi for the rest of my life!
I can’t stand it when people try to knock the lights out of each other on forums either. Life’s too short and there’s different strokes for different folks. The Pikes Peak looks more fun to me. I’m sure you’ll love it.
Nope but I'm putting a deposit on it tonight and going to try to collect it some time this week, and the winning bidder of my MT-10 is putting a deposit on my bike tonight as well. So looks to be a done deal. I'll certainly post some photos if you're interested
MT-10 is gone I'm now bikeless Should pick up the PP this Friday Trying to get some insurance quotes however, can anyone give me advice please when I get asked about the alarm, immobiliser and tracker. I assume that immobiliser is standard equipment on the bike but alarm and tracker is not, have I got that correct?
yup. FYI my PP is insured with "ducati insurance" cos they didn't insist on a tracker and I didn't want one on the bike
Ducati do a plug and play alarm that fits pre installed wiring, https://www.ducati.com/gb/en/accessories/ACC012175. It’s very possible the previous owner may have had a tracker fitted which can be transferred. Andy
Aha! Good stuff! Thanks guys. That's worth bearing in mind. My current insurer is refusing to quote for the bike change. Only two companies are quoting me at the moment and they're both over £1,000. With the alarm fitted at £260odd that may well pay for itself in the first year as I may get nearly that much off. I'll try Ducati insurance as well. Worth a try. Thanks! Do Ducati do a manufacturer/dealer fitted tracker for these bikes or is that something I would have to investigate as an aftermarket option?
Your local dealer might be an authorised installer for Biketrac and it wn’t be cheap. Cost of unit, fitting charge and subscription which is currently £229 for 3 years. Andy
Could be worse. With the premiums I am being quoted sounds like £229 could pay for itself. I assume that's an insurance approved/recognised system? Is it Thatcham rated?
£229 is just the subscription. £300 for the unit plus £100 maybe £150 to fit it. Thatcham S7 accredited. Andy
If you have a tracker you probably don’t need and alarm as well. Sometimes having either makes very little real difference to premiums. It’s all to do with age, experience, location, profession, bike value… Best thing to do is get old, have a garage and don’t live in a city!
Yeah I'm only 38 and had my licence for 4 years, although it's totally clean with 3 years NCB and no accidents or prosecutions to declare. So that's probably not helping. Location is low crime rate but profession probably isn't helping either. Wasn't an issue getting insurance on the MT-10 when that was brand new but this is nearly double the value.
My old insurance company said alarms were worthless as nobody reacts to them anyway. They rated trackers (in terms of recovery) and Datatag (in terms of making it unattractive to strip for parts) as two of the most effective deterrents (and therefore they gave the largest discount). They also liked an approved chain and anchor if possible. All new Ducatis come with Datatag @Travis Bickle , so don't forget to mention that and the factory immobiliser as a starter on any quote. I've also added a Biketrac as I had a bike stolen from work and the insurance company insisted on it. I find it quite reassuring to be able to see where the bike is on an app - but it's not cheap over the life of the bike with the annual subs factored in
I enjoy Bennetts for their customer service but in my experience, they've always been more expensive. If the difference is negligible, I'll always go with Bennetts. However, money talks, if the difference is large enough I'll just go with the cheapest. You actually had a CONVERSATION with your insurance company?! Fancy that! Info greatly appreciated. I take what you're saying about the alarm not making much difference but for the sake of a couple hundred quid for a plug and play unit on a £30k bike, it's got to be worth it. I'll probably do both alarm and tracker anyway. I checked with my tracker man who does our taxi fleet and he said he can do bikes (even has a function to immobilise the bike while it's being ridden, same as our taxis which is useful when a driver hasn't paid in on time LOL) but they're not insurance-approved. Shame, because it would have been nice to be able to track my bike on the same app as my taxi fleet. So I'll wait for the bike to turn up and then ask my local dealer if they do trackers. I've always shied away from declaring chains and ground anchors however because when you get that dropdown list of items and everything is abbreviated, more often than not they don't list your exact make and model of security device, I just worry if you declare it that in the event of a theft they'll want proof of purchase and/or use of the exact device you mentioned when you took out the policy or refuse to pay up. So in the past I've always denied using any security devices like chains or ground anchors (although I do use them) just for peace of mind that I'm definitely covered if it got stolen. Might have to re-think that practise on this bike however as it is proving difficult, but not impossible, to get quotes for. Update on the PP however the purchase of the used one in Wales has fallen through. Seller's circumstances have changed and unfortunately it's no longer for sale. He's refunded my £1,000 deposit, though, and pulled some strings at Ducati Cardiff however as they have a brand new one in stock and somehow he's managed to persuade them, as a favour to him, to let me have it for £25k on the nose. Not sure why they would agree to this, he must be a very valued customer. Apparently he buys a brand new bike from them every year. Deposit already handed over to M&P Cardiff so don't anyone here get any bright ideas of gazumping me!!! Gonna wait until 1st March and get it on a 23 plate.
I once did two quotes to see the difference with a chain and ground anchor and it was only £5 less. But the catch is if you declare it then you HAVE to use it every time otherwise it’s invalid. So not really worth it for £5
