Sorry, couldn't help it all kidding aside, hope you enjoy it and let us know how it is whenever you get it
It's got the Ohlins I guess... but that could have just been a V2S? Agree that for £18k a pair of nice wheels and an exhaust would be good. Reckon they're lacquered in?
I suspect most of the orders will come from people who remember 20 years ago. It (along with the Foggy anniversary) speaks to the aging demographic. Won't be bringing many new people to motorcycling with this one, it feels like playing to the crowd. Along with the Lamborghini and Fasthouse thing, seems a bit cynical. Still, nice payday for Bayliss I hope.
It's that thing though isn't it? If you have a 20 year old with a job who can get one on PCP for a couple of grand down and £200 a month then they might jump on it, make it a Redding rep or a Miller rep and it might hook in the current crop of MotoGP fans... I honestly don't know, likely the majority of 20 year olds don't even want a sports bike. I saw a guy in his 20s in Scourie on a Scrambler Classic on Tuesday, he looked happy enough on that. I was happy to see someone under 50 on a bike!
With delivery dates into November and no or little stock in the dealers Ducati should concentrate on customer orders than launching, building yet another special… nice though …
Have to be a 20 year old doing well. I know I wasn't in a position at 20 to buy an 18k bike. Not so say there won't be any, but in terms of market... It's a small number and probably even smaller when most won't even get insured. Maybe it's changed now and I'm just out of touch and younger people are doing better these days... Not that I'm that old myself
When I was 20 I was earning £10k a year and a FireBlade was £9k (as was an old-stock RC30... but who wanted those?)... I didn't have a new one on HP but I had friends that did. In 2021 a 20 year old is likely earning £18-20k a year? A V2 is @ £15k, and you can get one on PCP for under £4k down and £135 a month. Doesn't sound too outlandish?
Suppose if they're living at home with Mum and Dad, no car/other bills. They then have to add I'm guessing 1500-2k a year insurance, 300 quid service, fuel, biking gear etc. Suddenly becomes a lot of money for someone getting into it at 20 and probably not that attractive.... Anyway, this is going way off track from the original subject
Use Panigale V2... £13,500... Ohlins shock (used) £650, Ohlins fork kit and it's pretty much the same for probably £15500 but I guess that's not the point, clearly there is a market or they wouldn't have made it. Is this the only bike announced? is it an event that runs for a while? fair to say that the V2 won't be being updated for next year then, not that I'm surprised, given the pandemic I imagine it has another 2 years to go but part of me wondered if they would go to a mini V4 at some point. Personally I'd love to see a 800cc V4... Using conventional valve springs perhaps to keep cost down, maybe revs limited to 13k for safety, maybe making 160hp.
Showing my age a bit but Ducati used to change bikes when they needed to go faster. Another SP would come out with tweaks to engine and frame so the race teams could comply with the superbike regs. Wound up all the other teams but they could get away with it due to their size. Now they rollout another ' special ' which is just a cosmetic exercise. A couple of bolt on items that my lad could fit , a number and name then Ducati followers says its great. The biggest problems with all these so called specials is ………….well they just are not special any more.
For £18K they could have at least had the signature airbrushed on, instead of these raised pimples. Cheapens the whole, already underwhelming exercise. Profiteering from a name and little to really write home about. Special it is not. The monotonous regularity with which Ducati roll these diluted offerings out, simply lessens their impact. Moreover if you are going to make it a limited edition, then at least include some tangible extras to justify the price hike, such as carbon wheels, hugger, front mudguard, electronic damper, alcantara seat, carbon fairings a Termi or Akrapovic exhaust etc. Christ even the 749R or the 998R were more lustworthy than this off the dealer floor, to cite but two examples.
So a 2.5k saving and a load of faffing and you still have a used bike, or just pay the 18k and get it put together properly at the factory and get a limited'ish run factory bike .... Bit of a no brainer really, surely ?
Not read the blurb in detail but not immediately apparent how limited it will be, which is a bit unusual. The XXX on the 'machined from solid steering head' in the promo shots suggests no more than 999, so probably more than 21, but 500, or 999, or 2008...or as many as they can sell..... The Foggy V4 was a run of 500 I think, wonder why they have not clearly stated how many of Bayliss V2's there will be? And when will the first one appear in Sheffield!
I watched the video which brought some amazing memories of what Troy achieved and how hard he raced. Personally I think this is a nice tribute, yes there isn't much to it in terms of upgrades, but it's a nice looking thing it doesn't have wings (which is a bonus IMO), 18K is a bit fruity and it needs wheels though. I'd have one, but I'm not looking for another bike.
Apparently some people still think because a bike is expensive that it is brilliant. Look at the senna 916 for instance. Its just a grey 916 Biposto. Superleggera's? A lightweight bike thats won fuck all that will get spanked by an sthou a 10th of its price. Oh but its exclusive. Oh, I see. Its exclusively useless at the task it was designed for. I get it. Let me give you all my money then. 1098R is the last decent special. Everything afterwards is pants. Exclusive gold lame pants. Dear Ducati, can you please concentrate on building bikes that dont fall to bits. (I may be a tad aggrieved currently, as I appear to have lost some screws holding the rear tail piece on during my last ride out)
I'm not advocating they fit ALL those parts, BUT at least on previous 'specials' such as the SPS series, 749R, 998R for example, you got a lot more than just a paintjob and whatever was to hand in the parts bin. Carbon fairings, ohlins front and rear, carbon front mudguard, titanium conrods, sandcast crankcases etc. This latest offering doesn't really go far enough to warrant the title "special". Best just call it a "liveried" bike.
