Earlier his afternoon it was a frustration thing for me. Hopefully it'll be the last time it'll be like that :smile:
my first ducati was a 1981 hailwood rep with lots of bling within a week the kick start shaft broke it took weeks to find one fitted it had the bike painted by Dream machine did a full re build forgot to fit the fiber washer on the oil drain plug lost all the oil on a run seized at 80mph totaly fucked the pistons had to wait a year for some pistons to be made cost me loads but because it was a ducati it was worth it .if it was a suzuki i would have pushed it in the sea and thought fuck it
I kind of understand your thinking but for me it's all about riding. What good is a Ducati that's sat in a garage for a year waiting to be fixed? It'd be about as much use as men's tits to me like that :tongue:
But we shouldn't have to accept crap product in this day and age. We pay '000s for these machines and deserve to have something that works. The premium we pay for them is to cover for the fact that they are works of art too.
I agree with you, el toro, the very least we should be able to expect is reliability. It's not like these ducatis are new and untested designs, they should have perfected them by now. There's no excuse for poor workmanship or design.
Thing is they don't need to perfect the build quality....we still que to buy them while they're shite.
Teething problems. My brand spanking and very expensive 851 had to be stretchered back to the garage after 15 miles with a blocked radiator on the day I picked it up. Weeks later its starter motor refused to switch off once the engine was running. Another dealer call-out. Following which, it worked faultlessly for the next 50'000 kms and 5 years when I sold it to get a 916.
Come to think of it, my brand new 906 Paso fried its rectifier the first weekend I had it. The only good news was that I had taken it two-up to Hockenheim to see the Superbikes and it died only a few miles from home back in Switzerland. But once again, that was the only thing that went wrong with it.
This is starting to worry me as a prospective owner! :wink: Teething troubles / odd wee bits of grief happen with any bike. Or anything at all as it may be. I thought the quality of the bikes I saw in the showroom and the demo bike were very good.
Don't worry andy, the build quality is very good, and not everyone has problems, but you get to hear about problems a lot more on marque-specific forums cos...well, that's what they're here for. If it cheers you up, my brother has toured Europe extensively on his 1098S and hasn't had a single problem since the day he bought it. Aside from having to replace the wheel bearings due to his insistence on using a jetwash...
I've only had mine since May and it's already been back to the dealer to sort the rectifier out, but it hasn't stopped me loving it. I hope to get many years of happy riding from her ( and the bike), I guess I will just have to be meticulous about services, belt changes etc and I should be fine.
Ach, I was half joking but that's the very reason I joined the forum really. Finding a good model / manufacturer specific is very valuable and this one seems great so far. I was sure enough before laying down my deposit that the quality and reliablility was on a par (or thereabouts) with most other bike manufacturers. I just have zero experience of Ducatis before now but it's really useful hearing things to look out for. The test ride sorted a lot of the potential issues I thought I'd have like the ergonomics and feel etc. the only unanswered questions now really will only be answered with ownership, same as any bike. I am counting the days already (far too long to wait) but I am delighted to have decided to go for a Ducati. I just hope to hell that they don't replace the 848 this winter, as I loved it and really want the Corse I've ordered. I guess the "worst" case is they replace it with a 750cc Panigale... which can't be bad! Will find out in November I guess.
In the answer to the original question - Ducatis have their own unique character that you can only ever experience riding one. The looks , the sound , the whole drooling and pants wetting experience is completely consuming especially when you are in the right frame of mind. Once Ducatis get into your blood your hooked like a crack head! Think I need a lie down after that
Well I had a bit of a blast this evening (50 plus miles) and I'm starting to enjoy it. But I think the real fun will come when I can really open it up. :biggrin:
