Why I'd never buy a Ducati | Page 7 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Why I'd never buy a Ducati

Ducati Dude said:
Any issues with your Multistrada?
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I bought mine used but it came with all the service history from the dealer. no parts failures, just normal recalls. I've put a bunch of miles on it with no issues whatsoever and I must say I really like this bike. Sitting around 28,000km now and likely doing another 1,000km this weekend.
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
I bought mine used but it came with all the service history from the dealer. no parts failures, just normal recalls. I've put a bunch of miles on it with no issues whatsoever and I must say I really like this bike. Sitting around 28,000km now and likely doing another 1,000km this weekend.
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'normal recalls' - there's an incongruity...
 
TK4 said:
'normal recalls' - there's an incongruity...
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I've had bikes from most major manufacturers and most have had recalls. My current SUV has had 4 recalls as well. My Ducati hasn't been out of the norm. So yeah, normal recalls bud.
 
Hardwrkr13 said:
I've had bikes from most major manufacturers and most have had recalls. My current SUV has had 4 recalls as well. My Ducati hasn't been out of the norm. So yeah, normal recalls bud.
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And you don't know me, so don't call me bud.
 
TK4 said:
Pull up a chair, this is a long story.
A friend of mine has a Ducati Monster 696, it needed the wiring harness replaced - the headlamp stopped working and there were some other issues. A new one is $1200 (???) and apparently not available from Ducati North America.
After further investigation, it turns out there is a warranty recall for this problem that called for relocating the harness so it didn't cause the particular problems she was experiencing.
The dealer and DNA dragged their feet over the fall and winter, finally agreeing to perform the replacement of the harness because the original is smoked.
She took the bike into the dealer in April, and waited, waited, and waited.
After contacting DNA again, she was told the harness was finally on its way and should be at the dealer shortly (like now).
It still hasn't arrived, and when it does show up she has been told they'll get to it when they get to it, its not a high priority.
I hesitate to name the dealer, but they haven't done anything to ingratiate themselves, nor has DNA. If I were in the market for a new machine I would look elsewhere.
End of rant....
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Wouldn’t it be normal for the dealer to notify the client when the part arrived?
 
Nothing to add here I’ve owned and rode exclusively Ducati’s for the last 20 years with about 350,000 km under my belt on the brand so clearly I am biased. Horrible to read a fellow Ducati owner going through something like this.
 
TK4 said:
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And you don't know me, so don't call me bud.
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"CR adjusted for mileage ridden over a 12-month span and estimated failure rates. Like golf, the lower the number (or percentage, in this case), the better the score. CR’s language in the link above is vague, using words like “trouble prone” and not defining what constitutes a failure. Nonetheless, the results are still relevant. Here they are, from worst to best."

Estimated failure rates? Trouble prone? Hardly what I'd call a reliable survey. Not saying those numbers aren't correct, but they hardly tell the REAL story. I've no doubt the Jap bikes lead the charge in the dead simple reliability race, but I also don't think the other brands are doing that bad.
 
MNSTR said:
"CR adjusted for mileage ridden over a 12-month span and estimated failure rates. Like golf, the lower the number (or percentage, in this case), the better the score. CR’s language in the link above is vague, using words like “trouble prone” and not defining what constitutes a failure. Nonetheless, the results are still relevant. Here they are, from worst to best."

Estimated failure rates? Trouble prone? Hardly what I'd call a reliable survey. Not saying those numbers aren't correct, but they hardly tell the REAL story. I've no doubt the Jap bikes lead the charge in the dead simple reliability race, but I also don't think the other brands are doing that bad.
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Consumer reports vehicle surveys have always been marketing, not reality. Sure it is a data point that you can review, but having survey participants self-select out of a self-selected pool (CR subscribers), you end up miles away from the general population. I would be shocked if that group reliably mirrored the experience of a properly selected group.
 
GreyGhost said:
Consumer reports vehicle surveys have always been marketing, not reality. Sure it is a data point that you can review, but having survey participants self-select out of a self-selected pool (CR subscribers), you end up miles away from the general population. I would be shocked if that group reliably mirrored the experience of a properly selected group.
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Either way all the self selecting Consumer reports participants are all comparable.....don't kid yourself that the CR aren't an accurate representation of the relative reliability between brands. Or maybe you think that more CR subscribers buy the magazine just to dump on Ducati (and all the non japanese brands for that matter.)
 
Each brand can’t be all things to everyone. Truth is there is always a story of someone with a dud from any given brand or some issue mishandled by the dealer etc.

No one is going to bend over backwards to replace a lemon or some obscure replacement from a years old recall notice.

Stuff happens. And it happens to all.


Fact is, for every brand there are happy owners that will swear and stand by them.

If Ducs truly sucked, they would be out of the market. They make and sell some exciting stuff and some of their old stuff is just as sexy and desirable as their new stuff. Good combo in my books.

Not saying the OP should forgive them. Report everything how it was handled and let the public judge for themselves.

Honestly, it hasn’t deterred me from owning one. I won’t buy new but, I know what to look for buying used and so far, have been lucky. Just not with a Duc yet!


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r3r3r3 said:
Does anyone have any experience with the 916/996/998? I’ve been slowly looking for a second “weekend” bike and these are pretty appealing. Besides the typical Ducati maintenance schedule it seems like they were pretty well made bikes minus a few smaller issues (flaking camshafts, timing belt issues).

There is a few out there for sale with questionable service records. Ideally I’d like to pick one up for a steal in the fall and have a bit of a project throughout the Winter. All the user reviews I’ve read points to them being very easy to work on. If I plan on doing a deep dive /refresh of the engine is there anything I should really be concerned about?
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I've had my 998 for 12 years and counting. It's the latest of the 916 generation, and essentially has the 999's Testastretta motor and shower injectors. Which means it has a frame that doesn't need to be hacked up if you want to eventually upgrade to a more modern, or larger, Testastretta motor (such as the 1098, 1198 or 1260) to get not only more power but also the latest electronics. The 998 never had flaking rocker issues, but installing the belts properly requires some added care compared to the Desmoquattro engines. I've had the following unexpected failures during my ownership.

These common ones:
- One of the fuel line plastic quick releases to the gas tank started leaking. I replaced with brass ones from the same manufacturer (CPC).
- Plastic coolant expansion tank cracked. Some believe the cause is a bad pressure cap seal as opposed to the actual quality of the coolant tank itself. I am still monitoring this one.
- Starter sprag failure - really only common if you undersized your battery or kept starting it on a low charge. I've done both - tried a YTZ-7 which would have been fine for a track only bike, and an undersized lithium which was great until the temps dropped (I ride down to 0 as long as there's no salt, ice, or snow).

And this uncommon one:
- Bad throttle position sensor that caused bucking when trying to cruise at constant throttle. I actually bought the bike that way, and I don't remember the part being expensive. Then again, I was just happy to have the problem fixed.

This bike is a joy to work on. The bodywork is mostly Dszus fastened, tank hoses are quick release, tail is held on by one pin, then everything is easily accessible for just about any regular maintenance. Single-sided swingarm is great for wheel/tire changes with no need to reset chain tension or alignment. Switching from street to track bodywork and tank can probably be done in 10 minutes or less if I were being timed and had everything laid out. Lots of used parts available and still a bunch of new OEM and aftermarket parts since some of the modern models still use some of the same parts.

One thing I don't care to work on is engine internals, so I can't say from my own experience how easy/difficult it is. All I know is the motor itself is bulletproof. None of my bikes get any special treatment, except maybe my Honda which needs a little extra time to warm up depending on how long it sits with old gas in the carbs. And none of them are garage queens - plenty of blemishes on all my bikes from regular use.
 
I've always thought of Italian vehicles as being like Italian women. Beautiful and exciting when they're new but get expensive as they age.
 
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