Maybe its all a bit high brow on here for my style of banter.Lets talk some more macro economics fucking hell. On a serious note then maybe the current ducatisti wouldn't moan so much if ducati actually brought out something new that they like instead of trying to get another niche to the brand.Or else we will see quads and scooters coming out mean time long term owners could be leaving the marque no.New ST4s,Streetfighter for starters.Anything else anyone can think of ? . I guess the car market is similar.People start liking 4x4's so now everyone is making these crossovers or the' in crowd' have there land rover sport or Porsche cayenne.That scrambler seems pretty pricey as I didn't realise they cost 8k.How much for those customised jobbies.The silver/black one looks like mork and mindy should be sat on it.Sorry I swore to myself I wouldn't take the piss anymore.
That's why we all have a different opinion, you'd want a new ST4 and Streetfighter, I couldn't care less about either! However, a new 900SS would be right up my street! Maybe some Scrambler profit could help develop one ;-)
Just been checking out the customised ones 4 and 5 don't look to bad but by jesus wtf is with the rest.That first one with the Harley style headlight.Hmmm nice. 900ss sounds like a good call.
I've had conversations with a bloke I know in Ducati marketing. They will tell you that they have done the ST4: it's called the Multistrada - the go-anywhere touring machine. I know it's not really what I want, but they don't care. I'm in a minority. People who want to tour on a Ducati have bought one, so I suppose that means they are right and I am wrong. I can't really justify a market segment all to myself. As for a Streetfighter, no doubt there will be another version with the new Panigale engine. But I don't really get it. The 1098 version was rabid enough. Just how many bhp do you need on a naked bike? You can't spend much of your time over the ton as it's so uncomfortable and the current ones go like greased weasel shit as it is. From a purely marketing point of view, I can't argue with them. They will need now to consider what customers they are missing out on who could be tempted by their brand. Maybe if the stats show that there is a real market for non-adventure-style sports tourers they might make one (it wouldn't be difficult) but they have already done superbike, supermotard, cruiser, badass naked, adventure, accessible first bike. Unless they go full-dress tourer (aaaugh!) there aren't a whole lot of market segments of any size they haven't already addressed.
pot bellied MotoGP replica leathered sports bike rider whose knee sliders have never been closer than a foot to the tarmac. Hey @Masklin don't forget the one-piece pot bellied with the baggiest arses!!
The key difference is that the Ducati Scrambler marketing isn't aimed at bikers, it's aimed at "the rest of 'em"... those people with a bit of an ambition to be seen as a bit creative and characterful and probably have a rucksack full of shiny laptops, MP3 players, tablets and whatnot. The Harley thing taps into the "bad to the bone > live to ride, ride to live" vein, the Bonnie into the "TFI Friday, ain't it great to be a British chap/geezer" schtick. The Guzzi is a mystery to me as I think the standard V7 is a great looking thing and has the "continuity" angle in so much as it's an ongoing model rather than a pastiche. I thought I didn't like their cafe racer until I saw one and it looked pretty cool in real life... but yes, the Scrambler marketing is designed to make motorbiking look fun and cool to a bunch of people who might otherwise be considering a retro-look scooter or a city car. For those sorts it's actually not a bad idea to say "this is what you wear... helmet, boots blah blah". On day 1 these people will look to their Ducati dealer for some help and said dealer can say, "here you go"... and a hoodie too! A fiercely vicious Scrambler might not be very novice-friendly, and say what you like about the V7 but it's a brilliant alternative for a first "big" bike! With Scrambler Ducati have made a very decent bike that is fun to ride and looks good. Myself, I'm on the cusp of ordering one on the basis of the bike not the brand... Only really slightly hanging back in case they do a bigger model... but then again, do you *need* a bigger one? As something for when you fancy a ride but not tooling up 100% and getting on it it's really appealing and the look of it is great! I've ridden a yellow Icon and have seen them all except for the Full Throttle. Italia can get me a Classic or a Full Throttle pretty quickly but the Icon would be a while coming... If they were all available tomorrow then I'd say Red Icon with Classic Seat and Termi, job jobbed. However, I think I'm plumping for the Classic as I can get one while there's enough summer to enjoy it properly, it looks pretty peachy and doesn't need a tail tidy on day 1 (those low numberplate mounts look bizarre). The main thing that is making me wary? Thailand... I know it's a daft thing, but I want an Italian bike from Italy... I want to know that it was turned out in Bologna not Phuket, made by some crazy walnut-faced Italian dude who served his time in the factory and hand-whittles every throttle body between slurps of olive oil and checks his Panerai at the end of the day before clocking off and walking the cobbled streets to his favourite trattoria for a nice plate of ragu...
I see that Ducati scrambler owners are encouraged to also be owners of Velvet Underground records. In vinyl, naturally.
Anyone else suspect that Ducati marketing came up with the 'lifestyle' and apparel, then decided on a bike to fit with it?
