Ducati guys, need your expertise in the next 12 hours - '06 800SS

[McLovin]

I had an '01 Monster 900ie, had it for a while, sold it around 10 years ago. Didn't do too much work on it (only put around 5000 mile on it).

Had a few other bikes since then, most recently a Kawi 250R Ninjette. Really liked that bike! Did a couple years of short commuting on it, was fun, but sold it yesterday.

Now I'm looking at different things, from CBR1000RR, to R6 or R1, Ninja 650, and Ducatis again.

I'm looking at an '06 Ducati 800SS tomorrow first thing in the morning. 5000 miles, original owner, but it hasn't had much service. Original belts.

Any thoughts on it? I'd go ahead and immediately change the belts on it, won't be an issue.

I don't know much about SS800. They seem to go for very little money. So any advice on that model would be much appreciated!

[Ferraripete]

I think I can give you some guidance. I raced for 10 years...everything from 600 supersport to super twins to superbike. wera and ccs sanctions. currently own three ducatis.

the 800 ss is a nice bike and you will find the power quite more prodigious than the 250cc bike that you were commuting on. it will be much more in line w/ the m900 you had. as you know the 2v engines are easy to service and quite bulletproof. nice torque but miss on the high end. the good news is that torque is nice for most riders in nearly all situations.

does the bike have pipes? if so what kind? has the bike been down? where are you located? is there a good duc shop around? the bike has low miles but I think it would be wise to change the timing belt before you turn the wick up and I would seriously suggest you budget for good tires...that will make all the difference!

that particular ss is a bit over styled in my eye but distinctive enough and still looks Italian

I will last say that your other options are quite a lot different...and all of them are significantly faster than the 800 ss. that said, unless I was at the track, I would prefer the duc to the others you are looking at even if they are better in most ways.

have fun!!

may I ask your budget?

[Ferraripete]

ishould also mention that the bike remains as light as you m900 and w/ the FI, it will make as much power as your m900 did...more if you have some good pipes.

also a fully adjustable front and rear suspension so you can dial in the compression, rebound, sag, and ride height to fit you perfectly.

negotiate hard...there are a lot of bikes for sale!!!

[Noah930]

I think Joe (HHI944) had one of those. He's around tonight, so give him a PM.

nynor had a 1000 cc version of that vintage Supersport, but he's not around much anymore.

Like Pete wrote, that bike has FI so it likely makes as much if not more HP than your carby Monster. It's also a bit less-loved, due to styling and because it's the smaller sibling to the 1000DS version, so I'd imagine you'd be able to use that to your negotiating advantage.

And just to double check--that bike has a steel tank, correct? (I think all Supersports did.) But at some point around then Ducati went to plastic tanks and there have been expanding tank issues.

[McLovin]

Thanks all.

My '01 Monster was also injected.

This 06 800SS has a Termignoni exhaust. Looks fairly stock. Never been down. It will need a full service, though, which I will DIY.

My budget at the very top is $8K. This bike obviously isn't worth anywhere near that (for 8K, I'm looking at things like a '12 or '13 R6, or 09/10 CBR1000).

Any thoughts on value on the 800SS? I'm surprised at how low they go. An 05 with 3K miles went for $4,000 on ebay last month, another with more miles went for $3200, they both looked like nice bikes.

What's a good price, keeping in mind the service requirements?

[Noah930]

It's not a desirable bike, low miles and Termi exhaust or not. I'd think $3K is around right.

[Jeff Higgins]

Fantastic motorcycles, but very much the "red headed step child" of the Ducati family. Terblanche's styling and the smaller capacity really left this one out in the cold, one of the most unloved Ducatis of all time. That's why they are so cheap.

That low price, however, is based purely upon the fickle nature of the motorcycling public, and Ducati guys in particular. If you like the looks (and a lot of people do), it's the biggest steal going in the Ducati world right now. Absolutely nothing wrong with the machine itself - you will thoroughly enjoy riding it, and it is as near indestructible as any motorcycle can be. If it's in the kind of shape it should be in with only 5k on the clock, and the price is right, grab it. You won't regret it.

[McLovin]

Jeff, what do think the right price is?

I'd jump in at Noah's $3K, but I don't think I can get the seller down what low. I don't think I'd go higher than $4K, though.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Fantastic motorcycles, but very much the "red headed step child" of the Ducati family.

I'm going for the trifecta of redheaded stepchildren: Multiple 914s, a Mondial, and now maybe this Duc!

[Noah930]

Sounds like you could use a Maserati Biturbo in your stable.
Good luck tomorrow.

[Ferraripete]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Sounds like you could use a Maserati Biturbo in your stable.
Good luck tomorrow.

lol...that's not fair

but funny!

the 800 ss is a bit like the 348 of Ferraris.

capable enough to be fun.

styling...you either like it or you hate it.

still a ferrari though...the cavalino rampante says so!

[HardDrive]

Jeff summed it up. A bike that (at this point) isn't loved by the Ducati fan boys. But its still a ton of fun. FI, 2V engine (inexpensive IF things go wrong, and in my experience, they don't), nice aftermarket pipes. I love super sports. Including the post 98 bikes.

If its red, and as clean as described, its worth $4k. Yellow or flat black, $3600ish.

[HHI944]

just noticed this thread. I've had two FI 750SS' s. Loads of fun and more than enough power to get in trouble.
Belts are quick and easy, on the last one I didn't even put the belt covers back on. That makes it easy to do a quick finger check of tension before a ride. Some people get bent out of shape at the thought, but those belts are the biggest potential failure point and checking them consistently is just good practice. The likelihood of road debris getting caught in there is insanely small. I've seen guys throw pebbles at the belts a handful at a time with no problem.

Other than belts, the engines are bombproof. I had to actually adjust a valve once and it wasn't very far out of spec. Checking them sucks though. I don't know if they resolved it on the 800, but on the 750 a valve check involves removal of all body work, tank rear shock, oil cooler and a bunch of other little stuff.

3500-4000 is what I'd expect to see around here. I'd try to keep it at the 3500 end of that since it will eat up an entire weekend and a couple bucks for parts to do a belt and valve service.

[HHI944]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Sounds like you could use a Maserati Biturbo in your stable.
Good luck tomorrow.

I almost bought a biturbo. ...then I decided I'd rather staple my balls to a wall and throw my wallet in a shredder

[McLovin]

All right, thanks guys, I'm going in! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow morning.

[nota]

just bought a 90 BMW 750 3
THE BIKE IS A CAFE/RAT PROJECT
and was a cheap local c-list score

00C0C_4hX9Wkf4pa7_600x450

[Arizona_928]

S1krr

[McLovin]

Thanks guys.

Pics soon!

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Thanks guys.

Pics soon!

Well, my advice is now moot. Enjoy!

[Gogar]

Buy it!

You'll have a great time.

If you don't like it, Sell it.

That's the gist of it.

I passed on one of these once, and if I had the chance again, I would totally buy it. For me it's the best looking of the "ugly" supersports.