[Cicada]

DISCLAIMER: this isnt a question as to whether the 749 is a "good starter bike".

hey guys; i'm a fairly new rider, with about just about a year of riding under my belt. my riding history:
-4 months on a Derbi GPR50
-6 months on a buell blast
-2 months on a hawk GT

now, i haven't so much as touched a bike in nearly 2 years; my brother is getting into riding soon and he's thinking about a Ninja 250 or a GS500F -- I recently visited my _other_ brother in las vegas and he rides a GSXR 1100; he let me ride it, but i didnt feel too comfortable on it; it just felt like too much; i was able to control it,, but it just didn't feel right.

Anyway, i've been wanting a 749 Dark since i first saw them -- my question is: i want to get another 250 to get comfortable/acquainted with riding again -- about 6 months, and then moving up to my dream bike, the 749 or, maybe if i can find one, an RS250 :drool: -- i'm also planning on taking MSF again with my brother who is new to riding -- given my previous experience, do you think 6 months and MSF again is sufficient enough to re-acquaint me with riding (so i can get into the seat of my dream bike ASAP)?

or should i just go for the bike in the first place and just take it easy (or, as easy as i can take it)?

I know the saying goes "it's like riding a bike", where you dont forget...but when i waso n that 1100 my head just wasn't in it and it didnt feel right...perhaps because its such a big bike...but i doubt it.

i'm pretty sure I know hte answer to this, yet, like everyone on the internet, i'm just looking for validation and a second opinion. :banana

 

[Dominion]

My vote is on the 6 months and MSF again if its not much of an issue to you.

 

[Cicada]

My vote is on the 6 months and MSF again if its not much of an issue to you.

shouldn't be, especially since i'll have someone to go with; ...but doesnt the price of MSF double once you're over 21?

 

[21 natas]

I have not heard of the MSF price changing if you are over 21, but maybe its different in CA.

 

[RayOSV]

MSF plus 6 months on a 250 (or even a 500) if you really ride the bike should be enough to get you back in touch with riding. Are you sure about the 749? Have you at least sat on one? They have the reputation of being a torture rack but great bikes in the twistys:

http://www.ducati.com/bikes/my2006/ducatiModel.jhtml?family=superbike&modelName=749D-06

The MSF course may be discounted if you're under 21 and the price may have gone up since you took it before. I think it's now about $200.

 

[gixxer27519]

Pics?

 

[RayOSV]

Pics?

??
Pics of the 749 are in the link above.

 

[gixxer27519]

no...

-4 months on a Derbi GPR50
-6 months on a buell blast
-2 months on a hawk GT

 

[Cicada]

I have not heard of the MSF price changing if you are over 21, but maybe its different in CA.

that's what i rememember since i took it last, when i was <21.

 

[Cicada]

MSF plus 6 months on a 250 (or even a 500) if you really ride the bike should be enough to get you back in touch with riding. Are you sure about the 749? Have you at least sat on one? They have the reputation of being a torture rack but great bikes in the twistys:

http://www.ducati.com/bikes/my2006/ducatiModel.jhtml?family=superbike&modelName=749D-06

The MSF course may be discounted if you're under 21 and the price may have gone up since you took it before. I think it's now about $200.

haven't sat or ridden a 749, but when i'm ready i'll go check them out.

on a related note; aside from price what are the fundamental differences between the dark,749,r, and s?

 

[Cicada]

no...

-4 months on a Derbi GPR50
-6 months on a buell blast
-2 months on a hawk GT

I'm pretty sure i have some of the GPR and the blast somewhere; im in the process of converting all my old IDE drives to externals, because my computer recently took a dump and i dont want ot deal with it, so i bought a mac mini, and i'm using all my old drives as externals

if i find them, i'll definitely post.

 

[Cicada]

well, i've called around and im goign to be doing a weekday class [Th and Fri 8am-5pm]
sometime within the next month with my bro [when we cna get the days off] -- after, i plan on getting a 250 to ride for a few months before i go out and get my 749 :drool: [it's also dependent on if i get picked up from my school; i graduate in june and start my master's in september -- if my current employer hires me as full-time staff, i'll be making enough to get my bike]

my girlfriend's brother just bought an '06 GSXR600 as his first bike -- the guy has no experience on any motor-driven two-wheeled vehicle; he WANTED the 1000, but the dealer wouldn't sell it to him. shouldnt have even sold him the 600, IMO. But as they say, they're only out to make money, not to encourage safety and proper riding habits.

only thing i could tell him is to be careful, because he can't take it back now, and he won't change his mind. I hope he takes MSF and never dumps it; because 1) it's be sad to see a brand new, $8k+ bike dumped by a new rider with no experience, and 2) a lot worse things can happen due to the combination of that bike + his inexperience.

my bro is looking at gettign an older GSXR, but i think ive convinced him to start with a GS500F if he's THAT into looks.

me? well, i've ridden a bit, and i know what i am and am not capable of, so im getting my 250 to get back into it for a cheap price, and to get acquainted with bikes again. as far as looking cool....well, i'll get cool looking gear (sold off all my old gear when i got rid of the bikes), so i can be a poser that way on my lil' 250 for a while, til i get my dream bike

 

[lemosley01]

I got to set on a 749 at a local Ducati dealership. It is a nice bike, but I quickly arrived at the conclusion that it would make a terrible street bike for me. I'm 5'9, and I practically had to lay on the tank to reach the clipons. They are also so low that I felt a lot of weight on my wrists, which, to alleviate, would require more from my back. I don't have a bad back, but holding your weight up like that gets rather tiring.

If that was to be my only bike (or primary bike), I would not buy one. If it were a secondary bike, then I would consider it.

Maybe someone who is taller or with longer arms would feel differently.

 

[Cicada]

I got to set on a 749 at a local Ducati dealership. It is a nice bike, but I quickly arrived at the conclusion that it would make a terrible street bike for me. I'm 5'9, and I practically had to lay on the tank to reach the clipons. They are also so low that I felt a lot of weight on my wrists, which, to alleviate, would require more from my back. I don't have a bad back, but holding your weight up like that gets rather tiring.

If that was to be my only bike (or primary bike), I would not buy one. If it were a secondary bike, then I would consider it.

Maybe someone who is taller or with longer arms would feel differently.

i guess ill have to look at them more seriously when the time comes then. like they say 'never fall in love with the bike'

i'm a bit taller (5'11") -- if it doesnt work out, i'll either 1) get used to it, or 2) get an R6/CBR instead.

how about the 999? same ergonomics? or even the previous generation ducs? 748, maybe?

 

[lemosley01]

i guess ill have to look at them more seriously when the time comes then. like they say 'never fall in love with the bike'

i'm a bit taller (5'11") -- if it doesnt work out, i'll either 1) get used to it, or 2) get an R6/CBR instead.

how about the 999? same ergonomics? or even the previous generation ducs? 748, maybe?

999 looks about the same to me, ergo-wise. Really, those bikes seem to me to be thinly veiled race bikes with DOT-approved items to make them street legal. Not that most sportbikes aren't, but the Ducati's seem to be closer to their race-brethren than others.

Not sure about the previous generations, so I won't comment.

 

[bobbo84]

748/998 are rumored to be way less comfy, in a relative sense, to the 749/999 style bikes. I find the current iteration to be decently comfy and like the seating of them. My extremely limited experience was more a feeling of "in" the bike rather than "on" the bike, but thats just my opinion.

IIRC, the main differences between the dark, s, and r versions are suspensions and motor differences. If you are gonna spend the money, I'd at least get the S version, but the R would be heavenly.

The 749 is one of the bikes in my list to eventually own.

 

[deftones156]

The 749 and the 749 dark are the same bike, save paint. And the "S" and "R" have more power, and maybe a few other things, I'm not really sure. If you go to their website it explains it all pretty well.

I just rode a 749 and a 999 last weekend, and to me the riding position felt the same on both. They would make for crappy straight line or in town bikes. If you have some curves, then they would be great. Slow speed and in-traffic riding gets really old, really quickly.

From what I understand, the newer models are more comfortable than the older ones, just like bobbo84 said. But remember, comfort is all relative on a supersport.

 

[Cicada]

748/998 are rumored to be way less comfy, in a relative sense, to the 749/999 style bikes. I find the current iteration to be decently comfy and like the seating of them. My extremely limited experience was more a feeling of "in" the bike rather than "on" the bike, but thats just my opinion.

IIRC, the main differences between the dark, s, and r versions are suspensions and motor differences. If you are gonna spend the money, I'd at least get the S version, but the R would be heavenly.

The 749 is one of the bikes in my list to eventually own.

been looking at the S since its not much more...but when you make the jump to the R its like a $7k+ price difference!

http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/8/4/84207184.htm
wow.

 

[SpeedyQuaker]

Definitely wait a bit, but the Ducati's are amazing. I really want that 999 eventually (or the one that replaces it). But like everyone says, the ergos are borderline ridiculous! lol

 

[Cicada]

Definitely wait a bit, but the Ducati's are amazing. I really want that 999 eventually (or the one that replaces it). But like everyone says, the ergos are borderline ridiculous! lol

I coudlnt resist my urge to see what they were really all about. so today, i made the drive out [about 35 minutes away] to the nearest dealer that sold Ducs.

well, i got on a 749 dark, a 749, 749s and a 999s...just to see just how bad the ergos are...and i have to say that i dont think they are really THAT bad. of course, i have never ridden anything that has such an agressive riding position [considering everythign ive ridden has had a pretty upright position -- the 50cc GPR, the blast, and the hawkGT..and some other sportbikes here and there, but not enough to say ive _really_ ridden them, as they were friend's bikes and such, so never more than just a mile or two]

i guess im i'm saying is, since im not yet used to riding any other bike, if i start my sportbike riding on a duc, the ergos shouldn't be a problem....because i'll get used to it

a few years down the line i also plan on doing track days, and i know that's where the duc will really shine