I was at the Ducati Dealer and looked at the 2011 848 in matte black.
I thought it would be really fun to own. The V-twin thump...light...flickable....
Then I saw it's $13,000 plus fees/taxes.

What really got me however- is that every 7500 miles Ducati wants a full service from the dealer. This entails adjusting the valves and changing timing belts which are a real pain to get to by the way. This cost is between $750-$1200.
Forget about working on these myself he says. Also the warranty is for 2 years but it is NOT unlimited mileage.

I was thinking...wow! Four service costs alone are almost as much as I paid for my Superhawk with only 7k miles totally tricked out.

Gotta love the Hawk for sure! It's a bike an amateur mechanic can take apart and work on- in a weekend with no special tools or computers.

Thoughts?

 

Yea that's a killer for lots of folks.
Check out the new Pinagale valve train. Good bye timing belts
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/76810/...irst-Look.aspx

 

Dam...now that's what I'm talking about. I've got a buddy who bought this bike. He put a deposit down and it is expected to be delivered in March.

 

Amazing. I though i had read the valvetrain which is most expensive is now at 15000 miles?

 

i got my 1098 serviced a year ago. $915cad, which was hard to take but not too bad. in the us you should be able to get it done cheaper.

and the pannigale does have better service intervals. go buy one.

 

Belts are 15k miles/24 months, which ever comes first, and valve adjustment is 7.5k miles/12 months...my dealer quotes 11 hours labor @ $85/hour for full 15k service...I do my own oil/filter change, chain clean & lube, air filter service, etc and save about 3 hours labor...btw, this dealer charges $48 each for Champion spark plugs that you can get for $12...

 

BMW is pretty much as bad too.

 

An accomplished home wrench can do Desmodromic valve train adjustments and timing belt replacements. It's time consuming and complicated, but not more so then a lot of custom work seen here, or full engine, transmission work being accomplished by many in this forum. yes, if your going to pay to have it serviced.. well, too rich for my blood

 

its the Ferrari of motorbikes, what do you expect????

 

My buddy has a late model Duc that he cannot ride, because he has to save $1100 for scheduled maintenace so he doesn't void the warranty. Crazy, the last time he took the bike in for oil change they didn't even get the filter tight enough and leaked oil.

My moto is " I can do the work myself and learn from it, do it cheaper and better than a dealer 9 out of 10 times. The 10th time i will cost myself more money than if i had just taken it to the dealer." In the long run i come out ahead and do better work.

 

It's all about all the secret info the shop possesses and would never share, let alone, probably $29K of special tools needed. The work is not rocket science.

 

...and they don't even warranty timing belts, or cables on a new bike with the services paid up. Ridiculous.
Ducati

 

Just picked up a 2003 Red VTR100f for $3500 plus tax and license. A "poor man's Ducati" with low maintenance. Immaculate bike. 9300 miles with about $1500 in extras. A blast to ride! DD

1982 CBX
1982 CX 500 Turbo
1983 CX 650 Turbo
1985 RZ 350

 

Yes U must have deep pockets to own a Duc or a Beemer, but its mostly been this way over the years. As stated by many, da VTR or other motos made in the Land of the Rising Sun are easier on zee wallet.

 

Not neccesarily... I own a duc... I do my own wrenching... But it's not the current crop though...

 

tweety- what year and model?

the 1098 is a great machine and worth every cent. the hawk is too!

 

A '97 916...

 

I just bought a 1,566 mile 2002 Ducati "Foggy" Monster 916 and a 1,970 mile 2002 998 Mono- both out of a collection. Both received new Michelins, new belts, oil and filter, brake and clutch fluid. They'll join a 2007 Bimota DB6 Delirio DS1000, '06 MV Agusta 910R Brutale Gladio, '07 Tuono, '08 SuperDuke, '06 Speed Triple, '08 ZX-10, '02 FZ-1, '99 ZRX1100, '98 SuperHawk, '97 Bandit 1200S, and a '94 CB1000 "Big One." I'm still not sure where the two latest acquisitions are gonna be parked. Wife wants the "Foggy" to go in the living room, making it a pain in the keister to take out for a run.

 

I'm doing the first valve service on my 1098 right now, at 10,000 miles by the way. Only one of the valves needed a new shim so I didn't think that was too bad. I'm changing out four others just bceause they were getting close to the service limit. Plus I want to go another 10,000 miles before the next service.

Total cost = $135US

 

Living room?...Nice! Does your wife have a sister?

 

definitely a classic for the ages.