Checkin Out My Options

Seifer21 · 06-04-2008, 05:13 PM

I'm a fairly new rider, just started in April with a 93 Yamaha 600 I bought off a friend. So far I think it's a great starter bike, and I've had tons and tons of fun with it. I've been building my skills fairly well, and already I've been looking into getting a new bike next spring. I've been looking a lot at the new Ducati 848 and I've gotten my mind pretty much set on it, but I've heard Ducatis require a lot of maintenence. I work both a full time and a part time job plus part time college, so finding time to even ride for the sake of riding can be pretty rough. What kind of maintenence would be involved, and is it time consuming?

Also, I've been looking at the CBR's, the R1's and the GSX's and all my friends, most of whom and have been riding for years, seem pretty divided between which of the three would be my best alternative. What do you guys think?

TwoColorShoe · 06-04-2008, 05:45 PM

How many miles have you put on your Yamaha? If it's not very many, I would stay away from the liter bikes, even though you have some experience riding.

The duc 848 is an awesome bike, and the problems of the old Duc's are not nearly as apparent now. Maintenance will still probably be more than a japanese bike, but not by a huge amount.

A newer 600cc bike would be a good bike to get too. The difference of 15 years is going to be huge, and you can get them cheaper than the Ducati if you wanted to save some money.

cbrenthus · 06-04-2008, 10:09 PM

Well, Ducatis in the past were alot of maintencance, but they have gotten better. However, their maintenance intervals are much shorter. The other problem is that the desmo valves are tougher to work on, and less people know how to work on them, meaning that you will usually have to pay a dealer premium to do the maintenance.

Long story short, while Ducati's maintenance issues may not be a huge issue anymore, I would highly recommend one of the big 4 if you want a bike in school that you can just ride.

Whymista · 06-04-2008, 10:35 PM

I wouldn't recommend a duc if time and money may be an issue since while reliable routine maint is needed more often and more expensive.

CBRs are pretty reliable bikes

Cop J · 06-04-2008, 10:58 PM

What model Yamaha 600 did you ride? A Seca II? Just asking since I own a 93' Yamaha Seca 2.

Seifer21 · 06-04-2008, 11:37 PM

I've ridden almost 2000 miles on it so far, and now that school is out for the summer I'll have tons of time to be riding. And money isn't so really the issue, it's just the time. School is already paid for and I work a lot, so more often than not I have more money and not enough time to play with it lol.
And as for my Yamaha, it's a XJ600S, and looks like:

dynamite196 · 06-05-2008, 08:18 AM

like cbrenthus said stick with the big 4 if you want more riding time, not to mention they are generally easier to find and won't set you back nearly as much price wise. As far as which one to get, I'd go with whichever one you can find the best deal on unless you have your heart set on something already. Figure out your price range, then find out what model year you can get for that money, read a couple shootouts from that year to make sure the bikes don't differ by anything big (i.e. engine probems, bad brakes, stuff like that) then it's time to go shopping!