Ducati vs. BMW motorcycles

Rufblackbird · 05:56 PM

I'm thinking of buying a pre owned sportbike in a couple of months...have always wanted a Ducati but BMW bikes look really nice as well. What do you guys think? What kind of experiences have you guys had?

EDIT: FWIF I'm thinking of this '00 Ducati 748 in the paper with 2k miles for $7,500...

kaisen · 03-11-2005, 06:10 PM

Apples and Oranges

The BMW is a capable, comfortable, reliable bike

The Ducati is faster, sexier, and....er...like all Italian machinery

pwd72s · 03-11-2005, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rufblackbird
I'm thinking of buying a pre owned sportbike in a couple of months...have always wanted a Ducati but BMW bikes look really nice as well. What do you guys think? What kind of experiences have you guys had?

EDIT: FWIF I'm thinking of this '00 Ducati 748 in the paper with 2k miles for $7,500...

Jeff? 'Twas nice knowing you...at your young age, no experience with lesser bikes? C'mon kid...save your money, buy a NICE p-car...

5axis · 03-11-2005, 06:16 PM

You will cry when you drop the DUC. A BMW is nice if you want to cover some distance with a some good speed and your gear. First bike ? I still gotta go with a SV 650 as a recomendation, and new it would still be less than the used duc. Check out some of the racing forums, the SV can be serious track weapon and tons of mods are posible.

remember, a bikes natural resting position is on it's side!

ride safe

pwd72s · 03-11-2005, 06:28 PM

Jeff? IF you insist on 2 wheeling it? In Hawaii? With a max. 45mph speed limit everywhere? Honolulu mostly? Hell, go vintage Vespa...chicks dig 'em!

Drago · Drago's Garage

Clearly, the only rational response is:

One of each.

Your asking about the extact polar opposites when it comes to 2 wheeled transportation.

creaturecat · 03-11-2005, 07:24 PM

Food for thought. Yesterday I had a guy on a rice rocket slide under the front bumper of the 5 ton Budget truck I was driving! He would have died if I had been going 5mph faster. It was a strange case of the Biker making the left hand turn at an intersection - into oncoming traffic.

Rufblackbird · 03-11-2005, 07:34 PM

Thanks for your opinions so far guys...had no idea they were opposites of each other. I've been reading up on Ducatis for a while now, but then remembered BMW also makes motorcycles

I have time to decide though, and I guess it doesn't really have to be either or...both are very expensive as it is.

David - thanks for the suggestion...I'll do some research on the SV 650.

Paul - this isn't really for fun (that might change when I start riding)...this is for when I have to start parking on the street in the 911 once the workplace gets busy and we get kicked out of the company parking spaces. Don't know about a vespa though...don't like how they look even if chicks dig it

Oh and in town the freeway speed limit is 50

Steve Carlton · 03-11-2005, 11:03 PM

Jeff- recommending a good bike depends a lot on the kind of riding you're going to be doing. What do you want to do? How much experience do you have? How much would you like to spend?

A lot of people find the sportbike riding position gets uncomfortable in 20-30 minutes, unless you're going 80mph most of the time.

Most Ducs are very expensive to maintain, relatively speaking. And a lot of them have reliability issues. BMWs are not that reliable, either. But they'll last forever.

If you answer some of the questions, I can make some suggestions. You'll get a ton of suggestions/advice on the R1100S forum...

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

I'm looking right now, mostly for a Ducati Monster or Supersport (both air cooled dontcha know). You could go for an R1100S though, and have aircooled *and* a boxer engine. As stated above, different beasts. It is suprising how similar the Ducati guys are to us 911 people. There are a couple boards (ducatimonster.org and speedzilla.com) and very similar vibe.

And just like old 911s, the maintenance on a Ducati depends on how well you pick the one you buy

grudk · 03-12-2005, 07:19 AM

Ducati has more passion, at least for me. Luv my 620 supersport.

Joeaksa · 03-12-2005, 07:38 AM

Have ridden BMW's for 30+ years and love them. Now sold my new versions and gone back to a 1970's antique version and can get ANY part I need for it.

Also like Duc's and Guzzi's but try getting parts for them once they are more than a couple of years old. Also service can be dodgy, with a valve adjustment on a "desmo" version costing an arm and a leg if you can find someone to do it!

You want nice looking that sits in the garage, get a Duc or Guzzi. If you want to ride and not work on the bike, get a BMW.

JoeA

grudk · 03-12-2005, 07:52 AM

I think the modern ducs are a lot more reliable. At least in L.A., plenty of places to service 'em

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

As others have said they really are night and day, though BMW is makeing some very capable sport bikes now.

The Ducati is nirvana to ride in terms of handling, but Dante's inferno on your back and wrists after more than 2 hours. Your hands go numb, your back and neck hurt, but mostly your face hurts from grinning at such a sweet visceral experience.

The BMW will be more comfortable, more reliable, but less "sexy".

I've owned a '97 748 for 5 years now and love it, but it is tough.

pwd72s · 03-12-2005, 09:03 AM

Funny aside here...The son of the local Vespa dealer got a ticket for speeding on I-5 on his "slightly modified" scooter. This back in the 60's, when the posted limit was 70. He was SO PROUD!

Porsche virgin · 03-12-2005, 09:31 AM

Look at an older R-series BMW. Horiz opposed twin. Comfortable, quirky, and interesting. They are also really well designed.

You REALLY don't want a sportbike for your first motorcycle. No matter how conservative you are, the speed those things have would corrupt the Pope. (Trust me, I know!)

Someone suggested an SV--good choice. I had a Suzuki GS500e for a while. Good, solid, reliable transportation.

Overpaid Slacker · 03-12-2005, 10:21 AM

Just to confuse the issue -- for those dollars, look into a couple of year old Aprilia Mille. They're gorgeous bikes, rare enough that they'll turn heads, will out-handle just about anything (incl Duc's) and are not so overpowered you're increasing the already formidable odds of killing yourself.

Just my $.02 in an effort to clutter things up some.

JP

asphaltgambler · 03-12-2005, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kaisen
Apples and Oranges

The BMW is a capable, comfortable, reliable bike

The Ducati is faster, sexier, and....er...like all Italian machinery

Exactly!

5axis · 11:48 AM

you could go old school w a "real" gixer pre 92 were air/ oil cooled and there is a pretty nice scene for customs&street fighters. Even these old geezer bikes are way beyond most riders skill level. They are fairly common and with their age cheap too.
My grupe B gixer if you will

http://oldskoolsuzuki.info/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.pl

stevepaa · 03-12-2005, 12:06 PM

If you have little experience, like me, you might consider a dirt bike first, break a foot, like me, then get back on and really learn to ride, like I hope to.