I predicted this when Pecco won and then Alvaro, even wrote it on here or another forum. The VAG marketing machine is in full swing, the brand is suffering IMO due to this approach.
The Brand is focused on wealthy individuals who buy to 'invest' or to look at it and ignore the core customer who actually ride them. This is the flip side to the 'collector'. Enthusiasts are forgotten or disregarded. This is why I dislike 'Ducati' as a brand. Theyre cynical.
Everyone is doing it though. It helps keep interest up on the brand and relieves wealthy individuals of easy gotten cash. Triumph - Moto2 Limited reps 765 Honda - McGuinness replica. Yamaha - Rossi Petronas and Toprak replica R1s.
Yeah, but are they charging £30k for a paint job? Ive no idea how much Topo's build cost, but that includes a V4S and is infinately better specced and finished.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating their racing achievements with a unique bike, they have done it for years.....its just the quality of the bikes and the tenuous links to racing and riders has been stretched and stretched, along with the costs and profit! But whilst there are people out there that are willing to buy this sort of thing they will continue to make money not bikes! you are much better buying the base version and adding the proper quality versions of equipment upgrades yourself. Ends up so much cheaper even at todays prices. V4S Bautista what lets say 50K buy a V4 base 22.5K that leaves you 27.5K to buy an awful lot of sticker kits let alone proper FKRT forks, tax shocks, mag or carbon wheels, yada yada...
It makes the V4 Superleggera look good value. A V4S with a reasonabley priced Peco or Alvaro paint job should be about £1.5-2k more (ish) than the V4S list price. Theyd sell more of them.
I'm singing from the same hymn sheet as you on this ridiculous price, for a S model maybe £2k more as you've suggested and if a R model perhaps another 5k on top of a standard R price tag.
I daren't add up all the receipts! Having said that because I did 95% of the work myself (bar the paintwork, cerakoting and removing/refitting a few bearings, bushes and seals), it certainly cost me less than £55K
I've no doubt Ducati will sell all 520 units in fairly short order, but whilst they have every right to capitalize on their fortunes on the track, which have always translated into sales historically, punting out cheesy replicas with little or no stand alone features, that can't be bought off the shelf anyway, in my view just waters the whole thing down. Touting specs that are frankly underwhelming for the price point, doesn't help either. If they really wanted to hit their mark, then offer a bike with some truly bespoke features rather than throw the accessory catalogue at it, then just maybe, they could justify the asking price. For that kind of money and a few days of research, I could source an immaculate low, or even zero miles original spec 916SPS, and still have some change, which is a much better investment.
They won’t give a flying fook what we think, my friends. They know there is a market and an opportunity and they are taking it, cvntish though that may be…. I prefer to ride mine than look at a bestickered ‘replica’, but there are plenty with deep pockets who fall for it…..
They may not give a flying fuck, but its another erosion of trust and respect. They think so little of their core enthusiast that they still produce sub par quality whilst demanding top dollar. They think the wealthier enthusiast is so dumb they'll pay 30k for a paint job. They think theyre so moronic, theyll pay 55k for a garish v4sf, diavel etc. Ducati think their fan base are morons. Tbf, they may be right. I'd pay for a proper special bike, if i had the money of course, like the legerra or a proper R etc. But these are just cynical marketing ploys.
I think if you want that level of service you need to buy one of the very unique bikes from someone like Langen. Whilst Ducati is not on the same level production wise as Yamaha or Honda, they are not a small bike manufacturer anymore. Every marketing ploy is cynical as it’s trying to extract money from buyers who had previously not thought of buying. The more they use the limited edition bike though, eventually it will lose its appeal and rarity.
