So, in another thread I have been lamenting my 848's radiator leak. Another member put me onto MnP who do a knock off for about £70; nice one thinks me. THat'll do... For shits and giggles I rang Ducati Glasgow for P&D on an OEM for it. £750!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just laughed. On a serious note one has to ask on what planet do they design their pricing structure and if anybody actually pays that for stuff. Whilst I fully understand the costs of running a business, the need to make a profit and the desire to expand and succeed, sticking on a 1000% mark up is nothing short of disgraceful, it's gratuitous; no wonder these dealerships go tits-up on a regular basis! Frankly they're kicking the arse out of it and milking their customers - hardly a sustainable business plan, it's the first, and fucking last time I will EVER phone their parts department.
You are aware they are contracted to sell OEM radiators and have to source those from Ducati. They won't be selling you a radiator that retails at £76 elsewhere. I wouldn't put a £76 rad on any of my bikes. Good of you to try and gauge what is a decent business.
That’s like me ringing up my specialist Maybach dude and getting upset when he quotes me £7450 for a major service. Just buy a Suzuki and then your financial problems will disappear. Or look on eBay. So many other options, especially with a model that is discontinued.
I used a few of those 'knock off' rads on my builds with zero issues. In fact they were more reliable than the oem ones at time, as they kept splitting.
The price is set by Ducati, not by the dealer. Any franchised Ducati dealer will quote you exactly the same price.
I think that’s the guys point: it’s a total rip off by ducati when they probably get made in a similar Chinese factory to same standards as the £75 one. Dealer has little control, a few % here or there
It's common for pattern parts to be produced and sold in the car industry, less so in the motorbike industry it seems. It's also common for car/bike manufactures to procure from the component market. Ducati do not employ wizened old craftsmen who make radiators. I do get the appetite some have to support their favoured brand, however (IMO) spending £750 on a motorcycle rad is mental, that's about the same as a Ferrari 360 rad. Your money, your choice, personally I have to work long and hard for £750.
Don't come all high and mighty with me folks, its a fucking rip off whatever way you cut it. £750 for a component that is simple, cheap and readily available elsewhere is just taking the piss. It's a radiator FFS, they have been around for centuries, it's not a fancy, feather-lite, titanium forged piston made from crushed unicorn horn. I am aware as a franchised dealer they are no doubt contractually obliged to source from Ducati. The problem lies WITH Ducati, and any other bespoke manufacturer price gouging without a hint of guilt, there's no need for it, especially in the case of a radiator, widget or other simple component that they probably source from the same manufacturer as the non OEM supplier. It also begs the question of how they expect to encourage young riders into the fold who may have limited finances and just can't pay that kind of exorbitant price in these challenging times. I just don't get some folks adverse reaction to a simple statement, contrarians no doubt, quick to criticise and slow to realise the gist of the comment; this is about price gouging from manufacturers and retailers; it's got fuck all to do with Ducati Glasgow specifically, they are only a convenient example of a general malaise. Would you have paid £750 for it? If you did you've got more money than sense. I've been riding and maintaining my bikes for nigh on thirty years and often use non OEM parts in less than critical areas, entirely without any blowback. And look it at like this, if I pay £75 for a part and it lasts another 10 years, whats the issue? Will the exact same part costing ten times as much last ten times as long? I think not. Even if the non OEM part only lasts five years, I 'll just buy another and still be saving a fortune. Perhaps that's why Ducati Glasgow went to the wall; smart folks in tight times just aren't willing to stand for highway robbery anymore. Whilst I like to support indigenous business I do have my limits, the main one being, I don't like being shafted, especially without lube and a reach-around which is what I would be expecting from the parts manager if I had pulled the trigger on a £750 radiator! Dibs me old China, I know the company well, I bought a Triumph from them, and like any other business its full of decent folks but don't have a go at me for dissing a decent company, I am more than justified in commenting on the manner in which they conduct their affairs and it wasn't me that caused them to fail, they managed that all by themselves. What we are dealing with here is corporate greed, seeing us, the customer, as nothing more than a walking wallet to be dipped at will. I, and many I know, just won't play ball anymore, that's the reason these places go bust, they are uncompetitive and greedy and fail spectacularly to realise that we're not all millionaires. As an aside, I now know how they can afford to have these fancy, shiny temples to sell motorbikes in, full of glass and chrome and hissing coffee machines funded by stratospheric prices, somebody's paying, is it you?
Why don't you get the oem radiator recored? Plenty of specialists that will do it and you'll get a warranty to go with it.
Except your post is all about DG with your 1st and last call comment, now it turns out you know the org intimately, make your mind up mate, who is your grievancs with? Buy the £76 rad and let us know how you get on.
Carbon/ceramic front discs and pads on my Aston are around the £8k mark, so not just Ducati. Pad life is around 15k miles and they reckon discs every third pad change.
But you do get two shiny new fans as well for your £750... For some reason you can buy the fans separately, but not the rad. Go figure!!!
Interesting - I live in Suffolk and couldn't find anyone to re-core my 1198S rad. Can you recommend anywhere? I've still got the leaky one in the garage.
not setting out to be awkward bootsam but can you recommend anyone? - I used to repair and recore car rads with a substantial matrix and you had a reasonable chance of a successful repair but motorcycle rads are a totally different affair as I think you well know, far more fragile with thin aluminium cores. I've just had a quick look and a phone and out of the three I tried, one company would only epoxy and also only guarantee for 3 months. The others still repair older car rads but would only replace motorbike rads as per above and one stated that any permanent repair with even 12 months guarantee was just not possible.
Feltham radiators is where my mates gets his done. I have a holed 1198 rad hanging up in my garage. I was lucky to source a good one on fleabay, so my old one still hangs about complete with fans.
