My best friend is a Ducati die hard. He owns 5 of them right now and he's always liked them since he bought his first one, a yellow 748 Monoposto. Over the years he's become more affluent and has built himself a nice little collection of pasta rockets. Back in 1999 he traded the 748 for a brand new 996 of the yellow persuasion. Due to his work commitments he rarely got to ride the bike, but could never bring himself to sell it so that bike only has 6000 miles on it.
Last year I finally talked him into hitting the track, it took me donating a set of 2ct power ones and an entire night of prep before the track day to get him to do it. After the first track day he decided to get the forks and shock redone to fit his weight so he dropped 800 bucks on that. Shortly after the second track day he had the 6000 mile service done on the bike. It required replacing all the camshafts and several lifters. Total bill was like 1200 bucks! On a bike with 6000 miles!
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Next we come to his favorite bike. It's a 1098s Tricoloure model with 1900 miles on it. It's had the suspension professionally dialed in by the previous owner and optimized by GMD computrack. The issue with this 25k bike is that if you sit in traffic it will drain the battery and cook it, eventually it dies and you have to bump start it.... in traffic. I posted the problem here and someone told me it was a regulator issue so last week he took the time to get that fixed. It turns out that the only way to fully fix the issue is to install a new regulator and replace the cams with a newer generation cam set. It's not a recall, but there is a TSB covering the issue. Not all models are having the issue. Ducati will cover the parts, but he has to cover the labor to the tune of 700 bones to fix a known issue on a bike with 1900 miles on it.
Then there's the 695 Monster he bought for his wife to ride. During the same day he killed a battery in traffic, his wife's bike refused to start with the switch and we had to bump start it every 3rd or so times we stopped somewhere. This was very inconvenient during bike week. Talk about struggling! She gets it home and takes it to the dealership where after 2 weeks they decide they are chasing a ghost in the machine and do a full swap for a new harness. Under warranty so it's no big deal. They also replaced some of the badges and stickers that were peeling and cracking.
Last year while we were in Salt Lake City for the WSBK race we were all walking around and in Ducati Island we saw a beautiful 999s in black. I've always thought the 999 was an ugly bike, but in black it's a sexy bish! We both drooled over it a while and about a month after we returned he had a black 999s sitting in the stable. From day 1 this bike ran like shit, it would spit and sputter and make all kinds of racket when in the low rpm's. At the time it had less that 2k miles on it and after replacing some wires and plugs it ran fine.
For the longest time he's been in the hunt for a bostrom #155 998 replica to acquire. This summer one popped up and he bought it dirt cheap. This bike runs like a champ and he rides it more than all the others now. It's a true collectors item! If you went to Ducati Island at Indy this year, you more than likely saw this bike, it was on the front row on display.
I guess 1 out of 5 isn't bad.
I love my :fork
He's got a thing for Italian bikes. There is an MV and a couple Aprilia's in the stable as well. He's looking at getting Ferrari some day too, I can't imagine what one of those would cost to keep running.....
Last year I finally talked him into hitting the track, it took me donating a set of 2ct power ones and an entire night of prep before the track day to get him to do it. After the first track day he decided to get the forks and shock redone to fit his weight so he dropped 800 bucks on that. Shortly after the second track day he had the 6000 mile service done on the bike. It required replacing all the camshafts and several lifters. Total bill was like 1200 bucks! On a bike with 6000 miles!
Next we come to his favorite bike. It's a 1098s Tricoloure model with 1900 miles on it. It's had the suspension professionally dialed in by the previous owner and optimized by GMD computrack. The issue with this 25k bike is that if you sit in traffic it will drain the battery and cook it, eventually it dies and you have to bump start it.... in traffic. I posted the problem here and someone told me it was a regulator issue so last week he took the time to get that fixed. It turns out that the only way to fully fix the issue is to install a new regulator and replace the cams with a newer generation cam set. It's not a recall, but there is a TSB covering the issue. Not all models are having the issue. Ducati will cover the parts, but he has to cover the labor to the tune of 700 bones to fix a known issue on a bike with 1900 miles on it.
Then there's the 695 Monster he bought for his wife to ride. During the same day he killed a battery in traffic, his wife's bike refused to start with the switch and we had to bump start it every 3rd or so times we stopped somewhere. This was very inconvenient during bike week. Talk about struggling! She gets it home and takes it to the dealership where after 2 weeks they decide they are chasing a ghost in the machine and do a full swap for a new harness. Under warranty so it's no big deal. They also replaced some of the badges and stickers that were peeling and cracking.
Last year while we were in Salt Lake City for the WSBK race we were all walking around and in Ducati Island we saw a beautiful 999s in black. I've always thought the 999 was an ugly bike, but in black it's a sexy bish! We both drooled over it a while and about a month after we returned he had a black 999s sitting in the stable. From day 1 this bike ran like shit, it would spit and sputter and make all kinds of racket when in the low rpm's. At the time it had less that 2k miles on it and after replacing some wires and plugs it ran fine.
For the longest time he's been in the hunt for a bostrom #155 998 replica to acquire. This summer one popped up and he bought it dirt cheap. This bike runs like a champ and he rides it more than all the others now. It's a true collectors item! If you went to Ducati Island at Indy this year, you more than likely saw this bike, it was on the front row on display.
I guess 1 out of 5 isn't bad.
I love my :fork
He's got a thing for Italian bikes. There is an MV and a couple Aprilia's in the stable as well. He's looking at getting Ferrari some day too, I can't imagine what one of those would cost to keep running.....
