Cost of Ownership: Ducati vs Triumph

nuttyprof · 12-27-2012, 01:46 AM

Hey All, Looking into getting a new bike finally:
Triumph Street Triple R or Ducati Monster

Price-wise, the Ducati can be had for a bit cheaper, but what do ya'll think about the long-term costs of ownership and repair?

Any other suggestions on bikes to check out?

btw, I've been a long time member here, but my membership was canceled for some reason... weird. Anyway, glad to be back and in the saddle again.

maverick0716 · 12-27-2012, 02:56 AM

I haven't heard anything bad about Triumph. As for Ducati, there's a lot of misinformation around about them. They've gotten a lot better maintenance wise in the past little while. If you're getting a brand new bike the Triumph is the hands down winner in performance and fun factor. You get way more for your money. I'm assuming you're comparing the Monster 696 to the Street Triple?

Tripped1 · 12-27-2012, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuttyprof

Hey All, Looking into getting a new bike finally:
Triumph Street Triple R or Ducati Monster

Price-wise, the Ducati can be had for a bit cheaper, but what do ya'll think about the long-term costs of ownership and repair?

Any other suggestions on bikes to check out?

btw, I've been a long time member here, but my membership was canceled for some reason... weird. Anyway, glad to be back and in the saddle again.

Monsters are a DS engine so 7500mile valves and 12,000 mile cam belts, even if you do you own maintenance those belt are going to make the Duc cost more.

Other than that the pair of them will be really close, of course, the Street R is about twice the bike of an air cooled Monster, a better comparison with be a 848 Streetfighter.

Again the only real difference would be cam belt maintenance. Both cost a fortune if you actually break anything.

stnkbg1 · 12-27-2012, 09:35 AM

PhilB has like 200k on his monster. I'm sure he'll be able to give a pretty accurate accounting.

PCHbreeze · 12-27-2012, 10:23 AM

I would imagine the duc has worked all thw bugs out of their tried engines. The triumph is still relatively new.

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UltimateOG · 12-27-2012, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCHbreeze

I would imagine the duc has worked all thw bugs out of their tried engines. The triumph is still relatively new.

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And the Panigale isn't?

And as much as i want to hear the experiences with both, I am really wanting to know about Aprilias.

PCHbreeze · 12-27-2012, 11:21 AM

The pancake bologna isnt mentioned by the original poster...the monstwr is.

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Wayne's Striple · 12-27-2012, 12:04 PM

IMO cost of ownership depends on how much maintenance an owner does himself. All vehicles are money pits but buying a Haynes or shop manual and some decent tools saves a shitload of money in the long run. Too many people are running to the dealer for oil or coolant changes or to adjust the chain and then complain about the cost of $80 an hour shop labor. Personally I can't stand driving a machine without knowing all about how everything works (and much safer too).

Süsser Tod · 12-27-2012, 01:10 PM

No matter what, the Street Triple will be cheaper to maintain just because there are no belts to replace. Performance wise, unless the Monster is the 1100 version, the Street Triple is leaps and bounds ahead of both 796 and 696, not to mention, the "R" the op is asking about has better suspension than the two baby Monsters.

That being said, if you do the work yourself... The belts are just $100 every 12,000 miles.

arcticamt6 · 12-27-2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCHbreeze

I would imagine the duc has worked all thw bugs out of their tried engines. The triumph is still relatively new.

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There's a few engines on Triumph675.net over 100k now. I wouldn't be too worried about their engines. The biggest things I can think of with the 675 motor is the Regulator/Rectifier (fixed if he's buying new, free replacement by Triumph Dealers if buying used), Cam Chain Tensioner (My 35k Triumph never needed it and my new one is good, but only at 8k), and that's really about it.

PhilB · 12-27-2012, 11:24 PM

Both are great bikes. The Duc will cost a couple hundred bucks a year more to maintain. Each has advantages and disadvantages to ride. Buy whichever one you like better.

I've been really happy with my Monster. If I was buying a new bike in the $10K range, I'd be focusing on the choice between the Street Triple R, the Duc HyperMotard 796, or the Kawasaki Z1000.

The only real thing about the modern Monsters that is a problem is the plastic gas tank. Triumph had a plastic tank problem on the Street Triple at one point; they did the right thing and quit using it and put a metal tank on them. Ducati hasn't done that.

PhilB

arcticamt6 · 12-27-2012, 11:27 PM

The Street Triple never had a plastic tank. It's always been metal.

PhilB · 12-27-2012, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcticamt6

The Street Triple never had a plastic tank. It's always been metal.

Maybe it was another model. It was only for one or two years, whichever model it was.

PhilB

Ah, a little search shows it was the Speed Triple in 2006 and some of 2007 that had the plastic tank problem. Either way, the point is that Triumph did the right thing and changed the tank to metal, and Ducati hasn't.