How to convince people who ride jap bikes ducatis r better and will last longer?

[dufukincati]

I think what jax meant was that the comparison is irrelevant and petty.

+1.

Just ride the damn bikes.

[jrswanson1]

It's not the bikes themselves, it's the owners who cause the problems.  My new Monster has a specific maintenance schedule that I'm keeping.  If I do the recommended maintenance when it's supposed to happen, the bike will run for years.  I also have an almost 30 year old Japanese bike in my back yard that the previous owners didn't do maintenance like they were supposed to.  I finally got it running properly, but I'm going to have to rebuild the entire front brake system and bleed the clutch because the previous owners did nothing for it.  I just changed the oil, the drain plug required a mallet to get off since it's been so long since the oil was changed.  The bike has less than 16,000 miles on it and it wasn't running or braking when I picked it up last month for $200.  Properly maintained, any bike will last for years. 

[jaxduc]

I think what jax meant was that the comparison is irrelevant and petty.

this

[PhilB]

Any modern bike will last 100K+ if you take decent care of it.  Compared to Japanese bikes, Ducatis require a bit more scheduled maintenance, and get quite cranky if they don't get it.  They don't respond well to neglect.  So if you would be talking about pulling a bike out of a compost pile that had been buried in leaves and garbage for years, I'd pick a Honda every time.  But if you're talking buying a new or well-cared for used bike and riding it a lot, a Ducati is as good as any other bike.

The two things I see are (a) a lot of Ducs get bought strictly as toys and suffer from having too FEW miles put on them; they sit and rot, and the 7500-mile maintenance gets done 6 years later, and that's too long.  And (b) a lot of people, even more so than with Japanese bikes, go crazy with the modifications and create their own problems.

Mine was reliable as an anvil up to about 170K miles.  The last couple of years, some things wore out (carburetors, rear shock, master and slave cylinders, a couple leaky gaskets), and I've had to put some money into it, but it's not core stuff -- the engine is as strong as ever, the transmission is fine, and I plan to keep riding it for the long term.  I'm over 200K miles now, and have ridden it to 28 of the lower 48 states so far.

I've seen at least a half a dozen Ducs over 100K, in the San Diego area where I used to live.  They were mostly Monsters or 900SS models, of '90's vintage.

The other notable one I'm aware of is an ST4 that Gary Eagan used for a few years.  He is a noted endurance/distance rider, who holds several records for long distance riding.  He set some of them with a Ducati ST4 in the early 2000's, racking up about 225K on it.  http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles/motorcycle-news/record-setter-ducati-iron-butt-st4-donated-to-barber-museum-ar33492.html

Another one:
http://usdesmo.com/leanings/Leanings_2006_3_Fall.pdf

PhilB

[Stormtrooper]

You have little basis to support your argument for Ducati reliability being superior to the 'jap' bikes.  I'll tell you this, if I had to make a long and perilous journey across a baron desert where reliability meant life or death, I'd take a 'jap' bike over my 796 any day of the week.

And by "better" I surely hope you don't mean sbk or motogp championships.  Because we all know how Ducati fares against those inferior 'jap' bikes.

[Nero-92]

I have a 21 year old lancia integrale with 200000 kms on the clock the engine and gear box have never been opened in the 12 years and 150000 of those kms I've owned the car and everybody says there unreliable the same goes for ducati if you maintain the thing properly it wont let you down if you dont it will let you down jap bikes included.

[IZ]

I had 100K between my '03 620 (80K) and '10 1100 (20K).  They would've gone a lot further had I not traded in the 1100 or total the 620 a few months back. 

Like others have said though..the Ducs are bought for toys/show pieces/bragging rights/etc.  They don't get ridden.  I always found it amazing when I found an '03 with only a few hundred or thousand miles on it.  Meanwhile, mine was heading for triple digits. 

I love the Ducs but if I wanted something that was a lot more dependable and I could get a lot of miles on without spending as much as I did for the Duc, I would've bought a Yamaha or Suzuki. 

[Howie]

You have little basis to support your argument for Ducati reliability being superior to the 'jap' bikes.  I'll tell you this, if I had to make a long and perilous journey across a baron desert where reliability meant life or death, I'd take a 'jap' bike over my 796 any day of the week.

<snip>

Agreed, but based on parts availability, not reliability.

[kopfjäger]

Agreed, but based on parts availability, not reliability.

What do parts have to do with reliability?

[J5]

What do parts have to do with reliability?

nothing

but if you cant find parts then what do you do ??

[xcaptainxbloodx]

a good friend of mine is approaching 150k on his ST2, still hasn't rebuilt the motor.

Ducati maintenance is more strict and it is designed to be pre-emptive. changing/adjusting things BEFORE they care out of spec and more liable to break.

Japanese maintenance is designed to be fixed as it is out of spec and starting to break down.


recently, the difference has grown smaller as all brands are starting to meet in the middle.

but really, who gives a shit. each bike has its good and bad aspects. motorcycles are fun, cant we just leave it at that?

[krolik]

Then what would we have to argue about?  Different brands of motor oil?

[BastrdHK]

I think what jax meant was that the comparison is irrelevant and petty.

+1.

Just ride the damn bikes.

Understood....completely!  My point, is the OP wants to have fun with his coworker/friend.  The passion behind these little rivalries/arguments increases the amount of enjoyment you get from riding, deepens the relationship with your bike/brand, and the camaraderie among friends.   It is "irrelevant" whether the opinions/facts are trivial....it is FUN!   

Walk into any sports bar in the country on Saturday during Florida vs Georgia, Michigan vs. Notre Dame, Army vs. Navy and announce their "FANaticism" is irrelevant and petty.....just watch the damn game.  Put on your slippers, go back to your  and lighten up!

[desmodoktor]

Understood....completely!  My point, is the OP wants to have fun with his coworker/friend.  The passion behind these little rivalries/arguments increases the amount of enjoyment you get from riding, deepens the relationship with your bike/brand, and the camaraderie among friends.   It is "irrelevant" whether the opinions/facts are trivial....it is FUN!   

Walk into any sports bar in the country on Saturday during Florida vs Georgia, Michigan vs. Notre Dame, Army vs. Navy and announce their "FANaticism" is irrelevant and petty.....just watch the damn game.  Put on your slippers, go back to your  and lighten up!

1st id like to thank you all for your responses...
personally im the type of person who believes that ALL bikes nowdays are AMAZING machines and everything depends on their owners ... from the way they using and abusing them...
i've ridden japanese , english, and of course italian bikes... and none of them made me feel as good as the italian bikes did (talking abt R1 , R6, Ninjas, cbrs , triumph 675 daytona , speed triple and bonnevilles vs Mv agusta f4 & brutale, Ducs 1198s , 749s, M696, M796, and my monsters of course (m1100evo & m750) .. its smth abt the quality of the parts the way they run ect .. idk how to explain it ..
well ofcourse the maintenance has to be much more often than the japanese bikes ,  but i dont think its a big deal ... last year i learned how to do valve adjustment on my own and did it ... (i consider that job the hardest out of all) ofcourse u have to have a garage and tools ... but do u see any ferraris parked on every corner??? same with italian bikes...
like i said before... they are all amazing machines and fun to ride ... im planning to start track days and thinking of buying a cbr or a r6 .. it will be my first japanese bike , street legal as well... i ll see what japanese bikes are all abt... you are going to tell me why arent you using ur ducatis or a ducati for track.... when it comes to abusing japanese is the bike to use )

[dk1six]

i just have to prove my friend that he's wrong... (he rides a 2011 zx6r)

Good luck with that, he's most likely riding what he likes and prefers to ride and not to mention the zx6r has a lot going for it within it's class.  My first bike back riding was an 06 Kawasaki Ninja and I regret ever selling it as I acquired other bikes in the vein of "moving up".  As a daily rider that bike was loads of fun, very dependable and easy to work on.  I say "get on and ride what you like".