I have a fever. And the only cure... is more Ducati!

Repeater · 03-07-2005, 01:54 PM

Alright, so maybe the title is a bit of an exaggeration. But some of it is true. I like Ducatis. Well, not as much the superbike 749/999s (just sitting on one mashes my nads...) but the Supersports are very tempting to me.

So what is the low-down on the Supersport 800 and 1000S?

I'm currently on my learner bike - a Ninja 250R. It's a hoot. I plan on riding it until it self-destructs or gets mashed by a school bus or something. It's a wonderful commuter, and saves a ton of gas and miles from my car.

But within the next year, I'm going to want a second bike, sometimes for the occasional commute and mostly for highway travel. Of all of the motorcycles that have a true "sportbike" posture, I found the Supersport 800/1000S the only ones that I actually liked sitting on. In fact, I was infatuated with the ZX-6R before. Until I sat on one. Meh. Same for all of the other big fours' true sportbikes, for the most part. The Ducati's seat is just right, my legs grip the nicely-sculpted tank very well; it's like they designed the bike for someone exactly my size. I love it.

I'm infatuated with the Supersports. Particularly the 800, since it's $8000 MSRP, and I could conceivably afford one within the next year or so. I see they're down on power from the equivalent Japanese models, and more expensive (I'm thinking ZZR600/YZF600R/Katana 750 here) but I'm not too big on 165mph sprints down Highway 52, anyway. I want a comfortable, durable, reliable, and cheaper-than-600SS to insure motorcycle.

So, for you Ducatisti:
1) How reliable are they? Searches for the Supersport lineup yields very few usable pieces of information on them.
2) I think about maintenance. Some people say they're expensive, but I don't care; I'd do the work myself. But how expensive is a shimming set? And how much of a pain in the ass is the desmodue to service and adjust valves on?
3) Is this bike going to be insane to insure just because it's Italian with a full fairing? Or will it be cheaper than the typical squid widowmaker type bikes because of its lower power rating? Bikeline's online quoting was down earlier, so I couldn't get a good quote.
4) Does anybody else in the world not even give a crap about these and skip straight to the 749s and 999s? If so, is there something I should know here?

Thanks for the input!

Ducboy · 03-09-2005, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Repeater

So, for you Ducatisti:
1) How reliable are they?
2) I think about maintenance. Some people say they're expensive, but I don't care; I'd do the work myself. But how expensive is a shimming set? And how much of a pain in the ass is the desmodue to service and adjust valves on?
3) Is this bike going to be insane to insure just because it's Italian with a full fairing? Or will it be cheaper than the typical squid widowmaker type bikes because of its lower power rating? Bikeline's online quoting was down earlier, so I couldn't get a good quote.
4) Does anybody else in the world not even give a crap about these and skip straight to the 749s and 999s? If so, is there something I should know here?

Thanks for the input!

That fever ain't goin away my friend

I started with an ST4 and then couldn't deny my original lust, a 916. So now I have both

If it's comfort you're after, don't go with a SS. I find them to be the least comfortable (which is to say not comfortable) of the Ducs.

1)If you want reliability stay with a Japanese bike. With Ducati you can wind up with no issues or lots of issues or somewhere in between. IMO you take the good with the bad and enjoy the hell out of your Ducati because it's like no other, in a range of facets.

2)Maint is overblown IMO. Ducs aren't any worse to work on than any other bike. I've been doing the valves, belts, etc, on my two 4Vs since I've owned them. The 2Vs are even easier to do than the 4's. If you wind up going with an SS I've got the ProItalia valve adjustment DVD you can check out. Shimming sets are expensive (www.emsduc.com I think) so you just wait until you measure what you need any buy only those, or swap existing and file em if necessary.

3)I think you'll find insurance relatively reasonable. I can only speak to the SBKs which are not expensive at all for full coverage. SSs might be however, I never checked.

4)The 2Vs have the Desmo engines which sound incredible compared to the testas found in the new generation SBKs you note. If you love the sound of a 2V Desmodue get the SS. Any which way you go you'll have a boner whenever you get on the damn thing

A site with much more feedback of sustenance than I've provided is either speedzilla or ducati.ms, both great resources for Ducati.

Good luck. And let me know if you wind up with a 2V and you want to see the vid.

nero-1 · 03-10-2005, 09:59 AM

insurance for the supersports are really inexpensive...at least for me it is.

blake748 · 03-10-2005, 11:16 PM

If you want a duc you want a duc and nothing else will be the same. The feel, sound (nothing sounds like a duc), and looks you get are produced only on a duc. Expenses will be a little higher than a japanese bike but it won't kill you. As far a valve adjustments ,in my area I've found that it would be better to pay someone to do it than buy a kit and do it myself. But you want to work on your bike yourself go for it I've heard of a lot of good manuals and videos on how to do it.
I haven't had any real problems with my 748 other than a fuel relay going out which was a $15 fix and my overflow tank split at the seam and cost around $30 to replace. Aftermarket parts like pipes, etc. can scare you if you don't look around.

Most important chicks can smell an Italian bike from across the parking lot!!

No its not Japanese!

999Duc · 03-13-2005, 09:33 PM

How many miles per year do you plan on putting on the bike?

Repeater · 03-14-2005, 06:41 PM

Sorry it's taken a while to get back, guys.

Anyhow, the more and more I look into this, the more it seems I'm gonna be about $2000 short late this year or early next when I plan on getting a new bike. I'm thinking I can dump $6k, but that won't come close to covering an SS800. And I don't want any loan payments, so that's out.

I looked at Bike-line (the insurance company I'm with for my Ninjette) for insurance and they quoted me $1800 per year. That's for a 26 year old male, unmarried with a clean driving record. $1800 is a bit much for me, so I'm definitely going to be looking naked or sub-sport for my next bike. Oh, well. I can get an SS when I'm a geezer and can actually afford it.

Now that I've read up a bunch, though, I think I'd feel comfortable maintaining a desmodue; it really doesn't look that hard to me. And it doesn't have to be supremely reliable, either, as my 250R will probably remain my primary to-from work transportation during the summer. This next bike will be a long trip/highway bike mostly for fun.

As for mileage, I'd like to put at least 5000 miles per year on a second bike, and roughly the same on my 250R commuting and putting around here in town. That's ideally, though. I'd probably end up with fewer on the second bike. But we'll see, I guess.

So SS is out. But now I'm forced to consider a Monster. DAMN YOU DUCATI!

Nytebreed · 03-22-2005, 08:07 PM

Too bad you cant scrape the 8k together. The S2R would keep your insurance down and give you the 800 2v Desmo you crave. The 620 would be an option, but may be too small for your tastes, since this is already a step up bike for ya.
It's a personal decision, but for one I say, if you have to wait, wait. Don't settle for anything less than a Duc...I'm glad I didn't and it came real close.