days ago...

is that a nice bike?

11/17/2005 2:01:37 AM

no it's the worst bike u can get in the world.

11/17/2005 2:06:53 AM

that 'd be ECTurboGSX
and yes it's a nice bike.

11/17/2005 2:07:17 AM

^^ My question was more along the lines of "if I see a ducati do I automatically assume its the fastest bike i'm going to be seeing for awhile"

because someone could think that about Porsches and then a 914 comes rolling along......

11/17/2005 2:11:44 AM

914 can be fast

11/17/2005 2:12:23 AM

yes but 914 vs. 911 GT2 and you have a difference.

What I am asking is Ducati the same way... i.e. is there a "poor man's ducati" that one could own?

yet with ferrari or lamborghini if you see one you can assume the car is an exotic....

[Edited on November 17, 2005 at 2:28 AM. Reason : ]

11/17/2005 2:27:35 AM

Hawk..... 748 Duk...... hmmmm hard decision on my behalf

11/17/2005 2:33:05 AM

Ducati's are the ferrari of the motorcycle world

there are some cheaper ones out there though

11/17/2005 2:40:37 AM

^^ if you need a deposit let me know because I am more than willing to give one


748's are more for the track than straightline speed fast.. much like the hawk that i can't wait to get.

i love the sound of vtwins.

the only prob with the duc's are reliability issues. they are highly tuned bikes and require a highly tuned wallet to keep them running right.

i would personally never own them because I like having a cheap reliable bike that is also a decent performer.

although i do love to admire the ducati's around campus

i dont think there is such a thing as a cheap ducati out there. that's like looking for a cheap ferrari.

[Edited on November 17, 2005 at 3:16 AM. Reason : ]

11/17/2005 3:14:31 AM

Quote :

"Ducati's are the ferrari of the motorcycle world"

then what would the agusta be? aprilia?

11/17/2005 7:42:52 AM

Quote :

"914 can be fast"

I've never heard of one.

11/17/2005 8:37:41 AM

^^pretenders

11/17/2005 8:43:26 AM

Quote :

"Ducati's are the ferrari of the motorcycle world there are some cheaper ones out there though"

Ferraris are somewhat "unattainable" to most people. You can easily find a Ducati 900ss in the $4k-$5k range. I really don't see the correlation between the two other than the fact that they are both Italian.

Quote :

"then what would the agusta be? aprilia?"

Yep. And don't forget the now defunct Bimota. Those were some hot ass bikes.

11/17/2005 9:06:34 AM

ducatis aren't really that fast... they do use a cool ass valve system though and a single sided swing arm in most cases. but honestly if you want a bike for speed & handleing look @ the r series 600s now i mean the r6,the 636 etc. are all blazing fast & handle very very well.

but a 'busa is faster than any ducati in a line

a new ducati is kinda like a classic ferrari it may not be the fastest thing around but its sexy as hell and there is the possibility to have it left in the shop alot (they seem sorta hit or miss from the owners i know, either tons of problems or just as reliable as anything from japan)

[Edited on November 17, 2005 at 9:17 AM. Reason : btw they both went after the horse symbol & both use the same color red.]

11/17/2005 9:15:52 AM

^ The biggest complaint I hear about them is that the valves have to be adjusted so often compared to all the jap bikes.

11/17/2005 9:34:00 AM

Quote :

"is there a "poor man's ducati" "

yeah, it's called DuHawki.



that take care of the rediculous valve adjustment interval, too

Quote :

"Hawk..... 748 Duk...... "

[Edited on November 17, 2005 at 10:03 AM. Reason : pics]

11/17/2005 9:48:06 AM

yeah skack... cause they have desmodromic valves they're supposed to settle after a while and then be steady but some never do.

i mean i can't say anything i want a big ole monster


this is the reason ducati rocks

now thats some f-in engineering

& for the stoopies... the reason that is sooo cool is there are no springs

[Edited on November 17, 2005 at 10:24 AM. Reason : .]

11/17/2005 10:21:57 AM

what keeps the tension between the "rocker arms" and "cam lobes?"

[Edited on November 17, 2005 at 10:47 AM. Reason : +]

11/17/2005 10:44:33 AM

You've never seen a fast 914? The last Porsche club track event I went to, the fastest car there was a 914 (-6 with a custom body on a tube frame sitting on 12 inch wide slicks).

As for the desmo valves of the Ducati, I'd love to see one in person or more detailed drawings.
Ahmet <--whose other screen name is "desmo16v"

11/17/2005 11:23:31 AM

I've seen some quick 914s. I like the way they lift the front tire in tight turns. It's like a reversed VW Golf.

11/17/2005 11:31:07 AM

(old ones do have springs)




basically they ride both sides of the cam and one sid pulls the valve up while the other pushes it down.

11/17/2005 2:02:13 PM

Bimota's were nice. There was one at the state surplus last year. They were asking a min of 10 grand bid. It stayed up for 3 months and finally someone bought it for 10100 bucks. lucky basturd. Was a really nice bike.

Ducati's are nice bikes. Great for track. More expensive them normal japanese bikes. You have to take more care of them. You can't be cheap with them either. But of what i've heard, they are great bikes.

11/17/2005 2:28:30 PM

They sold that Bimota three times before someone finally paid. At least one of the sales did not have a min bid. I know because I bid $9k.

11/17/2005 2:32:03 PM

you people love to argue

and i just dont care that much

11/17/2005 2:53:12 PM

a few years ago I was at VIR and there were a pair of 914s there hauling ass, i was chilling at the beggining of the straight after the big oak tree and they both hit 5th gear a split second before going over the crest of the hill on that straight, then would dissapear- it was very cool.

i also got my first up close look at an italian bike at vir, on a different visit. it was a ferrari challenge day and there was a stunning agusta in the pits, first time i had seen anything like it, love the exhaust, swingarm, hell i love everything about it except the price.

11/17/2005 3:32:23 PM

Ducati's are pieces of shit...

Most people have hit the nail on the head here. Most of the newer 600s are quicker, but the 748 is generally as quick or quicker than the 600s of the same year. I don't want to type the same thing I typed a week or two ago, so maybe try searching Ducati and we've discussed it on here a few times in the last few months. Ducati is like Ferrari in the sense that they have a long list of world championships at the top echelon of motorsports (World Superbike and Formula 1 respectively). In regards to comparing Ducatis to Ferraris, I think it is a fair comparison. 308's, 400i's, 308 GT4s, etc can all be had for under 30 grand, which is less than a Ducati 999R. MV is more comparable to Pagani or one of those very limited brands. MV loves to come out with bikes and then make 300 at the most. I've seen one MV out on the road in my life, so they're pretty rare. Bimota is a hard comparison to make, there really isn't an equivalent in the auto world that I can think of. They used Ducati motors in the Bimotas. I'm not a fan of aprilia, so I won't comment on them.

To answer your question, no, you don't have to make a big deal. Its on campus on every semi-warm, dry day along with another red 748. You can see one almost anytime you want simply by walking by the motorcycle lots. I used to freak out when I saw one; the ratio at State may make them look common, but they aren't.

11/18/2005 8:11:32 PM

Also, in regards to service, valve adjustments every 6200 miles, new timing belts every 12400. If they do a few valve checks and never have to adjust them, you can stretch out that interval. Factory parts are extremely expensive, brake handle = $70 etc. If you break anything, you quickly become familiar with the aftermarket and ebay.

11/18/2005 8:15:25 PM

and working on your own ducati, save on labor charges

11/18/2005 8:24:02 PM

I'll do everything except this first valve check, which I am coming up on and I may let them do the radiator flush so I can make sure I don't have any air pockets. I've only got the owners manual (which is actually quite detailed in telling you how to do quite a few services), but once I get a factory manual, I'll start working on it more. This is too nice of a toy for me to mess up. I'll just keep fucking up my Eclipse until even the junkyards won't take it anymore

PS: Most Ducati shops also serve other brands, so the labor rate isn't any higher. In fact, the Ducati body work is held on by Dizus (sp?) fastners and it takes about 15 seconds and no tools to take off all of the side body work. Based on the fact that the bike was designed to be worked on in the pits as fast as possible might lend it to quicker service times. I'm just guessing, I don't know that.


[Edited on November 19, 2005 at 12:38 AM. Reason : ]

11/19/2005 12:35:46 AM

Quote :

"In fact, the Ducati body work is held on by Dizus (sp?) fastners and it takes about 15 seconds and no tools to take off all of the side body work."

where did you say you usually park?

11/19/2005 10:36:28 AM

...which are in turn insured to stay on via sniper on the roof

11/19/2005 10:22:21 PM

i like naked bikes anyhow

[Edited on November 20, 2005 at 5:59 AM. Reason : cant spell so drunk]

11/20/2005 5:58:34 AM

the farings on my f2 were robbed, the rims jacked, gas tank removed, and the bike left on two concrete blocks. I knew I shouldn't have left it outside in durham

11/20/2005 6:16:38 AM

Why didn't they just take the whole bike??

Igor, on that DuHawki, does it just have the right front rotor spinning with no caliper? I bet that cost about twice as much to make as just going out and buying one.

[Edited on November 20, 2005 at 12:59 PM. Reason : ]

11/20/2005 12:56:21 PM

the bike was in gear and they didn't think of shifting it to neutral to roll it away. lol jk

I think it has one, can't really see it. Looks like a little bit left of the fork.

11/20/2005 7:20:47 PM

?^ what are u talking about

11/20/2005 8:30:15 PM

shit.

11/20/2005 9:06:22 PM

^^^^ nah the brake caliper is not there cause the bike wasnt completed at that point. yeahit would probably be more expensive to build one like that, but then you save a bunch of moneyz on maintanance. also, if you buy the parts on ebay, it actually could be cheaper to build one partswise. now the labor is a whole another story.

[Edited on November 20, 2005 at 9:18 PM. Reason : .]

11/20/2005 9:17:25 PM

^ how many miles is on your hawk?

11/20/2005 9:20:49 PM

he has no clue the odometer stopped reading or something. let's just say a lot it's a beast.

11/20/2005 10:11:23 PM

35000 and counting on this one..... eat your heart out

11/20/2005 10:27:23 PM

There was a 748 coming up on 32k miles on ebay a month or two back. I've put almost 6000 on mine in about 5 months.

11/20/2005 10:51:52 PM

almost 7,000 in 6 months for my cbr600

11/20/2005 11:55:19 PM

Ducs are sweet

but Japanese bikes outgun them power-wise.

i mean, the 999R might run with the hottest japanese stuff on a road circuit, but it'll get CRUSHED in a straight line (and i don't know if it'll tangle with the latest liter machines around a circuit, either)

it's kinda like, say, a 360 Modena vs a C6 ZO6 Vette...the Vette will smack the Ferrari around in terms of performance, but the Ferrari is pretty strong and totally sweet.



and the 750/900SS models, as well as the Monsters (esp the smaller engined Monsters) are quasi-"poor man's" Ducs

11/21/2005 12:10:00 AM

can i get a V5 with that?

11/21/2005 12:18:33 AM

One of the mags ran the 999R against the GSXR1000 and the GSXR had a little over a 10 hp advantage and its lap time was less than a second quicker. Don't worry though, Ducati will bounce back with something better soon, they always do. You don't have the WSB record they have by sitting on your ass.

11/21/2005 12:30:18 AM

eh, the Big Four will come out swinging, too

and that was the 999R...costs what, 30k or something, and you probably can't even get one?

and it still lost?



don't get me wrong, i'd much rather have it than a GSX-R 1000...I love Ducatis...but if maximum acceleration and velocitation is your game, Ducati isn't the best tool for the job.

11/21/2005 12:37:15 AM

^ besides, a new gsxr1000 is like only 12 grand.

11/21/2005 2:06:00 AM

Ducati doesnt have the WSB title, Suzuki does.

11/21/2005 2:38:23 AM

DAMMIT I NEED ANOTHER MOTORCYCLE

11/21/2005 11:08:32 AM