....I've been looking at Ducatis lately, been thinking about picking up either a pre-owned 1098 or preferably an 1198 . Something about the 1199 is not punching the right buttons. Anyone owned either of these models before that can give me any feedback, good, bad or ugly ?

I've noticed there are a lot of them available with very low miles already modded with Termignonis exhaust and lots of carbon goodies. The typical owner seems to be older, more affluent and in to babying his machine which bodes well for picking one up gently used at a decent price.

The 1098 and 1198 have the trellis frame and dry clutch which I hear is somewhat of an acquired taste. I think I could learn to live with the clutch rattle.

What about maintenance costs? The cam belt requires frequent tensioning and I hear reliability is not on par with the Jap inline fours but there is just something about the sound of that L Twin and of course drop dead gorgeous looks that cannot be denied.

Also,I would probably want to go with an S model for the upgrade Ohlins suspension.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/25/2013 @ 7:17 AM *

My riding partner (who also owns a ZX-14) has a 1198 SP. It is a gorgeous, exquisite high-performance sportbike, but there are some drawbacks. First, avoid the plastic gas tanks; they swell off their mounts from ethanol in fuel. Get one with an alloy tank. Or you will be buying the alloy tank later anyway. Second, unless you are a very well-versed mechanic, the desmodromic valve gear is a diabolical contraption. Shops figure (and charge) 8 hours of shop time to adjust the valves. So you're looking at $500+parts tune-ups. For those not familiar, the desmodromic valve gear is a springless, positive-actuation method of opening and closing the valves. A regular cam and rocker opens the valves and a strange, semi-circular cam whacks a forked rocker and closes them. Great for high-rpm valve control, bad for your wallet.

Parts are premium priced, also. I once stopped at a local Ducati emporium to pick up a replacement fairing screw for my friend. The parts guy came from the back and laid it on the counter saying, "You should go buy a lottery ticket when you leave, because you're about walk out of here with a Genuine Ducati part for less than $5."

My friend has had a front master cylinder and a clutch slave cylinder shoot crap on the 1198. Both were replaced under warranty, but the warranty didn't cover transporting the disabled machine to the shop and back twice. They also warrenteed the expanded tank on his 1098, but he paid extra to replace it with the alloy tank, which is around $1800 to buy outright. Another trip to the shop, which is 80 miles from his house.

I have ridden various Ducs, his 1198, the 1098 he had before that, a Mulstistrada, Diavel (hated it) and (my favorite) a Hypermotard 1100 with Ohlins suspension. The new Hypermotard is coming out with the 848 l-c engine and has more bhp than the old a-c 1100.Had I sufficient disposable income, I might consider one, although the Aprilia Tuono V-4 looks like more fun. And easier to maintain.

Oh and the V4 sounds with the right exhaust is just absolute music to the ears!!! The Ducs are nice but the maintenance will still suck your wallet dryer than a starved vampire on a bloodletting spree. They did up the maintenance intervals on them thankfully but it's still bad. I had a 696 Monster and it was a fabulous machine, I just adored that bike and I really miss it. I'm thinking of getting a 796 Monster with the single sided swing arm, just sexy as hell.

Yep, a buddy just bought the 848 Street fighter and it broke down twice in the first 500 miles. An engine oil line developed a serious leak and he also had to have a cylinder assembly replaced under warranty. These guys won't buy a Jap bike, too plebeian for their tastes.

Everyone tells me if you buy a Ducati, have a Jap bike on standby so you'll have something to ride when the Duc breaks down...and it will!

These things are just so sexy though, it's hard to resist one. I prefer the styling of the 1098/1198 with the undertail pipe to the 1199 with low exit exhaust. I think it's hard to do the undertail exhaust thing and get it right styling wise, Ducati pulled it off beautifully and the '04 - 07 CBR1000RR looks good ...oh and the Triumph 675 had a nice looking undertail pipe.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/25/2013 @ 12:49 PM *

Damn that's straight up motorcycle porn right there...

Have you heard the '09-'13 YZF-R1 crossplane engine tone with aftermarket mufflers? They sound DEEP & awesome, very much like Ducati's. And the exhaust exists up under the rear seat just very similar to the last Duc you posted.

Just a thought ...

Maybe YZF's are too common, I dunno:

I had a 2007 Monster S4RS - It went like stink, but had it's issues.
It would stall intermittantly sitting at a light, the speedo would stop working intermittantly and if the battery was not constantly on a tender you'd be lucky to get the thing started in the first place. THey are beautiful motorcycles, but are very finicky and require alot of care and maintenance. Here's a pic of mine from lastyear....

The only reason I would ride a Ducati was to impress people who don't really know much about sport bikes.

Maybe YZF's are too common, I dunno:

That's it, the Ducati is very uncommon and the Japs just can't touch the Italians in the styling department. Sound is also a big plus, with Termis these things sound so sweet.

I hear ergonomics are tortuous, the electrics are a nightmare, fuel tanks swell with ethanol, desmo valve maintenance is a hassle, parts are crazy high and take forever to get. Oh yea, dry clutch sounds like it's fixing too explode any moment but that's just the sound they make.

There has to be a reason everyone wants one of these things though and look at their racing record, they own WSBK.

The 1098 has about 140 rear wheel HP stock which is more than enough for the road and probably most tracks, the 1198 punts out about 150 rear wheel.

I hear turn in is a lttle slow (understeer) but they love to lean and are very stable in the corners with telepathic feedback from the front end. Also brutally stiff suspension out of the box and rewards careful suspension setup.

Anything I'm forgetting here....oh yes, tons of low end torque and endless wheelies in gears one through three!

The only reason I would ride a Ducati was to impress people who don't really know much about sport bikes.

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Have you ridden one?

There ya go Kruzerman..that's the baby for YOU...yup....best lookin one of the bunch.What's that saying?"You can't touch dis" If I was getting a Duc...that'd be the one;)

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/25/2013 @ 1:04 PM *

The only reason I would ride a Ducati was to impress people who don't really know much about sport bikes.

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If they knew anything about sportbikes they'd probably know that Ducati has won WSBK championships 17 out 25 times, no one else comes close, Honda has only 4 wins. What else do you need to know?

WSBK Season Champion

1988 Honda RC30
1989 Honda RC30
1990 Honda RC30
1991 Ducati 888
1992 Ducati 888
1993 Ducati 888
1994 Ducati 916
1995 Ducati 916
1996 Ducati 916
1997 Honda RC45
1998 Ducati 916
1999 Ducati 996
2000 Ducati 996
2001 Ducati 996R
2002 Ducati 998 F02
2003 Ducati 999 F03
2004 Ducati 999 F04
2005 GSX-R1000 K5
2006 Ducati 999 F06
2007 Yamaha YZF-R1
2008 Ducati 1098 F08
2009 Ducati 1198 F09
2010 Aprilia RSV4 1000
2011 Ducati 1198R
2012 Aprilia RSV4 1000

Get the Duc Kruz....she's way cool.At least with the higher costs of owning THIS one...it'd be very worth it.Plus...you can be the first here to give a complete ride report...that's what I'd like to read.(BTW...that one is the ONLY one I would consider ever getting...if I did);)

Go forth now noble Knight....complete the quest and you have my blessing;)(she's WAY sweet)

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 3/25/2013 @ 1:33 PM *

I used to work for Ducati and all the stories about how hard it is to adjust valves are mostly bunk. You need a good manual and it helps if you have someone who knows the various tricks show them to you to save time but over all I'd rather adjust a Ducatis valves than pull the cams out of an inline four. You just need to understand how the valve train works and take your time with them. In fact, the newer testastretta motors are way easier to do the valves on than the older 916/748 type. The biggest bugaboo is the belt tension. You used to do it with a tool or even an allen wrench to get the proper tension, now it takes an electronic sensor the dealer uses. But I would not be afraid to buy one if it's what you really want.

Mad

Click For Video Review

1199 Click

* Last updated by: Romans on 3/25/2013 @ 3:26 PM *

I've got a guy that says it's $800 to service the valves, dealer level that is. He said if you had the factory tool you could do it yourself. I said and that costs? He said about $1,800, but who knows what year he's talking? So that's 2 service intervals you own the tool, give or take $200 it costs more or less is the one time tool?

If it takes 2 grand for a tool vs. Madd saying it's easy to do, you better see if the tool is still available, or have the dealer show theirs. And if they can come up with some mickey mouse tool, so can you. Then again, I was after that lure of a note and look too.

But once the sales guy said my Aprilia trade-in was a faster bike... I made a 180 for the door. It's like a Harley kind of bike, but with an Italian accent. Nice lines, nice sound, not so fast, buddy.

not so fast, buddy.

And expensive,,,,, but I get it. If money was no object for sure.

Have you ridden one?

Two "experts" in that video said opposite things! "I felt like I was going fast, but I wasn't. I don't what it is." ... vs ... "You're really going fast, even though it feels like you're not."

So ... which is it guys??! HAHA!

Most Ducatis are easy to go fast on and thus the perception of speed is not what it would be with a higher-rpm motor. But anyone who says they are not fast obviously hasn't ridden one. Even that clunky Diavel has some motor. The 150hp Multistrada I rode was at least as quick as a ZX-14, although without the top end speed rush. They ARE the most fabulous garage candy.

I guess that's why they make so many different bikes ... I myself can't believe they sold the first Multistrada! :)

Some things I hear over and over again about Ducatis, like you buy a Jap bike with your brain but you buy an Italian bike with your heart.....makes sense to me.

Another one is that a Ducati always feels like it's going slow even when going quite fast like time slows down, heard that a lot.

I hear they are a little hard to muscle into a corner but once they're planted, they're on rails!

They must be doing something right to dominate in World Superbike Racing as long as they have.