Be careful what you ask for: you might just get it. It's an absolute truism in the car world that manufacturers equate premium service with flashy showrooms, massively overpriced 'technicians' (people who know how to operate a diagnostic computer and swap replaceable assemblies) and a setup that does its very best to insulate customers from what is happening to their vehicles. Whilst that may work for some, I find it deeply frustrating, as I'd much rather work with a mechanic (someone who understands how to track and diagnose a problem) without being fobbed off by a service receptionist. Real service is the ability to solve problems more than following a checklist process and VAG is particularly bad (in my experience) at bullshitting its customers in the name of 'service'. With my cars, I now use trusted indies rather than incompetent and massively overpriced main franchise dealers. When main dealer servicing costs more per hour than the services of a top medical consultant, something has gone very wrong.
I am of a similar opinion. the best advert i have seen for a BMW, has unfortunately been Ducati ownership!
Oh I completely agree, literally the best technical service / support I've ever received in regards to Ducati is from Cornerspeed......no showroom, no bikes to sell me.... Just good old fashioned quality customer service. But ultimately I'm not wishing for dealers to support Ducati in the upkeep of their brand, it should be the other way around. Dealers are indeed the customer facing aspect, but Ducati produce the product and decide on the marketing direction to take. Therefore if they say it's a premium product, one worthy of the additional cost to the customer, then when things go wrong they should put that money where their mouth is. It's not the dealers who should foot the bill, it should be ducati driving that service through the dealer channel by way of supporting them financially if needed. I'm gob smacked that Ducati UK (part of VAG) don't have a fleet of curiosity bikes available for all dealers to utilise. I mean cmon, it's not some small tin pot family owned company in the rolling hills of Italy, it's one of the best known brands in the world who are now part of one of the biggest and most profitable car groups on the planet...... They seriously need to sort their shit out imo Passion, Soul and Character are three words that get banded around quite a lot when it comes to Ducati, those are wearing thin nowadays as they're simply an excuse for piss poor QC and after sales support
To be fair, Ducati UK does have a fleet - I guess largely for press use but they do send them around the country every year on the road show. They were near me a couple of weeks ago and it was a great chance to give multiple bikes a workout on stunning highland roads.
As you've said, likely press fleet first and foremost, or test rides for the masses pushing brand before anything. Admittedly that's exactly what most big brand companies would do, but when you've launched a new bike which is failing on some fairly basic stuff you'd rather they focused the attention towards those who are affected. Look, the way I see it is pretty simple. If Ducati were a small company that had inadvertently had a hit bike completely unexpectedly then it's par for the course, growing pains hit lots of companies and without cash flow it's hard to manage 'issues', especially on the back of unexpected success But that's not the case, they're an established company with frankly huge resources and funding, it's just lucky they have such a loyal following who don't kick off as much as they should Let's be realistic, years ago everybody said 'Ducatis are unreliable'..... 'Shit electrics' and be prepared for time off the road In 2016 what's fundamentally changed? They're churning out more bikes, and they've made some cheap 'lifestyle stuff' (scrambler)..... But have they nailed reliability yet? I think not
I was asked yesterday if the Audi takeover has improved reliability. I laughed and said that Audi haven't even brought a bag of stainless fasteners to the party. Not one change for the good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I honestly think this is half the problem. If Ducati didn't have owners who tried to convince themselves (and potential new customers) that the issues are normal and acceptable, then either Ducati would go out of business or have to change.
A lot of what is being laid at ducatis door is potentially the dealers issue. I have a great relationship with Marcus the sales guy at P&H. I've bought a bunch of bikes from him, we can have a sensible conversation about what is going on. He knows I know my stuff, and I trust what he says. He has always managed to put a deal together that works for me. Lloyd on parts is exactly the same. As for service and warranty stuff, I will no longer use them. Every time one of my bikes, and I do mean every, there have been issues. Things that should be warranty have been rejected, yet friends who use other dealers have no problem with their claims. This is not just Ducati, it includes yamaha and honda too. To me this is exactly what Damo and Richard (techno) are saying. They don't make the ownership experience post sale even remotely good. When the mts came out I found myself in the position of educating the techs about the bikes. Maybe the majority of their owners are non techie hands off people, I don't know. Like Richard though I want to understand what is being done, and even talk with the mechanic. Have I told them ? You bet I have. Did it change anything ? Nope. I assume they turn over sufficient business to not worry about some complaining owners. By contrast, I get this with snells. Every single one of them seems to be interested in you. This is more than a smile and a chat. It actually feels like Tom, Dave, etc at snells know the product they are selling, know when something is not correct, and actually stand by the customer to sort out any issues. My experience is, they will try to accomodate you if they possibly can. P&H on the other hand have a rigid approach, and if what you want doesn't fit, sorry mate no can do. So. What am I saying ? Any issues you have can be either a minor annoyance or a major nightmare, it depends who you are dealing with. That's why some of us might have experienced a bunch of the niggles, but we have been looked after (or at least finally found a dealer that will do so). In 16 years of owning a number of ducatis and god knows how many miles, yes I have had problems, but the bike has never failed to get me home. Without a doubt the bikes that stand out in the club that I ride with that have the most issues are bmw (too many issues to list, but common ones are alternator belt, clutch, coil packs, and rear wheel bearings) and honda (rectifiers). Each have been recovered. The difference is, both give great warranty and service unless your very unlucky.
Mine failed to start for the first time yesterday. Had the softeware update Thursday. Hope its not the same today. Keep finding myself on the BMW website...
Go on bradders, give it a go. See you back here in 6 months :smile: The xr looks like a great bike, but not without its own set of funnies.
I completely agree with this. Having a dealer who is positive, puts you first, and just sorts things out is key to the whole ownership issue. You shouldn't have to visit the dealer with a fault in the first place (step forward Yamaha Super Tenere owners), but if you do and the experience just works, it is far more pleasurable than having the stress of having to "convince" the dealer that there is a problem, fight with them to get it fixed etc. It is this "fight to get it sorted" thing that really hacks me off. I also use Snell Ducati in Alton, and they have been absolutely brilliant. They have bent over backwards to be 100% positive with anything I've gone in there with (e.g. fuel level sensor replacement), and just get things sorted. Vines BMW were similarly helpful when my 1200 GS needed a new gearbox, new final drive, new subframe, new braking system, new wheels etc. Obviously we'd all like all our bikes to be fault free, and the manufacturers should all stop cutting corners and using us as their corporate test mules. In the meantime, a good dealer is worth their weight in gold.
+1 on Snell's: I bought my bike from them on the strength of past good service, despite their being 500 miles away…
For Ducati Glasgow, I always feel like part of family whether its for a service , buying a new bike or just popping in for coffee and biccies , after care means just that with these guys , great job !!
First of all I changed my Avatar, you were right its not me... Second I sold my DVT as follows. Bought an XR and kept both bikes to see which stays. I usually rode on long trips the multi because was more comfortable. But for twisties, city, fun etc it was XR all the way. It was so fun that I had to keep it. The multi got sold after another hard starting incident 3 times on the same day. It refused to start after 5 or 6 attempts and then iddle was not stable... Thought DVT system is dying on me along with the weak starter. I had the luxury to pick the keeper. Both bikes are comparable in price, but the beemer feels more reliable and well built, is faster and easier to race in a track, is smoother for a slow trip, pops and growls with OEM can, and most of all has remarkable fuelling and instant throttle response. I love Ducati passion but for the money it costs it should be reliable and well built also.
I personally think it's no worse than the multi, which is hardly a looker. Let's face it, after the original multi I'd rather ride a pair of fisher price roller skates. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
