It is true in my experience, unfortunately. As for the gearshift, it's simply a case of being positive. I've ridden plenty of other bikes with far worse gearboxes, the Ducati's is actually very nice once you get tuned into it.
Yes, forums like this do affect sales, i know personally of two blokes who researched the web after taking test rides, which they enjoyed, but both bought elsewhere.
Yes, there are a lot of people that whine! Some, believe this kind of forum is only for microscopic anal-asis of every little issue they can detect. Members don't post that they've had xmonths trouble free so of course it seems heavily weighted by the negative posts. There are obviously those that have had serious issues and thankfully, even though mine is an earlier June 10, I have been fortunate to avoid anything apart from the ECU/back brake. A part from an old Honda (yawn) I haven't had a bike that's been absolutely trouble free so is part of this your level of expectation? The bike is a gem. I would not swap for anything else out there and would happily buy the same (MTS1200abs) again.
Quite correct. I have recently owned Two KTM's, SM and Adventure, a 1200GSA and a Diavel. All of which have problems reported on their respective forums. Of these you would think the BMW "round the world" bike would be the most reliable. The forum and my experience suggest otherwise, Final drives giving up (very expensive) ignition rings, fuel pumps, headlamp bulbs and fuel gauges to name but a few. It certainly doesn't instil confidence. The KTM's were fine, but again the forums suggest many possible problems. I guess anything mechanical can fail. I love my Ducati and reading forums is an excellent way of getting a good "heads up" but they certainly would not prevent me from buying the bike I really want.
We just had a Friday night run to a friends bungalow near Aberystwyth (lovely clear ride from Worcs to Ryhader and then the mountain road). At Crossgates cafe, the GSA had to replace his headlight bulb (for the umpteenth time) whilst I inspected the spare fuel pump he carries everywhere! I just carry the toolkit, cable ties and gaffer tape and have only ever used the tape to repair my helmet!
Have to agree with you regarding other manufacturers; I owned a ZX10R which came with known issues. The front brakes were pi$$ awful once the bike was driven hard and they had time to (over) heat and the cheapest fix was to buy a set of calipers off the ZX6 or ZZR14. The Ohlins steering damper was also poor and the 18-20 available adjustments made little change to the strength of the dampening. I fixed that with a not so cheap re-valve. If you find yourself at a dealers/show, try the front brake out for travel (it'll touch the throttle grip with ease from cold) and the steering damper for effect. What I'm trying to say is that most bikes come with issues which do or do not annoy you but the fun is in getting the bike the way you want it. What a dull lot we would turn out to be if we all had exactly the same perfect bike eh? :wink: I've had mine from the beginning of last month, clocked up over 1700 miles so far and yep, the front forks are rattling away. The beauty of this forum is that I now know it's not a major safety problem and I'll get them sorted the next time the bike's in the dealers. That's exactly what quality forums are all about. Mark H
Precisely. Let's face it, getting along with people is cool but the first time you came here was to ask a question or solve a problem. My first question on ducatisti was, 'do all ducatis make such a fuggin' awful racket?'...
had mine 6 months now 2014 model ex demonstrator, touch wood no issue, put 5000 miles on her amazing bike..back brake isn't very good
The multi is a wet slipper clutch. I've had my DVT for 2 weeks today, covered 2200km and it's the best bike I've ever owned, it's not perfect but it's damn good!
Best street bike I've ever ridden 20,000km now but really pissed off about 5 (so far) fuel sensors and the 3 (so far) sets of heated grips which have never worked outside of the showroom.
I think the OP misses the point a little. There's no point in engaging in discussion on a forum to say how wonderful it is - just get out & ride. I'd say about 50% of my posts have been about niggles. It doesn't mean I don't like it, but it helps to know if others have found a solution to a problem or a way round it. Definitely the best bike I've ever had, but it doesn't mean it can't be better. By the way, the back brake doesn't work, luggage catches are poor and I can't get the mode function to get off heated grips at the moment. But I'm not changing.
People always post about faults which is the reason I always join the Owners Forums to get an insight as to what goes wrong. Apart from my n00b thread my only other contribution was an LED headlight fault I asked about...... just found out this evening that my heated grips don't work either so will be back to the dealer tomorrow to add that to the "things to do under warranty" list Before I bought the Multi I looked on here a lot, and also on the UKGSer site where I have been a member for years as a GS1150 owner. There are far more issues with the current generation of GS1200 TE water cooled bikes from what I have read there and elsewhere which is why I chose the Multi over a GS this time. I just need to rechip my head back to forks that move up and down on the brakes, use the gearbox and revs more and trail brake less into corners Oh, and look further ahead as the scenery arrives a lot quicker :Wideyed:
