So anyone owned, or have insight on late 90's St2?

[TiAvenger]

Found a couple that Im thinking about... what are the ups and downs of them, what do I need to know?

[derby]

headlight sucks, but the motor is rock solid.

[B.Rock]

I sold one for a friend that moved to the UK for a year. I really liked it. So did he. Um. His regulator went out and was pretty expensive. The case cracked at one mount and had to be welded. Other than that it was a rock star for just shy of 40k miles or so. It's definitely heavier but handles very well at speed. The bags are good and very expensive if not included.
I'd buy one. Scott R Nelson likes his too from what I understand.

[Count Desmo]

Earlier models had fully adjustable suspensions ('98 and '99 I think.)
Regulator/rectifiers can get hot and fail over time.  Can be relocated.
Engine mounting bolts should be upgraded to Nichols bolts.
Starter wiring on the early models was too small so the engines wouldn't crank very fast.  Can be upgraded pretty easily.
The rubber fuel lines in the tank should be replaced if they are more then 5 years old.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  I absolutley loved my ST2 (my brother still owns it.)

[Howie]

Headlight can be fixed.  You want one with a 3 phase alternator

[ducpainter]

You should pm Scott R Nelson....

and I'm gonna move this to the moto board.

[DrDesmo]

1.) They're amazing
2.) They're completely neutral handling when set up correctly
3.) They're SUPER comfy with an ST3 gel seat
4.) The luggage is awesome
5.) I shouldn't have sold mine to Jewcati
6.) But oh well I love my VFR too now 
7.) He's selling it
8.) You should buy it
9.) It has an open airbox, DP ECU, DP CF cans, goldline masters, heli bars, Ducati Designs headlight, 12k service just completed, stainless lines, CRG levers, CF fender, CF hugger, ST3 gel seat, and is in very nice shape
10.) Why haven't you bought it yet?

[TiAvenger]

1.) They're amazing
2.) They're completely neutral handling when set up correctly
3.) They're SUPER comfy with an ST3 gel seat
4.) The luggage is awesome
5.) I shouldn't have sold mine to Jewcati
6.) But oh well I love my VFR too now 
7.) He's selling it
8.) You should buy it
9.) It has an open airbox, DP ECU, DP CF cans, goldline masters, heli bars, Ducati Designs headlight, 12k service just completed, stainless lines, CRG levers, CF fender, CF hugger, ST3 gel seat, and is in very nice shape
10.) Why haven't you bought it yet?

1. 6 months from purschase
2. ~ 4k budget
3. not sure what to get yet, going between a 620 multi, older ss, or a st*


I need a commuter/ long trip bike

[DrDesmo]

1. 6 months from purschase
2. ~ 4k budget
3. not sure what to get yet, going between a 620 multi, older ss, or a st*


I need a commuter/ long trip bike

For long trips they're great.  I've had an ST4S (which I didn't care for) and the ST2, and they're both great bikes.  Buying something in 6 months will yield lots of off-season deals too 

Although I have to say I've had my SP for a little bit and WOW it's a lot of fun.  Super, super light and just so -- honest? I don't know how to describe it 

-Adam

[Buckethead]

Motor Cyclist magazine had a writeup on them in their Smart Money section of the May 2008 issue.

Can't miss it, its the one with the 1098R on the cover. 

And no, I don't work for them.

[DrDesmo]

Motor Cyclist magazine had a writeup on them in their Smart Money section of the May 2008 issue.

Can't miss it, its the one with the 1098R on the cover. 

And no, I don't work for them.

Yep, great writeup that condenses a lot of the trouble issues (unsorted '98 models, in particular.)  Also mentions some other German, British, and Japanese options as well.  I have one of the other ones mentioned ... But thankfully have a Duc once again too 

-Adam

[Old-Duckman]

I have a '99' ST4 that I purchased new.

The only problems I had were:

Clutch was a groaning, grabby piece of junk until I wore it out and replaced basket and plates with Barnett.

Fried a connector from the regulator which gave me electircal problems till I figured out what it was...cheap fix to a waterproof connector and has not been an issue since.

Solenoid stuck, easy replacement.

Flaking (chrome) rockers. Ducati has replaced them well out of warranty.

Headlight fogged up inside. Ducati replaced.

Clutch slave needed rebuilt after several years of use...not too bad I guess.

What I like:
The bike is very smooth, but then again it is the 4 vavle, your ST2 would not feel as smooth.

Has good power and handling.

Water cooled so nice for traffic (the ST2 is water cooled too).

Nice range. I can get 200 on a tank easily. The yellow light usually comes on around 180.

Comfy enough if your days in the saddle aren't too long. Last year I did a 3000 mile trip and averaged 400+ per day...that was too much for my butt. An average of 300 per day is doable (for me). I since bought a "Butt Buffer" and expect that to allow me to increase that some.

Bags are nice and easy to use. Mine leaked from the factory but the mechanic at the shop I bought it from added an extra seal on top of the original one and they have been tight since.

Bike is easy to keep clean.

Comes stock with a center stand and has a handle to allow ease of use.

What I don't like:

You have to remove the fairing to get to the battery! That is absolutley crazy and I think they changed that on the ST3. I have since gone to a maint.-free (Odessy) battery with Battery Tender pigtail attached and no longer have to pull the fairing off for winter storage.

Headlight is pretty lame for a "touring" bike.

Can get pretty hot riding in traffic in hot weather.

No aux power outlet. (That should be standard on a touring bike IMO).

I have to use the "choke" to start when the bike has been sitting in the sun/heat for any amount of time. Not that it's a problem but it took me awhile to figure out. I used to just keep cranking it until it fired and kept it running with throttle but it would die easily and I'd do it again. That was eating up the battery pretty bad. It just didn't make sense to me that I had to "choke" a warm motor. But it is actually an "enriching circuit" I suppose and that is just how the bike is. Once I realized that fact, it became a non-issue.

I love the bike and will be taking it to the Lee Parks Total Control ARC due to the fact that the course is run at 20-ish MPH and the S2R 1000 would be a handfull to try to keep it somewhat smooth at those low speeds all day (yes I have a 14T).

Good luck.

[DrDesmo]

<snip>
The bike is very smooth, but then again it is the 4 vavle, your ST2 would not feel as smooth.
</snip>

I know this is a completely subjective thing, but ... My ST2 with the DP airbox / filter / chip / pipes was orders of magnitude smoother than my ST4S or S4R ever was.  Also, one nice thing about the 2 valves is that you can do the service yourself (a lot easier) and no flaking rockers to worry about.

All great bikes though, and a great post by old-duckman 

-Adam

[Count Desmo]

Well-sorted '98 models can be great bikes, too.

[ScottRNelson]

Looks like I've been mentioned several times, but nobody actually went to the trouble of sending me a PM.

I bought mine about four and a half years ago after I wrecked my Monster.  The intent was to keep it for six months or so, then sell it and get another Monster.  I even went to the trouble of checking out and test riding at least eight Monsters.  The problem was that in every case, I felt that I actually enjoyed riding the ST2 more than the Monster I was trying out.  After finding a really great deal ($4000) on a salvage title Monster, I think 2001 M900, with nothing more wrong with it than some corrosion on a few bolts, I realized that I really didn't want a Monster anymore.  So I quit looking at that point.  However, I still reserve the right to buy one someday for customization purposes.

The ST2 is a great all around motorcycle.  I take long trips of 300-600 miles about once a month on it, and enjoy those.  Trips like that were torture on the Monster.  The ST2 works well in the twisties and also does well on the freeway.  You can take the hard bags off in half a minute if you want it to look more sporting.  You can even raise the pipes a bit for track days and such, in only a few minutes.

The one thing that really bugs me is that the ST2 hasn't held its value too well.  There was a good one in the area that took many months to finally sell for $3500.  Mine has a salvage title, so would likely sell for even less than that.  But my plan is to keep riding it until I wear it out.

The best place to go for information on the ST Ducatis is http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/st2_owners (are we allowed to point to other sites here?)

If you have any other specific questions that haven't been answered, post them here and I'll do my best.

Gotta include a photo.