Wow! Well… let’s see if it sells well. TBH arguably if you are happy with circa 110hp and want Ohlins, heated grips etc just go buy a current model Supersport S. there’s some interesting marketing moves happening. On the other side of the fence, Aprilia have discontinued the standard Tuono 660, and instead released a Factory version with full Ohlins, and upped the power to 103ho (so up 10), and rumoured to be around £11k. I think Ducati are just going to have such a difficult market place to operate in
I'd agree, it is old gits complaining, but perhaps not necessarily about change per se but rather content free changes (in all merchandise) seemingly driven by marketing & fashion & social media. Yes, whether it's change for the good of it or for the sake of it is, of course just, a matter of opinion. But certainly Honda's new V3 is in the former category. Now, if Ducati had come up with that, well...
I’m only 40… and my 2 Ducati loving mates both of which have had panigales aren’t interested in it either. So, I still think we are the target demographic they would want to appeal to, maybe 35-40, as sub 35yr old I’d be surprised if they are spending £17k on bikes, possible but not the majority
Ducati sold 58,000 bikes worldwide in 2023. The top 3 best selling models were the Multistrada (all models), Scrambler (all models) and (937cc) Monster. The Diavel V4 was the 4th best selling bike which means the Panigale, Street Fighter, Supersport and Hyper brought up the rear. 2024 sales to date are 4.5% down on 2023, the 937cc Supersport is only Euro5 so sales for 2025 in the UK, are restricted to 100 units. The new 890 engine will, in time, power all the V2 range. How else do you maintain let alone recover market share ? It might not be "progress" to many minds but it is where the market is being driven. It's a dog eat dog world. Andy
If you lose market share then eventually you lose money and are then left with no business at all. I will pretty much guarantee that within 20-30 years most bike and car manufacturers will be Chinese owned. That is likely the only way they will survive.
Looks are ok but like the new V4 i am not wowed. I actually love the new swing arms on both but but really struggle to like the front of the bike. The V2 like the V4 has areas it looks awkward in areas. But it is now in a very competitive category of this new era of super sport bikes; R9, R660, F3, R990c etc. Once you spec the V2 up base or S its punching into the high teens or low twenties. It's definitely not going to entice a younger generation into the Ducati brand with the high costs. To me also just seems an odd one remove yourselves from the middle weight super sport market and have this stand alone product that could "almost" justify the pricing. And then move into a much more competitive market where your rivals are thousands cheaper and have good foothold already. So is this it now for middleweight super sports? That nice middle ground of 150bhp has now been left to the F3 to keep that fire alive.
Dont, I am purposely not looking at 1098R's. I'd like one very very much, but Im not good enough to rag one on track.
for balance though it is £6k cheaper than that bike… which is mad, as it’s still £17k this headline made me laugh:
My 899 is now 185.7kg measured on my local dealers scales. This is with all fluids and a full tank of E5
Yeah. Even the (much lower powered) rs660 has a full electronics suite. Begs the question how did I ever cope without wheelie control on my RD350LC. But, that was sub 50 bhp (delivered in an ‘exciting’ way).
