Fraid so - I'm about to start looking for the right mount either 749 / 999. I absolutely love the styling! I don't want to bore you with 'what should I look for?' questions But... Having got a bit burned buying a Triumph with 11,250 on the clock not realising the major services were at 12,000 mile intervals I was wondering. When are the major big £buck service milestones? Do they always come with a red key? I read in this forum of people weary of the money spent on maintenance compared with the 848/1098 generation - is that the case? Is the outlay so bad ? Thanks for any replies
Every 6K or 2 years major every 12k/2 years including belts, R models much more. Use good Indys as they're all out of warranty to keep the costs down
You can go over the 2 year belt change senario, belt snaps are few and far between and usually the result of lack of use. Go to a main dealer and spend easy £500+ on a major service or go to a decent indy and spend a lot less. Mine is due a belts and valve clearance service soon so I will do oil and filers myself and get an indy close to me to do the belts and clearances which is usally sub £300 Dont think I have ever used a red key ever!
Servicing is not cheap. It would be lies to suggest otherwise. That's just the cost of riding a Ducati. Ducatis are Italian exotica and that costs more. Japanese machines will be certainly cheaper to run. There is no point beefing about it. It's the same story with performance cars. I imagine a Subaru is peanuts in service costs compared to a Ferrari. I have a major service coming up on the 999. It's going to sting. But then I'm let off major expense (normally speaking) for the next 2 years. They were delivered with a red key, which in normal circs, you won't use. But you should have it. It's not being available poses certain questions. It's not something you should lose, seeing as you don't have to transport it with you.
R can be more to service as some models need heads removing to set the shims. Which is mad as some don't. Ducati in their wisdom changed the design that made it more of a ball ache and costly
R's are always more highly strung and need even more expense and TLC. They never were for thin wallets.
Just the valve shimming only on some models. Other than that there is little difference. Belt intervals the same. Suspension the same. Oil the same. Tyres the same.
I think the very first question is are you any good on the tools and what are you prepared to do yourself. The second would be how much can you afford to spend on servicing every second year. If the answer to any of the above is not a lot then either look to another marque or buy a Ducati that doesn't need servicing for two years and sell before it's due.
Most bikes you will be looking at will be around the 20,000 mile mark probably so the 6000/12000 services might not line up with how the owner(s) have had them done. Look carefully at the last 2 services to see what will be required in the future. If belts shims fluids and filters were done last year you've got 2 seasons with just a oil and filter that you can do yourself for less than £50. The belts alone for 999/749 cost £135, a lot dearer than every other ducati! If you are looking at this bike be aware it has the wrong nose fairing for the model it appears to be for some reason!!! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ducati-749-BIP-/271375397832?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item3f2f3bf3c8
That bike has been for sale for a long time, there have been much better alternatives for sale for much less.
The 749 is a bike that drops its value in the summer when the market is saturated. Last year you could pick one up for £2500. This time of year when there are not a lot available, the price is higher. When the weather warms up and people think it's the right time to sell a bike, they all come out and no one buys them. I reckon July/August is the time to buy a 749.
Some frankly ridiculous prices for the 999 just now too. Have a look at ebay and adtrader just now. 5-7k for bikes that are good, but hardly stunning...
I like mine. I was gonna change but thought what to. It looks brill is faster than me these days and comfy and light. Let the prices keep rising lol !
Its not just a case of the cost of servicing but also the cost of fixing stuff that has broken or worn. Add a new set of tyres and a clutch to a service and your looking at a big bag of swag to pay the invoice. Whatever people tell you it costs, its normally more but only occasionally less. Yes, some stuff you can do yourself but at the end of the day if you think you "got burned" by having to service the triumph after buying it, I doubt you are quite ready for a Ducati. These things cost and we probably all own one because we would happily sell our mothers/wifes/kids to have them. I consider them as "enthusiast bikes". Also you need to consider that you cant really ride-in and ride-out with servicing as stuff like belts need doing with a cold engine that has ideally sat overnight. Just another thing to consider as I dont know your expectations and you should be aware that servicing normally means leaving it with them. Best of luck.
12 - 15 months ago i saw some amazing bargain 999's they are getting more popular, i guess cos they are accessible money for mere mortals now there are enough outfits who can virginsie the ECUs for cheap money now that its prob not much to worry about the red key
The red key is more about provenance and authenticity than anything else. It means the bike hasn't been stolen and that the previous owners have been sufficiently careful people not to lose the red key. If I bought a secondhand Duke and it didn't come with one, I'd want a pretty good explanation before I parted with my money.
Hi, as others have said the servicing isn't cheap; it is a bit cheaper if u were doing higher mileage. For example on my Daytona the service interval was 4k miles and it's 7500miles on the Ducati; but not if u aren't doing those miles (which most don't). Triumph dealers were taking the Micky with that service, some wanting £700, u shouldn't have paid more than £450-500. Tbh a major on a Ducati will prob cost that. If it's out of warranty your best bet is to find a good I dependant Ducati dealer who does fixed price, at least u know roughly what to budget for! My first service was £190 and on the triumph it was £47! But on my CBR600RR it was well over £140 so just be mindful that Ducati's will never be cheap unless on new models u are making use of longer mileage intervals.
If you buy a duffer you'll have no end of problems. If you buy a good one it'll be perfect. Try and buy one from someone you know or trust rather than a stranger.
