Ducati Owners or enthusiasts? Come on in.

I'm headed off in about an hour to have a look at a Ducati 750, I'm unsure of the mileage at the moment, the owner wants $4000 for it though, I'm hoping to pick it up for a little over $3000 even if it needs some service work done.. I really don't mind doing a belt change or the like. I have always loved Ducati's and have wanted one for years; ultimately it's either I get this or keep looking for a well priced Ducati, Triumph or R6.

Ultimately my question to all of you is what are the common issues you've had and or seen with a/your Ducati? What's the general service costs you have per year on the bike? Have you enjoyed it more than a Japanese streetbike? If you had the chance would you buy another Ducati or head to another brand? Also if you're shorter (I'm 5'6-5'7) have you noticed it's any more difficult to handle the bike/come to a stop than others?

Thanks in advance guys, I'm really excited right now but do not want my judgment clouded by my overall excitement.

 

I would go with something a little quicker but honestly this is my first bike and chances are I probably should get used to something a little easier to ride - such as the 750. The bike is beautiful though, I'm picking it up on Monday or Tuesday depending upon the weather. I went out today and bought a helmet and gloves and will be picking up a jacket later in the week. For now I'll just ride it with my leather jacket.

Thanks for the info though guys, any quirks I should expect with the 750? The one thing I HATE about it that will be my first modification, is getting rid of the kick stand shut off.

 

The bike is a 2002 with approximately 9000 miles on it. The only issue it has is a cracked fairing when the bike fell over in the guys driveway. I can tell it wasn't laid down while in motion or anything as it is merely a crack with no horizontal running scratches. Matte black bike, looks very sinister. I went out and picked up a matching helmet, gloves and will be picking up a nice padded jacket later in the week.

Suffice it to say, I'm very excited.

Dean, is that your current bike? Looks gorgeous! Where abouts in Ct are you located? If you ever feel like a cruise through the state, feel free to PM me, as of this moment I have no friends that [currently] ride.

 

I'll post pictures the day I pick it up!

 

Thank you! The kickstand itself doesn't have an issue, but apparently (and I read this earlier when researching) some of the Ducati's at a certain period of time had this feature where the bike wouldn't start or run if the kickstand was down on them. That's the feature I'm talking about removing . It's probably just a resistor I'll have to wire in.

I'll definitely keep that in mind though! The tire on it looks alright, but I'm guessing by the middle of the summer I'm going to have to change it!

Beautiful bike, I look forward to seeing it at the next event in Glastonbury. I may be out of state next Sunday but if there's another gathering and I'm around then I'll most likely be there with the bike - weather permitting.

The first thing I'll be doing with it is changing the oil and filter and then I'll take a look at the belts and see how those are. Any advice on a good site to pick up Maintenance parts for these? I'm going to change the timing belt with a friend of mine sometime soon - looks like it's pretty straight forward.

 

I'm going to see what the previous owner used and probably just stick to that, I hear for cars it's not the best to switch from conventional to synthetic or vise-versa; though I'm unsure how true that is. There is a Ducati dealer about 30 minutes away from me, so that's convenient at least.

 

Awesome to know that it's an easy bike to work on, I have heard they can be rather expensive to maintain if you have the dealer/shops take care of it but I'll be doing as much of the service on it as I possibly can!

Thanks also for the links. I'm unsure if I'm getting any oil with the deal though I do know he's giving me a new oil filter. The bike will not be registered for another few weeks since the weather is still fluctuating too much, though I'm unsure how I'll be able to resist going out for a ride if any other nice days come along!

 

Gotta love it. Looks to be pretty easy to modify it so you can have it start with the kick stand down if it's in Nuetral.

 

Is it a wet clutch? I thought I read earlier on a site that it has a dry clutch? Anyone that can confirm or not?

 

Much appreciated for all of the links. I actually registered on Ducati.ms earlier today and have been reading on there off and on today. The belt service looks like it's extremely easy to do and I'll be taking a look at the belt soon to determine whether or not I should do it right away or wait until sometime later in the season.

Thanks again for all of the info here.