Thinking of getting a new bike.

[Badkitty]

I've been thinking of this for awhile...and today found the bike that just GRABBED ME AND SAID " BY ME AT ANY COST!!!"


The color of the bike i saw http://www.ducati.com/docs_eng/photo...&pgName=SS1000

this pic shows the lower fairing thats on the bike i saw. Dont know why the yellow on their site doesnt have it. http://www.ducati.com/docs_eng/photo...&pgName=SS1000

Its a 2003 and is $8900 but im sure i can talk them down abit. What do you guys think?

[woobie]

Very sexy looking bike.

[MTFYR]

Nah, you won't like it

[ZukiFred]

Great looking Duc!!!
I am not into yellow but it isn't my bike..

[Katgirl]

Horney looking bike....

[The CyberPoet]

I've never seen a Ducati dealership that didn't let you take fairly long test drives, so by all means, take that puppy out for an hour and go cross-town or out-of-town by several miles, try it and bring it back. Then make your call.

Yes, most Ducati's can be haggled down quite a bit (10% isn't uncommon), especially at this time of year. $9k already sounds fairly low for the 1000DS... My guess is that Ducati's new financial oversee-ers told them to drop prices to move [backed-up/overstocked] product out of the dealer channel in a rush, and this SRP already reflects that price drop.

What to know about Ducati's:
Yes, if the clutch basket rattles at idle, it's normal. They just brought out their first enclosed/wet-clutch bike for the '06 model year and this taint it.
The parts are top-notch, especially the suspension.
The maintenance costs kills a lot of owners. This is a bike that you can't skimp on the maintenance at all (EVER) -- when a desmo valve adjustment is due, it has to be done, and it has to be done right. Failure to do it can mean turning your bike into a very pretty but expensive pile of junk. Unfortunately, on most Ducs you normally have to drop the engine to do a valve adjustment and timing chain replacement, making it particularly labor intensive. Get a maint schedule and fee schedule in advance and make it part of your purchase decision (and if they offer a maintanence-contract as an add-on for the initial purchase, evaluate it closely and seriously consider it).
The biggest gee-wow factor of this bike other than the sexy looks is the rich torque band (just keeps building from low down onwards), and the fact that it sticks to corners -- any corner at any angle at pretty much almost any speed -- like a rocketship on rails; you think it, it does it. If straight-lines are your thing, many jap race-rep bikes will trump you readily with higher straight-line speeds (but you'll look sexier by far).
Ownership has it's rewards. At any event Ducati attends, such as Bike Week Daytona, bring your key along -- it'll get you into the hospitality tent complete with free high-class catered food & beverages all week, as well an invite to their special Ducati-only party (which is a blast).
If you thought Kat owners were proud and mod-happy, you haven't seen a Duc owner with a factory catalog; they put us to shame.
Most people won't feel comfy doing more than 2 to 4 hours in the saddle on this thing per day. Your (*guessing here, based on past comments*) light weight may stretch that time out a bit, but I still expect you won't feel happy doing 6 to 12 hour days, so long-range touring may be off your list on this particular bike.
If your license is full of points, you may come to regret it. On the other hand, it's worth owning just for the beauty of keeping it in your living room as an art-piece ( ).
The fairly new everything-electrical-on-a-bike-network cabling scheme has helped the electronics reliability, but owners still complain of regular quirkiness with the instrument panel and electrical problems when riding in the rain. Like any bike (and moreso in the case of a Duc), first thing to do when you take ownership is to strip it down and pack every electrical connector you can find just chock-full of dielectric grease to help keep those gremlins at bay.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Anonymous]

Whatever you do...do not buy a V-Twin!

They're evil!!

[Badkitty]

no way V-Twins rule!! My brother is getting a RC51 in 2months.

Im definately going to give it a LONG test drive. I never test drove my katana, cause i didnt have my class m when i bought it. I dont regret it tho, the katana was great.

[KatanaO215]

I personally wouldnt want one. The maintenance costs are far more than I would ever want to deal with. Unless you are really skilled in working on bike, orhave a lot of money on your hands I wouldnt do it.

But if its what you really want, they are sexy bikes

[JoeCool]

I was looking at a Ducati before getting my Kat about a month ago...but I found so many people who had posted really nasty stuff of the reliability of the Ducati's that it really turned me off. Bikes that were new having problems you would never think a new bike would have...
Please check around and do some research, maintenance on these bikes also seem to very expensive...many were also complaining about this, and how they screwed up by a Ducati instead of a solid japanese bike...their exact words.
Myself I choose a 2005 Kat 750...reliable, fast enough for me as I feel I'm a intermediate level (2yrs riding experience) rider, used mainly for commuting and weekends, no need to go quid like popping wheelies...I'm too old for that anyway (39yo). I've had my bike now 4 weeks, 700 miles and I'm loving it more everyday...I'm just and average Joe, don't work for Suzuki and have no reason to BS you...the Katana is a great bike.
Wishing you the best even if you go Ducati...
Keep the rubber side down 8)

[sexwax]

meeeow.

I say you get it, kitten, and then give me a call so I can come over and 'test' it oot for a bit, eh?

[woobie]

I think Cp's post about the maintenance is something that really needs to be looked into. One of the great things about the kat is it's simple to work on. A Duc could end up costing a lot of extra money over the season if you ride a lot and rack up the miles.

meeeow.

I say you get it, kitten, and then give me a call so I can come over and 'test' it oot for a bit, eh?

I'm sure he could slide it down the side of the road in the grass by himself if he really felt like it

[Kanati]

What they said... The duc needs a valve adjustment like... once a week or soemthing...

[SlipKid]

The maintenance costs kills a lot of owners. This is a bike that you can't skimp on the maintenance at all (EVER) -- when a desmo valve adjustment is due, it has to be done, and it has to be done right. Failure to do it can mean turning your bike into a very pretty but expensive pile of junk. Unfortunately, on most Ducs you normally have to drop the engine to do a valve adjustment and timing chain replacement, making it particularly labor intensive. Get a maint schedule and fee schedule in advance and make it part of your purchase decision (and if they offer a maintanence-contract as an add-on for the initial purchase, evaluate it closely and seriously consider it).

Luckily, you don't have to drop the engine on the air-cooled desmo-due (2-valve) SS models. The rear shock may need taken from it's top mount to reach the rear cylinder intake valve, however. At any rate, there's only 4 vales to do on that bike, making it much less of a nightmare to do than the desmo-quatro (916 and it's variants/decendants) bikes.

I have a 900SS that's been nothing but reliable, and the valves only need adjusted every 6000 miles. The new dual-spark 1000 engine may have extended the adjustment interval, and certainly built in even more reliability than my '95 model. I've seen 900SS bikes with over 50K miles on them when maintaned properly. I'd in no way discourage you from buying one of these bikes.

[meanstrk]

I'll say this........... The ONLY reason I did not buy a Ducati instead of the Aprilia is because of the maintenance costs. That is the ONLY reason. Do your homework fisrt and if you are tight financially, think twice about it.