Do modern Ducatis look less attractive than older models? Certainly, if that's how you feel about it.
Onwards and backwards. That is perfect, do you mind if I use that when appropriate ? I have a 1200 sport, had it 3 years now. I always imagine riding it must be similar to riding a hippo, surprisingly quick and nimble for something so lardy.
Totally agree... I guess we will have to be really careful and look after the Italian Italian models as opposed to the German Italian models if you know what I mean... I'm not so sure I do these days to be honest..
Yes pls use.. I remember seeing a Guzzi Ewen Mcgreggor rode on the wrong way up and over or under and inside about, what ever the TV series was called... And thought mm like that..
I think 3 things are happening: 1) Ducati are trying to appeal to a wider audience which makes them less extreme relative to the competition. 2) Regulations are forcing bikes to be uglier. The newer Monsters have loads of cheap looking black plastic covers, presumably to cover emissions gumpf. 3) We're all getting older and everyone looks back with rose tinted specs. Before the 916/Monster came along production volumes were tiny, so I guess the question is are we better having the bikes Ducati make now or should they have stuck to small volume and probably gone bankrupt?
Price has to be a consideration. In 1975/6 a Kawasaki Z1 900 was about £1500. a Ducati 900ss bevel would have set you back around £2000 +. Doesn't seem like much of a differential now but back then on £20 a week wages it was a huge difference. I could only dream of owning a Ducati or Laverda. I used to see them parked at race meetings at Oliver's mount & Cadwell but they were simply unaffordable back then. The differential between Japanese & Italian machinery is much less these days in real terms.
I fully agree with that.. I just hope VAG Ducati don't start building tanks.. As we know Italian tanks are famous for fitting their gearboxes back to front.. Eg 1 forward gear and 6 reverse..
Have you ridden a Hyper, old or new? It is a naked on espresso. Just like what you described as good old days. While I am not a fan of 1098SF a hole package of looks, design, execution (materials) and how it makes you feel make it a Ducati (I would still get a S4rs over it). Pani is the first of real world Japanese Italian bike hybrids. Looks Italian, sounds Italian, rides in between, heart more Japanese then not.
Don't like the new styling, I look at the newer style of monster and then at my S4RS and for me it's a simple choice. Looked round the Ducati stand at the NEC last year and other than the Panigale I thought they were all ugly, MV on the other hand..... Coming along nicely.
Just realised Doh.. Moto 2 is one make all supplied Honda engines.. Surprised no one spotted my obv miscake... X
MVs are pretty, but looks aren't everything. I looked at the Brutale 800 before I bought the M1200 Stripe but it's a very sporty riding position and not a long days bike, well, not when you're my age. The other MVs I like are all way too tall in the saddle for me. But the killer for me was the service intervals. The Brutale 800, for example, has to be serviced every 3,800 miles. I'd need to get it serviced 2 or 3 times a year. I need some practicality and the MVs that fit me offer none. Getting back on topic, I actually prefer the look of my M1200 Stripe over the S4RS. I'm not saying the S4RS is ugly, how could I when the M1200 is clearly designed after it. The S4RS is a good looking bike, especially in tricolore guise. But because the M1200 looks like it carries its weight further forward it looks more aggressive than the S4RS and that does it for me. I also think the shorter trellis gives it a cleaner look - anathema to many on this forum, I know. At the risk of being vilified, I've never been particularly keen on the full trellis in gold , it's ... well, I hesitate to say, but just a touch antique bed for my liking. I'm sure this is probably a fairly unpopular, probably singular view but, like it or not, it's not wrong. Just like anyone that disagrees with me is not wrong. It's all a matter of taste. To me the M1200 is obviously the evolution of the S4RS and I think it's stunning, especially the stripe.
Nor me. I think the 1098 and 1198 were better looking bikes than either Panigale. But that said the Panis are no mingers and what's been lost in the looks department has been more than compensated in technology and performance so they are forgiven. But the rest of the range.. The old 1000 and 1100 Monster were classically good looking bikes. So was the the big Hyper. The current models look like they've been designed by a committee, which they probably have, with Euro legislators sitting in on the process. I admit I really like the wheels on the XDiavel but... Except for early Fireblades I've never cared for Japanese style. Jap bikes look a confused mish-mash and a bit juvenile like they've been styled by a comic book illustrator or a computer animator. But other manufacturers are getting round legislative interference without losing their identity so why can't Ducati? As you say, MVs still look like MVs. Guzzis, form a hundred yards away are still unmistakably Italian. The Aprilia V4s are deeply tasty even if they will fall apart and you won't be able to get any bits for them.. Even BMW has evolved a distinct style of its own. The S1000rr, the RnineT, the 1200GS have and unmistakable signature which isn't pretty exactly (though I think the S1000rr is still the best looking of the big sportsbikes) but its striking and original and kind of cool in an industrial Germanic sort of way. Triumph still make some very pretty bikes with an unmistakable style. The Daytona has to be one of the best looking sportsbikes of all time, the Tigers look great and along with Guzzi Triumph has produced the most convincing retros. The Thruxton Bonnie is a thing of beauty. Could it simply be that all the above are motorcycles designed by motorcycle engineers while Ducatis are motorcycles with an illustrious name and a lot of technology but built by car makers?
Many of those bikes are not complying to the same regs as the latest Ducati's. They have been around for some years and have an extra years grace before they have to comply (jan 2017). The 959 had to comply by Jan 2016 so along with things like the new R1 are the shape of things to come, more than the Mv's and Rsv4 as they currently are. It may also be that the 899 etc pushed the boundaries of the previous regs and so the changes had to be more draconian to meet the new regs than some other bikes. Maybe a lack of forward thinking on the part of Ducati, who knows.
In that emotive desirability scale, MV and Aprilia are making more exciting bikes than Ducati. They're also considerably smaller outfits and not making as much coin. The bikes that they produce look like motorbikes that they wanted to make; they have their distinctive style and, for me are exciting to look at. Ducati was top of that pile up until recent times. Their current bikes look like they were designed to address a specific market trend and opportunity, a value proposition designed explicitly to fit a marketplace. If it wasn't for this forum and the chat that goes off in here I would have no interaction with the Ducati brand at all which is a first. Anyway. Ducati are far from poor bikes. They look pretty, much better than most Japanese offerings and have found many more customers. This is great for Ducati. For me, they're slowly losing what made them special along the way.
2017 will actually be a year of real change for all manufacturers as even pani 1299 will have to comply to new rules.
