And let someone else take the massive hit leaving the showroom....patience unless it’s a world beater and it appreciates from the off
Mine had to have a new rear hub and wheel bearings under warranty too, wonder if there is a general problem with them?. As much as I like my Ducati V4 and the Aprilia before it, if Honda build an RVF that’s not stupidly expensive, I’m buying it. Honda V4s are the best sounding of the bunch to me:
I had an RVF400 as my first big bike , loved it!, yours looks fantastic by the way, always loved the looks of the RC45 style twin exhausts on them, I’d love another one day but decided to opt for an RS250 this time as I decided against one back in the day!.
Rs 250 yes please....thanks for the compliment too I couldn’t give the rvf away when trying to sell it, bizarre
When I first had the V4 I had a few people coming up and looking round it as no one had seen one on the road yet etc but it was nowhere near the interest people seem to have in the RS250!, I think they must be waiting for me to start it up for the glorious 2 stroke smell .
Just started rebuilding a imported RS250 from scratch...probably going for TTW 300cc, zeeltronic adn Mark Dent pipes. Hope a very safe safe 70hp will be achievable.
I think most people on here can empathise with your sentiments. I do agree that the bread and butter components are not up to par, both in terms of build quality, standard of materials used and their being generally fit for purpose, but this is a trend that is not new to the V4 but across the whole range, as profit margins seem to have dictated what Bologna can get away with and what they can't at these price points, especially on a 25K+ machine. I've seen a marked decline in the quality of many of the ancilliary parts over the last ten years. Plastics being one and metal castings (ie footrests) another prime example. The frame on my V4 is frankly hideous when you take a look at the standard of the casting. Look's like a schoolboy's lost wax process O-level project. The welding on the stock exhaust is equally crude and poorly executed. It's little wonder that some of these parts fail and the standard of many of the OEM fasteners is on a par with Swiss cheese. I agree that as an owner, it would be nice to be in a position where a little more attention to detail was lavished on these bikes, so you didn't feel as if your machine represented a mandatory exercise in ridding yourself of all these collective eyesores. I totally understand that on models at the lower end of the price spectrum, corners will undeniably have been cut, but on Ducati's top flight models, it's not acceptable. The reality is most owners, simply grin and bear it or swap out any substandard components for new ones as time and money allow. It is the level and amount of such changes/modifications that has markedly increased and become necessary (subjectively) in recent years, that is most noticeable. Take a look at an 888 for example. Whilst the electronics may have moved on and they are prone to corrosion, the overall standard and robustness of it's constituent components is much better than many of Ducati's current offerings. The quest to reduce weight has resulted in much flimsier fairings and plastics but there comes a point where this results in an air of cheapness in the feel and appearance of the bike as a whole. Not a desirable quality when you are investing a lot of hard earned money in a motorcycle. I am with you on the warranty front. If they can't make up for the shortcomings in a product, then they ought to add an alternative sweetener to the mix, before they start hemorrhaging customers.
Build quality of motorcycles (not just Ducati but every manufacturer) peaked around the early to mid 2000s. My 954 Fireblade was a lovely piece of engineering and very well made.The current Fireblade is nothing like the same build quality. Its been downhill ever since but the money is spent on electronics development now.
Not all bikes have reduced quality of components, Apart from the V4s and 1098s, I also have a Triumph speed triple R which is a credit to a UK company - Every fastener is quality and the paintwork/ fairings / carbon parts/ cast parts exude quality even the standard exhaust is well made, yet in cost comparison to the equivalent Ducati is way cheaper ££. when you look at an equivalent Italian bike such as the MV agusta, again the fairings are well made and all the fittings are of high quality. For most of my biking life I have had at least 1 Ducati in my stable and have love for the brand - and I am more than disappointed in the brand at the moment.
Quite agree with this. I have an 851 SP3 and an 1198S. Relatively speaking, the SP3 is much more solidly put together - probably the most obvious thing is the thickness of the fairings, those on the 1198S seem really flimsy. I don't think this is just a Ducati thing though; I had an S1000RR before the 1198 and the fairings on that were thin as well, as they were on the R1 i had a few years ago. Back to the Ducatis, the SP3 is IMO more pleasant to ride - has (just) enough power to be enjoyable but doesn't feel like it wants to kill you if you get it wrong...
It all seams too center around the premise of saving weight ... They started get lighter and thinner but not stronger , unless their carbon fiber ... The same with most parts of the newer bike ... Sacrifice strength for weight ...
Got a recall notice yesterday in the post per the wife. Oil cooler and chain tensioner or something like that. I'll schedule them to come pick it up when the parts are in.
Had gear position sensor failed on me on Tuesday ( 4th time) on my first generation 1199s . Had bike collected by breakdown people ( Ducati insurance) and fixed free of charge by Snell . They also gave me few fasternes for free as mine are so bad.... So I am on my 5th hear position sensor . Wonder how long would that last for???
Agree, I’ve had a couple of Triumph’s over the past few years and the fit finish has been superb. The Aprilia’s I’ve owned were also top notch. To be fair my 899 seemed very well put together, even things like the wing mirrors were well engineered. The V4 I road last year was a real step back in the fit and finish department. The demented fisher price mirrors are a relatively small issue on a class leading superbike but they drove me mad!
Triumph build quality in the early 2000s was poor. They have upped their game dramatically in the last few years but most Triumph components are made outside Europe in Thailand.
