Tell me about Ducatis

[Boomhauer]

Glenn,

Have you ever thought about a Sport Touring bike? Like the Suzuki Busa, Kawi ZX 1400, Honda Blackbird, Honda VFR.

I currently have a GSXR 750 but would love to have a sport touring bike as they are far more comfortable. You can easily use it for rides to work but on the other side you can still ride them on some twisty roads.

[rpduc]

O.k. so you know the travails of EFI.

The valve train is a shim over bucket, like a Triumph triple or older DOHC Jap bike, so the shims are subject to wear and why swapping may not be popular with dealers, correct?

I'm not sure what a shim over bucket is... It's a desmo valve train so there are two shims per valve, opener and closer and proper clearances are pretty critical. The opener might be called a "bucket" and the closer looks like a "hat" with a hole through it. I think the change in clearance over time is more from the valve pounding into the seat. Actually I don't think the shims wear all that much and worn ones can be used where one needs a thinner shim. It's pretty common practice to sand shims to achieve proper clearances. I think the swapping "issue" would be more due to it's a PIA kind of situation for dealers. We're lucky to have two VERY good Ducati Techs here in Minneapolis at Silverback Performance. They swap shims for a fee. (15 bucks per IIRC) I take in my shims with measured clearances and they measure them and swap them out for shims of proper thickness. You could measure and do the math yourself and chance ordering online but... the measurements don't always work out exactly so it would b a real pain to have to do this via online sales. A shim kit is really the way to go. It doesn't take long to make up the cost of the shim kit if it's going to cost you roughly 40 bucks for exchange.

Do dealers in general stock a selection of shims and sell individual parts willingly?

I guess I can't answer that one from FHE. I think so. I am spoiled by having Silverback Performance local. I know of Ducs (and Harleys) from all over, Chicago, Winnipeg, California etc. to have them tuned by Doug Lofgren or Fred Snyder.

Are there on-line sources/dealers?

Yes there are some excellent online dealers, both oem and aftermarket.
Many of them are sponsors at Ducatimonster.org.

Ducati Seattle, BCM in New Hampshire, AMS in Texas all get excellent reviews for oem parts. I suspect Hall's Cycles in Illinois would be excellent oem source too. I haven't ordered Duc parts from them but they had IN STOCK just about everything I needed to revive that old '91 Husky 610wxe and it needed some obscure stuff.

I haven't looked closely at or ridden a Shiver, but it looks like it's sporting some excellent components. Can't say I like the trends in styling... even the new 696 Monster is going that way... Sharp pointy angular... I must be getting old...

I was away from bikes for 20+ years and I picked the Monster for totally impractical reasons... it looked like a motorcycle and not some kind of 2 wheeled space ship, I've "always wanted" a Duc, it was comfortable, air cooled, fairly simple. I was just going to "putt" around on it anway... like a responsible adult...

Probably a more sensible choice for me.

Huh... that would probably be the reason I would end up wit the Duc. Have you ridden them both? That desmo drone is intoxicating...

[GMP]

rpduc,

I had a brain fart, was thinking about the Speed Triple motor whan I asked the shim over bucket question. I looked at and understand the desmo setup. How many miles can you expect out of the 1100 Duc motor, properly maintained of course? Thanks.

Robby,

I'm not really into the big plastic wrapped bikes, or inline fours for that matter. I like the simple naked bikes, and they would fit my use best. Also a lot of the "sport touring" bikes are classed as sport bikes for insurance. Not sure about the Hyper, some nakeds are classed as sport, some as standards, depending on the company. I have to get a quote for several bikes.

[3hunerd]

Hey Glenn,

The Shiver is awfully neat looking, though I don't like the view from the rear - the triangulated exhaust just looks weird - perhaps it is better in person. The other downside I could see is the drive by wire crap. I am not a fan of it, and find modulation of such contraptions annoyingly sensitive. Sounds like it is here to stay.

The Hypermotard is way cool, though what you're quoting for the maintenance would scare me away too. That new adventure type Moto Guzzi looks pretty cool, though I don't know a thing about those other than the drive train takes some getting used to.

Good luck - and have fun shopping!

[skid jackson]

Originally Posted by rpduc

I haven't looked closely at or ridden a Shiver, but it looks like it's sporting some excellent components. Can't say I like the trends in styling... even the new 696 Monster is going that way... Sharp pointy angular... I must be getting old...

...

It's called "facetized" sp? design. as in facets on a diamond.
you can thank the f 117 stealth fighter for it. thats where it comes from.
Cadillac picked up on it first
Bombardier just introduced a new line of Ski Doo sleds based on it.
Like you said ... seems to be the trend. I thought the rear end of the shiver looked kind of funky too
My other thought was an older Mille and strip it down to a home built Touono. I'm starting to see mille's around 5k!!
In the end I'll probably end up with a $4000 used bonny or drz 400 sm. Cheap bike ... no fussing around, get on it and ride.

[rpduc]

How many miles can you expect out of the 1100 Duc motor, properly maintained of course? Thanks.

I've only had the one Duc so guess I can't really say with any authority. I've put about 22,000 mi. on my 800 in 3 seasons with zero breakdowns. And I would say that I ride the thing hard. I've had it to the "track," several 3000 mi. tours fully loaded with camping gear, it's been low sided several times, bounced in the grass... it's pretty tough. When the exhaust valve guides went it was still running great. I found the bad guides when I was checking clearance.

The 2 valvers seem pretty bullet proof and with conscientious maintenance (and sensible operation ) should go a long while. You also wouldn't have to work that 1100 motor nearly as hard as I do the 800.

There's this one...

http://www.ducatimonster.org/feature...red-aug05.html

That 900 was at 120,000 mi. when that article was done and he was well past 130,000 before he quit posting.

[GMP]

Thats outstanding. I figure I ride about 6K miles/yr. Thats one major service and a couple oil changes. What kind of milage do they get? The Rod is a gas hog unless I lug it around like a TC88, which it will do, but its happier at 4K+. Thanks for all the help. My neighbor and brother say I'm nuts for not having it in the garage already.

[rpduc]

Well they're not that great on mileage. I've never actually figured it, but on my 800 I can get about 120 miles on a 3.8 (??) gallon tank before the light comes on. There's still .8 gallons or something like that left in there at that point so I guess about 40 mpg.

I seem to remember that the 1100 was a little more thirsty than that. That combined with the small tank on the Hyper seems like a bit of a negative, but it ain't no touring bike. I'm usually ready to get off and stretch, hydrate, etc. a bit by then anyway.

[GMP]

The Night Rod gets mid 30s riding the midrange on my backroad commute. Light comes on at 70 miles, and its an every day fill up with premium, it won't run right on regular. The VRSC motor is funny in that it will use a little oil if you baby it, none at all if you let it breath. I have to get an insurance quote and crunch some numbers.

[Link]

My $.02 I've read a review or 2 about the Hypermortard great bike BIG fun but as an every day rider no body really liked it. I've owned an bought Aprillia Tuono new in 04 & after 15000 real hard miles nothing has broke or failed the valves were checked at 6K no adj. needed then again at 12K minor adj. done. If you can swing a test ride on the Duc, Shiver & give the Tuono a shot you prolly won't be happy with the power of the Shiver cause next to the Duc & Tuono I think the Shiver is gonna shiver.
Good luck