[360turbo]

Hi guys n gals.

I've been doing a lot of research on ducatis in general.

There seems to be a lot of controversy as is it a good bike with issues(959).

Expensive to repair, parts are expensive ( like any other bike other than exhaust options are up there for the duc)

Paint issues etc

People constantly seem to bash it as a bad bike.

On the other side I see other bike manufactures with the same issues, some more than the Ducati

Is it because we are paying more that our expectations are higher?

I've recently traded in my 2013 Kawasaki 636 for the 959 and I'm having buyers remorse.

 

[Kruz]

Hi guys n gals.

I've been doing a lot of research on ducatis in general.

There seems to be a lot of controversy as is it a good bike with issues(959).

Expensive to repair, parts are expensive ( like any other bike other than exhaust options are up there for the duc)

Paint issues etc

People constantly seem to bash it as a bad bike.

On the other side I see other bike manufactures with the same issues, some more than the Ducati

Is it because we are paying more that our expectations are higher?

I've recently traded in my 2013 Kawasaki 636 for the 959 and I'm having buyers remorse.

You're just the guy I need to talk to as you're also coming off a screamin' Japanese inline four. That's all I've ever owned other than a V-twin cruiser.


I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a 959 soon but still gathering facts.


Compared to your Ninja, please list pros and cons of both machines.


Did you trade-in your 636 or still have it?


Why the buyers remorse, would you buy the 959 if you had to do it all over again?


Thanks!

 

[murffit]

You're just the guy I need to talk to as you're also coming off a screamin' Japanese inline four. That's all I've ever owned other than a V-twin cruiser.


I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a 959 soon but still gathering facts.


Compared to your Ninja, please list pros and cons of both machines.


Did you trade-in your 636 or still have it?


Why the buyers remorse, would you buy the 959 if you had to do it all over again?


Thanks!

I am coming off of a 2013 zx6r 636 as well. I'm having doubts as well, but I'm so close to pulling the trigger and buying the 959 panigale (sexiest looking bike, i have to admit). But when I test rode the 899 last summer, it was a great bike and all but I felt like it lacked that low end for sure oh and heat was another issue haha.

 

[Kruz]

To picture where I'm coming from, here's a shot of my fleet, the '07 CBR1000RR was recently replaced by a '12 model and the '08 ZX-10R was replaced by the 2011 version. Still have the rest, just wanted to try something a little different, exotic.

 

[Kruz]

I am coming off of a 2013 zx6r 636 as well. I'm having doubts as well, but I'm so close to pulling the trigger and buying the 959 panigale (sexiest looking bike, i have to admit). But when I test rode the 899 last summer, it was a great bike and all but I felt like it lacked that low end for sure oh and heat was another issue haha.

Try the 959 before you give up, from what I hear it's got way more low and midrange pull than the 899.


The automatic butt cheek warmer I can't speak for as I haven't test ridden one of these yet.


I definitely will need to ride one before making the decision. It's a lot of cash, local dealer wants $16,500 out the door for the red.

 

[levigarrett]

Most of my friends who've ridden nothing but I-4's don't like Ducati's. If you're this concerned about it, don't buy one. Seriously. Just stick with what you know and like. I've never owned a Japanese sport bike. Motorcycles are toys, they're meant to be fun. Don't buy one if you think there's a reasonable chance you wont enjoy it. There's no point.

Yes, owning a Ducati is more expensive than owning a CBR. There's probably no way around that. For me personally, I don't care. It's fine with me but I understand many people don't share my cavalier attitude about it. Honestly, this discussion comes up so often with first time Ducati buyers that it's just played out. Forum and youtube posters hate Ducati. Ducati owners love Ducati. This discuss can provide very few real answers. You'll always find tons of Ducati hate on the internet. That wont change and frankly, I kinda like it. Ducati's total annual production is around 55,000 bikes. They're more exclusive because of that and they cost more. I like it that way. Unfortunately, the price of that exclusivity is a higher ownership cost.

If you're truly interested in buying a Ducati I assume there's something making you lean in the opposite direction of convention. That "force" pulling you away from what you've always ridden costs more....plain and simple. You pay for it. We all know what it is.

 

[360turbo]

Actually the duc will be my second bike, no I haven't received it yet, didn't drive it yet, but I've driven other bikes but never have I driven the 899 or 959

I've ridden my friends Ducati 900ss and fell in love with the sound, and it's pretty comfortable.

I was going to pull the trigger on a 899 but the dealers were dicking me around so having sat on the 899 and went to a 4 th dealer and traded in for the 959 without even sitting on one.

This will be my first Ducati.

 

[levigarrett]

Try the 959 before you give up, from what I hear it's got way more low and midrange pull than the 899.


The automatic butt cheek warmer I can't speak for as I haven't test ridden one of these yet.


I definitely will need to ride one before making the decision. It's a lot of cash, local dealer wants $16,500 out the door for the red.

Meh, I don't think the bike has a great deal of grunt down low. It needs to be rev'd. The Super Quadro engine geometry demands that. This bike is not a brute, if you want that you'll need more displacement.

It's also hot on the *** in traffic. Not terrible for me so far (800 miles) but I live in a cool climate. I can definitely see where it would get quite warm after 30 minutes below highway speeds.

 

[360turbo]

I think that I'll actually prefer the ducatis power band and find that it's going more drivable for everyday than the 600 as it has more torque and doesn't need to be reved to 8000-9000 where the power starts

I think I will have to shift the Ducati less than I do with the Kawasaki to get some passing power and get up and go

I like that the duc has more lower end torque and I find I will need to shift less than a 600

Oh I'm looking forward to getting the duc it's a done deal.

Just trying to get a feel of others experiences.

 

[360turbo]

Levigarrett how does it compare to a 636, 750 ?

 

[levigarrett]

I think that I'll actually prefer the ducatis power band and find that it's going more drivable for everyday than the 600 as it has more torque and doesn't need to be reved to 8000-9000 where the power starts

I think I will have to shift the Ducati less than I do with the Kawasaki to get some passing power and get up and go

I like that the duc has more lower end torque and I find I will need to shift less than a 600

Oh I'm looking forward to getting the duc it's a done deal.

Just trying to get a feel of others experiences.

I think you'll definitely find more usable power across the rev range with the 959. It's not slow, just don't expect to find 1098/1198 power and torque. It's still got plenty of power. Additionally, the riding mode's will make quite a difference. For traffic and around town I like Sport. For open road and highways, Race. There's a significant change in the characteristics of the bike in the various modes. It's nice to have.

 

[murffit]

Don't get me wrong, I loved the 899 when I tested it last summer (didn't pull the trigger as they didn't have it in white). Compared to the zx6r, the seat is super narrow (kinda felt like i was on my ninja 650r lol) seat wise.

I would be using this bike daily as a commuter, canyon rides, and then the occasional track day, but what worries me the most is if it's super "clunky" down in the low RPMs, or is it smooth? When i test rode it I was almost always between 6-11k RPMs as i wanted to feel the power (which I did) but I wasn't really doing street-legal speeds per say.

 

[levigarrett]

Don't get me wrong, I loved the 899 when I tested it last summer (didn't pull the trigger as they didn't have it in white). Compared to the zx6r, the seat is super narrow (kinda felt like i was on my ninja 650r lol) seat wise.

I would be using this bike daily as a commuter, canyon rides, and then the occasional track day, but what worries me the most is if it's super "clunky" down in the low RPMs, or is it smooth? When i test rode it I was almost always between 6-11k RPMs as i wanted to feel the power (which I did) but I wasn't really doing street-legal speeds per say.

Much less clunky down low than previous Ducati sport bikes. WAY LESS. You can ride this thing all day at 3000RPM without clutching it. I'm not sure I'd want to spend a great deal of time doing that though. It's not I4 smooth but I think you'll find it to be reasonable.

 

[360turbo]

Yeah I'm getting really anxious to ride once this winter goes away , well March 15 is when we no longer need winter tires here so hopefully Mother Nature ( winter )is kind enough to go hibernate soon

 

[360turbo]

Just debating if I have them deliver the bike next week or pick up the bike myself on March 15th if the weather permits

 

[murffit]

not sure where you live, but here in SoCal... we've been getting summer weather recently. Lots and lots of bikes out for sure.

 

[360turbo]

Montreal Canada, winter sucks

 

[gurneet]

Montreal Canada, winter sucks

You are in the same boat as me. I recently put a deposit on a 959, it'll be my second bike I ever owned in my life. I had a CBR600RR prior to that years ago. I honestly don't know what to expect since I rode a 899 only for 20 minutes. It seemed fast to me and I didn't mind the power band at all. I'm from Ontario, and I'll be picking up my bike on my birthday in april as my 25th birthday gift ahaha. I say you wait until April and pick it up! Keep me posted on how your experience is though!

 

[Kruz]

Most of my friends who've ridden nothing but I-4's don't like Ducati's. If you're this concerned about it, don't buy one. Seriously. Just stick with what you know and like. I've never owned a Japanese sport bike. Motorcycles are toys, they're meant to be fun. Don't buy one if you think there's a reasonable chance you wont enjoy it. There's no point.

Yes, owning a Ducati is more expensive than owning a CBR. There's probably no way around that. For me personally, I don't care. It's fine with me but I understand many people don't share my cavalier attitude about it. Honestly, this discussion comes up so often with first time Ducati buyers that it's just played out. Forum and youtube posters hate Ducati. Ducati owners love Ducati. This discuss can provide very few real answers. You'll always find tons of Ducati hate on the internet. That wont change and frankly, I kinda like it. Ducati's total annual production is around 55,000 bikes. They're more exclusive because of that and they cost more. I like it that way. Unfortunately, the price of that exclusivity is a higher ownership cost.

If you're truly interested in buying a Ducati I assume there's something making you lean in the opposite direction of convention. That "force" pulling you away from what you've always ridden costs more....plain and simple. You pay for it. We all know what it is.

I appreciate your directness and honesty levigarrett, it's been said you buy a Japanese bike with your head but an Italian one with your heart, I think that is what you are saying in as many words. That is the intangible part of the equation I'm trying to come to grips with. I fell in love with the Artic White 959 at the Dallas Motorcycle show a few weeks ago. I was completely blown away by how clean and sexy it looked compared to all other offerings on display at that show and seeing a red one at the dealer last Saturday was just as revealing. This is a machine I could enjoy just looking at, no doubt about it; but I'm trying to decide if the riding dynamics are
going to be what I want. Only a test ride will reveal the answer and hopefully not just around the dealership parking lot. I need to find a twisty road and see if this bike speaks to me, if it does I'll have no problem writing the check.


Cheers!

 

[360turbo]

@gurneet. What did you think of the ergonomics of the 600 vs the duc , did you find the seating position a little more comfy? I want to wait till April but I have some mods I would like to do such as the 1299s headlight and the cquartz paint protection.


I'm 5'7 and when I sat on the seating position is very similar, my arms and legs felt about the same as the 636, same thing with the reach, I actually think the reach was a little shorter than the kawa where I could sit up a tad more strait on the bike like a riding a sport touring sort of.

The duc is actually a little shorter than the Kawi by 2 " maybe that's why.