[51629]

4's

I would also settle for a Ducati Desmosedici v4.

 

[christian_gates]

An I-4 is just cheap horsepower. For some reason (width?) a V-4 appears to be superior.



Better than both is a turbocharged, 5.4 litre flat-12. Slightly better than that, and only slightly, is a 28 cylinder radial with methanol / water injection.



cdg

 

[8345]

2005 999.

one service at 6000 miles $600.

not one problem yet!!

and I beat the crap out of it.

 

[jhenzie]

Me too.



I think I am going to wait for the 2007 model S2R 1000.



The new 690 has 7500 service intervals which is something.



I am also trying to find out if the warranty if the maint isn't done by ducati.



One dealer said that if you don't ride with WOT, then an adjustment is not likely for two service intervals, that would make it affordable in my mind, but then again what is the fun in that

 

[30874]

What's the deal with the kick stand?

What's the deal with the kick stand?

 

[36234]

Just passed 7000 miles on my Multistrada 1000DS and did my own valve check at 6000 miles with all valve clearence right on the money.From what I hear it is very rare for Ducati valves to need adjusting at the 1st check.The bodywork was a bit of a pain ,but the next time should go quicker.

 

[36284]

Re: What's the deal with the kick stand?

A friend of mine has two Ducati's and they both have crap sidestands. They seem kinda flexy and I think stand the bike a little too upright, which can be a problem if the ground tilts in an inconvienient direction. For the life of me, I don't know why thy can't be better.

 

[36284]

Then get the SR3. It's got most of the good stuff an ST4 has, with a two valve engine. My friend who has an ST4 kinda wishes he'd gotten an ST3 now. They make over a hundred horsepower, and are plenty fast enough for street use. If you're not keeping up, either the guys you are riding with are better than you, or are gonna get hurt soon. Either way, it ain't the bike.

 

[36284]

I've got a VFR, and yeah, I think it's a near ideal layout, but they're expensive to make, and serious horsepower increases are expensive. (Four cams, not much room for bigger carbs, etc.) That's one of the reasons that the VFR is aimed at grown up riders, who don't need to have the most powerful bike out there, and get a better ride and more comfortable ergos as compensation. ST3s and ST4s fall into the same general category, as does the Triumph. I picked the VFR because you don't have to drive half a day to find a dealer. And, of course, if you're into power cruisers, the V-Max is so much faster than the V-rod it's pathetic. I just wish Harley would put that engine in a Buell. I'ts NEVER going to be able to match a four cylinder is sheer, out and out power. I dearly love Ducatis and Triumph triples, just because they're different, but I wonder if they can long compete with the fours if all the traction control technology from F1 gets into Superbikes. I hope they find a formula that will let them all have at it on equal terms. There's nothing quite so much fun as being at a race where your own personal bragging rights are at stake.

 

[longride]

"And, of course, if you're into power cruisers, the V-Max is so much faster than the V-rod it's pathetic."



Having owned a V-Max and tested a V-Rod here on MO, I'd say you are mistaken. And I mean that with the highest regard, of course.

 

[37372]

I had an '04 Monster S4R for two years, and I really liked it - I did several of the "standard" mods, like Arrow exhaust, lower gearing, PCIII and custom map, open airbox, and it seemed pretty fast to me. I agree that the packaging of engines looks a bit lame compared to the air-cooled versions, and depending on your riding you might prefer the midrange of the S2R models, but I stopped buying air-cooled bikes many years ago. Choosing not to have water cooling 'cause the motor looks "cleaner" doesn't seem like a very good decision to me. The monster forum I read while I owned mine had several references to really high oil temps.



Just my 2 cents - I've got a 999 now.

 

[42104]

One word of caution. 1000 DS motors tend to puke their valve guides between 6000 and 12,000 miles. Ducati is aware of the problem and they are fixing the motors with no questions asked.



As of 2006, they should have fixed the problem.

 

[42941]

It will cost you more to own a Ducati than to own a Japanese bike. It's up to you to decide if owning a Ducati is worth the extra cash. It's a pretty simple decision.

 

[tokoloshgolem]

No, the S3R has a 3-valve engine, hence the 3 in S3R.

 

[Buzglyd]

#1 Ducs are reliable. I've got 24,000 on my ST4 with no problems other than recently replacing the slave cylinder.



#2 Don't take it to your mechanic friend who is spewing forth such gobbledygook.

 

[36284]

I stand corrected. Somehow I got the impression that the 3-valve was being dropped, so the number representing valves didn't really apply any more. That's actually good news, I think. I've gotten stuck in stop and go traffic on air cooled bikes and get to freaking out about how hot they might be getting, with no way of really knowing. We used to spit on a finger and touch the fins, the theory being that if you heard a sizzling sound, you should probably shut the thing down before it siezed. Not a real good option on a stop and go superslab.

 

[36284]

Well, of course. The only V-rod I personally spanked may have been really badly ridden, but V-max's also make ten more horsepower and are fifty pounds lighter. Maybe its gearing-I guess you're in a better position to know. All I know, is that the V-rods I have seen haven't been all that impressive IMHO.

 

[53589]

Ditto the clutch slave. My '01 ST2 was recalled at 800kms for the slave and the replacement failed slowly at 20k kms, eating the drive chain's o-rings in the process (o-rings don't seem to like DOT4 brake fluid!). Yoyodyne slave is cheaper than the Ducati part and works better. Naturally it looks much cooler too. Other than that, no problems in 28k kms.

 

[addysdaddy]

Note that the service schedule has changed for the 2007 models. Value adjustments are now every 7500 miles (instead of 6k) and the amount of shop time has been drastically reduced from 6 hrs to 2.5 hrs. That should make the cost of ownership significantly less.

 

[redalfa]

Have a 2005 999 no maintenance issues but getting parts seems to be a big problem. Dropped my bike sliding on gravel in a low turn, its been at my dealers now for almost 2 months for repair, and he claims still hasn't received the parts in from Ducati. If I didn't have another bike ( Harley Street Rod) I would be without a bike all summer. Has anyone else had this problem, is it Ducati or the dealer?