I recently heard that Verlicchi (the company that Ducati outsource its frame manufacture to) have a joint venture with a company in India called Hema (?) and that many frames are made there..As such there can be minor discrepancies between individual frames.. Is this true?
No idea but Verlicchi make all the Aprilia frames and Beta, Montesa, Gas Gas, Guzzi etc so they must be doing something right. Where it's made is not really an issue as long as the quality control is good. Loads of Mercs etc are made in Africa and Ape wheels are Eastern european (Romania i think). i'm sure loads of other makes have outsourced parts some of which will be locations not known for great qaulity. They also make your Duke swingarm too.
KTM are already making stuff in India with Baja I think. Does the frame have to bent and welded into shape in Italy to make it a Ducati?
Quality control really is the answer and outsourcing and confining it say to other EEC countries doesn't always work. Porsche had cams made in France for a while and it caused them many problems with warranty claims when they went wrong. In the US many reproduction 1930's car parts are made in Taiwan but the quality is good because of the strict quality control.
I know it may be fine as long as quality control is good but does it feel right? NO NO NO Regards Steve
The Ducati factory is a production line where the bits made all over the world are bolted together. Made in Italy? it should really read Assembled in Italy.
All manufactueres are at this nowadays. I aint mad about it to be honest. But as long as quality control and sh1t parts dont become an issue I wouldnt have a problem where they are made I suppose. HOWEVER, what does piss me off is the fact manufacturers can reduce their cost WITHOUT passing it to the customer :frown:
Aprilia have shut down Scorze plant laying off 360 workers, due to low sales. Piaggio and Peugeot scoots and some Yamaha and Honda 125's are being made in China. the scoots are £700 selling Chinese bikes being retailed at Euro prices around £1700. cant see Ducati getting work done cheaper and dropping prices. on a side note, Zero have pulled out of UK sales due to our slow uptake in electric bikes... could that be something to do with £3500+ price tag for 125cc equivalent bikes? also a customer I know has an electric scooter paid £3500 for it 2 years ago and thinks his battery/ies are loosing power, been quoted £2000 for new ones... customer looses out every way as far as I see.
That is only a 2 week closure due to poor sales not a permanent one. Aprilia's issue is more of poor product range than high cost or poor quality etc although their backup can be piss poor at times.. The v4 is cheaper than a Pani by quite a way and by all accounts a good bike but they can't sell them. What else is their in the range to want apart from maybe the Dorso. The rest are blander than bland. You can't expect to make big sales from a niche market superbike that sells low, you need models like Multi's that have a wider appeal and look the part. The scooters etc are made in the far east to get round the huge import duties that are attached to imported products to those locations. I think ducati have an assembly plant in Malaysia that is either ready or in the process of build.
Ducati assembly plant is in Amata City Industrial Estate (114k's east of Bangkok) in THAILAND ~the land of smiles..... and supplies manly to the Asian market due to lower vehicle import tax, only supplies certain models ` not the full Ducati range.
Look at triumph they have factories in asia as well nearly every vehicle manufacturer in the world sources parts globally or uses drivetrains from other manufacturers or just re badges whole vehicles even kawasaki/suzuki were doing this with one of there adventure bikes a while back.Look at bimota they used yamaha/suzuki/ducati engines aprilia used suzuki and rotax.
It is most likely that the tools and production line are the most accurate and upto date available in India.They now have the resources and the best I T depts in the world,,when they get their social structures better they will be a formidable world force.
Electric bikes are nowhere near ready for the mainstream, purely cos of the battery life, as your mate has found out. The bikes are massively overpriced to start with (although many countries offer financial incentives for buying green - Except green and pleasant England...), and battery life has been a major stumbling block for years. £2k for a battery pack..? It'd be like popping a new engine in your Panigale every ten years cos it's past it's shelf life - and you can see why early adopters would be unhappy with that.
That looks very nice indeed. You should make some mono subframes for 749/999 series in steel.... nudge :biggrin:
IMO opinion Aprilia have harder work to do more so than Ducati in terms of reliablity rumours that are rampant on the interweb. Aprilia & ktm are both brands I could never buy in to...dont ask me why..i dunno.
