That is certainly me in your sum-up Andy, i’ve only ever bought cars and motorcycles that appeal to me, I honestly don’t care what they are called or how other people relate to them, I’ve naturally migrated to Italian things, which is my way of complimenting that origin I guess. Excellent post
As a brand it keeps on drawing people in as it continually attempts to set itself aside from others in terns of people's perception of what constitutes something special. It's by no means the best brand in terms of build quality for the price point but it's sufficiently different in a sea of Japanese bland counterparts, to make that distinction an attractive quality. Put a Panigale V4 next to a BMW1000RR and whilst the latter is a more sensible financial choice given the spec (especially the 2023 model) it just doesn't stir the soul in terms of how it looks. I admit that's totally subjective, but styling is a fundamental part of a bike's appeal and there is no doubting Ducati know exactly which buttons to press, to make people part with their hard earned cash.
I put my 1098S against an S1000 RR and decided to keep the 1098. It IS an awesome bike (the RR), but as you say, it lacks the ability to stir the soul.
I loved them since Mike Hailwood's glory days but to be frank , they stopped exciting me after the 1098 / 1198 series . Call me old fashioned , but I have no use for expensive electronics and mechanical parts of dubious quality . I've had a few girlfriends that perfectly fit that definition ..... Does your wife browse this forum by any chance ?
When we open in January, we’re going to do everything we can to buck the trend - I’m not going to comment on the network as it’s absolutely not my place to do so but we’re just going to try and do it a bit differently!
For me, I was bored of the reliability my other steeds gave me. That and it’s usually me taking the piss out of everyone so I thought I would give them the opportunity…. Well my first Duc didn’t disappoint The first night I rode it after buying it all my mates told me I was nuts and expect many breakdowns. I told them I was well aware it was a 20+ year old Italian bike and under no illusions it was nothing more than a tramp in a Karen Milan frock. Guess the boys had the last laugh when halfway home from the bike night the tramp broke down and I had to send out SOS texts. The following week at the bike night after much ribbing about the previous week, the fkn tramp broke down … again. Needless to say this also happened the following week too . Three weeks in a row I left the bike night in the back of a van ffs. Then the niggles were ironed out and the tramp, now upgraded to Karen, was behaving as best I could hope for and that’s the moment it all just clicked. It’s all about that one time when it just works, the noise, the folding yourself up into a midget shape to fit the bike, bending your neck back 90 degrees to see the road and tucking your knees up behind your ears like a constipated frog. Then you hit the road and you crack the throttle open… that induction noise sounding like it’s going to hoover your bollocks in any second, front wheel starts making a break for the stars… about the same time a smidge of poo comes out, the bark from the zorsts sounds pure sexual and finally being able to go round corners like a Gee rather than wobble around them aimlessly. The endless amount of people who do laps walking round and round and round the bike taking in all the little details. Crouching down and pointing bits out to their mates like they’re now some Ducati guru. The constant photo taking where ever you go , which is pretty much every fucking petrol station you ride past. All of this is part of the Ducati experience and the reason we now have 3. Well actually the real reason we have 3 is so we know at least one of the bastards will work at any given time
A good friend’s brother had a Dharma and 900SS, both bought new in the 70s. He got me interested and taught me to ride (doing jumps in the woods on an old single of course). The sound of those bikes was incredible. Foggy was the guy to beat back then and Brands Hatch was my local track. I still remember walking around the SPS when it came out at Paul Smart’s dealership, drinking in all the exotic parts and gorgeous details, my chin hitting the floor when I saw the price tag, then seeing and hearing a load of guys blast away on their 916s… I didn’t have anywhere near the money to buy something so special all those years ago and then I had a very long break from biking. When I decided to get back into it there was only one brand I wanted. I did consider getting my old dream SPS but as I hadn’t ridden for so long (about 25 years ) I fancied the safety net of the electronics. I’m still not sure if that was the right thing to do but I am absolutely in love with my SP2. Riding it is a very special experience, the sound is great and even when it’s in the garage I get a buzz just from looking at it. So, for me, there’s a lot of nostalgia behind it but the reality of finally owning a Ducati has more than met my expectations.
Fair enough Mark and wish you well. It's not actually difficult to offer good, honest service, irrespective of the industry. I've plenty of friends in the motoring industry, but the supply of both vehicles and parts worldwide seems to have made dealers very nonchalant about how they deal with people. Yes, there's ready made excuses, but if you chose to hide behind that, customers will not return. On sales, a quick haggle related story - I was looking to buy a Honda Africa Twin and despite a previous poor experience with a particular dealer, cleared my history and called them after seeing a demo bike on their website. "Hi, I am really keen on the X, advertised at £10,299. Before making the 100 mile round trip to buy it, would you do it for £10k?", to which his response was "I'm sure we could do something". Drove up and the salesman showed me the bike, which I agreed I would like. He proceeded to complete the order form and wrote the full asking price. "Do you recall the conversation?" I asked. "Yes, but my manager said no". "Could you ask him to turn off Loose Women for a minute and pop out of his office to have a chat?" I responded. Out he came and told me no one could get bikes, so nothing is off sticker price. "Fair enough" I said" but I've wasted half a day and will never return". "No problem, we have enough customers on our database to sell our annual target". Cock! I bought a Yamaha from the best dealer I've ever dealt with the same weekend and sold it to try a Ducati six months later. Before the swapping and changing, I always had GS's, but they simply became too dear in my opinion and I always had great service from all their departments too. Bad service isn't global and I know from many comments on here, there's some cracking Ducati dealerships.
No she doesn't which is why I felt particularly safe in mentioning that she is not featherweight (Not overweight either to be fair if she's looking!!?), otherwise I would have just done what I was told and be quiet
It’s simply the look & the “exclusivity” When I was a kid scrapping around on fizzies, then 250 Hondas, then middle order Japanese bikes, along comes the Darmah, the MHR and even in the middle order, the beautiful Pantah. They were all way too expensive, stunningly beautiful and just so unobtainable. It took me a few years after that but the seed was planted, the aspiration was set, the itch had to be scratched and as soon as I could afford one, I never looked back.
I do like the exclusivity, when we go out (mate on his Kwak, Brother on his Triumph) I don’t see many Ducati out, loads of Jap bikes and BMs but not many Ducati’s, hardly any MVs come to think of it
See I disagree here to a certain extent. A few years back I went to the IoM TT with a brand spanking Panigale R and I thought it was the absolute nuts. I was there with my father and his brother both of whom were on Suzuki RG500's (Skoal Bandit/Lucky strike livery) and people were all over them. Japanese tourists wanting photos etc. people asking questions and a comment of "As if I've seen one, there's fcuking two in front of me!" I didn't get a look in, nothing.
There’s an element of Harry Enfield with Ducati. Y’know, waving your wad to the geezer’s in the gutter. I find that quite appealing of course My younger sister has always had Kawasaki. She’s currently got this hideous looking thing. It’s a thou and shifts and all that, but it’s fucking ugly. You know, Kawasaki ugly. She’s always been quite anti- Ducati, bless her. And there’s a lot out there like her. Which of course is another good reason to embrace Doocardi…
There has always been that sense of presence about them. Even on my multi V4S as I'm pulling away I like to wave from on high and say "Bye peasants" I don't know why but I just enjoy it.
I just liked V-Twins. I liked how they used to be left field a bit. I'm less enamoured with them these days. I prefer the older Ducati's. But new bikes in general leave me cold, not just Ducati's. Its all gadgets and electronics and plastics. Theyre just like phones. Same thing every year just a different shape slightly. Meh. I like the Kawasaki H2. It looks fucking mental. Doesnt matter if it goes or not. It looks like a crazy Japanese guy got the vote. Thats what I liked about Ducati once. The crazy Italian got the vote. Now the crazy Italian is lost amongst the German shareholders committee. Then you have the snobs. Ducati has more than its fair share. Who think that because they spent more theyre better. Hmm thats why their currently been getting roasted in superbikes and why flooding the grid in motogp is their only option. Oh and an enormous budget. I support riders, not machines. Now the above may seem to some that I hate Ducati's. No, I dont. I want the crazy Italian guys voice to be heard before the bikes turn further into clinical soulless germanic efficient machines. Please Ducati, build a mad V2 that revs to 20k and looks like a supermodel with 3 tits.
