Who was going to buy a Ducati before buying an RSV??

I was gonna buy an SP2. Got the Aprilia bug after a TL and R1

I WAS TOO INITIALLY !!! THIS WAS @ 7 YEARS AGO THO.:devious

BEFORE I HAD PROPERLY READ UP ON THE OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO 916 OR A 998.irate
I'M SOOOOOOOOOOO GLAD I DID MY RESEARCH THO.

LOOKED AT THE SP1 THOUGHT @ IT FOR A WHILE, NOT TOO LONG THO.:devious

THE MORE ARTICLES I READ FROM SUPERBIKE MAGAZINES AND MCN THE MORE THEY POINTED AT THE RSV AS THE BETTER BUY, WITH GREAT VALUE £ PER HORSES.:doug

I CANT STAND THE FRONT OF THE DUCATI 916/998. IT'S TOO BARE !
PARKED UP NEXT TO ONE ONCE SAME COLOUR AND ALL........THE ONLY THING I PREFERRED WAS THE UNDERSEAT EXHAUST AND THE SINGLE SIDE SWINGARM. D'ont GET ME WRONG I'M NO EXPERT BUT I KNOW A NICE LARGE BIKE THAT LANKY GITS CAN TUCK BEHIND WHEN I SEE ONE....:megaphone rant over ...irate

RSV'S FOREVER :ytiller


(That's why i named my daughter after one) :nana

I have to say that if i were buying a new bike tomorrow it would probably be a Ducati.

I like the twin configuration and in new sports twins you are looking at a duke or Ktm. Aprilia have nothing of note in a twin anywhere near hitting showrooms if indeed at all.
I'll give the KTM a miss having had a Ktm 450 that was new and gave me the most grief i have ever had from a bike. That and from speaking with an Rc8 owner in Spain who had a list of bugs which were not easy fixes.

That leaves a Duke. I test rode the 848 and was pretty impressed. Service intervals have greatly improved and at less than 9k with a deal it's realistic. The 1098 was actually less fun to ride in the twisties than the 848 and given that the 848 puts out more power than an Rsv it's enough for me.

For now i will keep the rsv but unless something happens model wise the future is looking red for me.

The initial switch from Jap total reliability to Aprilia was a culture shock (I'm over all that now thankfully) I'm not sure at this stage that I could take the plunge into potential Ducati hell (I've heard all the stories of wrecked 1098 engines piling up in dealerships) although they are very nice bikes...I just couldn't accept the possibility that every time I try to start the bike there may be a problem....I would be straight back to Japan's finest. However as Spoonz points out there are very few decent alternatives (if any) in V-Twin land! I'll just keep a hold of my RSV for now thanks.

I've just sold my 06 RSV because I fancied a change and guess what.....after looking at all the alternatives out there(I want to stick with twins and can't afford to buy new) I think it'll be another RSV for me,I think Aprilia have made a huge mistake not updating (increase to 1100 maybe?) the twin RSV for 09 instead of ceasing production.

Gotta admit I was very looking at a Duc before going for the RSV, the reliability issue put me off so I went for the RSV.
I think it was the best decision I've made in ages!!

I had a Ducati before and the plan was to buy another also. But then I got a good deal of this RSV of mine and decided to try Aprilia for a change.

So far I've been happy with this bike. Its fast, comfortable to ride, works without problems and is powered by a V-twin... but I do have to confess that I miss the sound of a Duc. (not that RSV sounds bad but that rattle of the clutch with low V-twin sound.... I sometimes still drool for some youtube soundsamples like 1098, way too loud 748 & MH900)

But then again. Mivv GPs or similar are on my shopping list. I'm sure those cans will ease this longing for some noise :doug:biggrin:doug

For those who are worried about the quality of Ducatis I do have to say that mine worked perfectly. No problems whatsoever :inlove

Ducati woes would be a worry but i did what many do and checked out some forums. It's often the best way to get an insight into things as often owners only visit forums when things go wrong.

There have been a few problems with the 1098 with premature wear on camshafts etc all of which were down to a specific batch not being heat treated correctly. Plus a few recalls etc with a newer lower ratio starting gear.

The 848 has no recalls and only fault i can find is a few gear lever return springs breaking. Apparantly not horrendous to replace. You also have to consider Ducati are a bit more up front with problems than Aprilia sometimes are and so it can look worse.

Bet you didn't hear from Aprilia that from the cer onwards you got new rods and journals with different oilways and stronger heat treatment did you. Front shell bearing failure is more common than Aprilia care to admit pre the mods hence my question about type of metal in the oil of a previous topic. It also accounts for the rev limit rise from that point onwards. A sure fire way to destroy the previous design was to hit the rev limit especially on down shifts.

Is the Ducati historically less reliable than an Aprilia, most certainly but i think Aprilia's quality control has slipped and the gap has closed. I think their engine record is more down to Rotax than anything else. I'm not so sure their in house motors will be so strong, especially as the v4 motor is currently eating itself with alarming regularity on and off track. Notice how the 1200 Shiver and Shiver TT were reported in MCN as being pulled from Milan with now no reported release date if at all. That motor was due to go into an rsv replacement down the road which has also evaporated.

If i were to buy a new Aprilia now it would be the last of the current crop of Rotax engined models which are a steal and will become more so next year i think. My current steed does the job and i still like riding it so until the mileage becomes an issue i'll stick with it. By then the KTM might have improved and new models might be on the horizon.

KTM's not for me thanks ............ Lost a couple of riding mates this year with there bikes always been at dealers RC8's think there called :jack

Ducati .... again do like the look of the 848 but I aint gettin drawn into the " give us your wallet while we service things " not interested in the earlier models even more so for that reason ......

Guess that means sticking with the RSVR ..... wouldn't entertain anything that was built engine-wise in house by APRILIA without proven reliability and certainly not at the prices quoted ......

Almost bought a used 12 month old BENELLI Tornedo RS for £5 600 ..... that had all the recalls done. I know I wouldn't have had total reliability but with the change ( compared to buying an 848 ) I cudda got an SV1000 the only buy an ride v-twin other than the RSV family......

Ridden the SP2's mate ...... just been round Coniston and Windermere on one .... :devious

They just don't cut it against the Aprilia v-twins ..... besides they are gettin a bid long in the tooth ..... think Honda have killed them off now anyhow.

Seriously .... I aint no Rossi but I did prefer the SV1000 to the SP2 on the twisties........

Out the box the SV aint a serious contender but my mate has spent £££'s on his SV and still aint matched the price of an SP2.

I have always wanted a RSV so I got one and i aint selling it, never. :inlove:inlove:inlove:inlove

Would like to buy a 1098 in the future, they are so pretty :biggrin

got to get my sm/enduro first. :doug:doug

Need to get all my toys bought before sprogs show up uke

Funny Boyler mentioned Benelli's. I came so close to buying one as a second bike the other day. It has a bit of a naff Gearbox with neutral non existant on a running motor but generally seem to holdup quite well. It was an immaculate 2006 bike with 4k mikes for £3600.

My only concern would be Bennelli going under in the current financial climate.

With Dukes i think buy new and sell early is the key to trouble free motoring. It's the guys that pick them up used with no warranty 3 -4 years down the line that get the grief. I generally had a 4 year cycle with bikes until the current Rsv which is into it's 5th year.

I can see me having a 2008 rsv Factory for a steal next year. Seen them currently at £8200 so £7500 next year maybe.

After getting bored to death riding the CBR600 :sleepy I was looking at buying either a 748 or RSV....the sound of the Ducati or looks of the Mille... I'd of been happy with either choice. I'd always fancied a big v-twin after seeing a Tri-colour Rsv at a campsite years ago just after they came out. I thought it was the most beautiful bike ever :inlove
With a budget of only £2500 to play with, I went to look at a couple of 748's and both were dogs :jack but then mine came up, at £2300 and mint condition there was no contest for me...I agree'd to buy it from just seeing a few photo's without even seeing it in the flesh and I couldn't be happier :inlove you just get Soooooo much more bike for your money.

Having said that, if i had a spare £9000 to spend then I'd really have a close look at a white 848 :drool but I've never ridden a Ducati so I might hate em :dunno

spoonz said:

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I can see me having a 2008 rsv Factory for a steal next year. Seen them currently at £8200 so £7500 next year maybe.

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Better than a duke, cheaper and loadsa bling :flip

Often considered a Duke as they seem to be wonderfully emotive and charasmatic bikes but it never really went beyond a speculative day dream for me to be honest. I just couldn't justify the cost, especially with the spectre of reliabilty issues in the back of my mind every time I turned the key. In truth that may be unfair but it's still something that springs to mind when I ponder Dukes for any length of time and my head catches up with my heart. In truth I don't think Aprilia are much, if at all, better than Ducati any more but they are comparable to Dukes at half the price which is a major factor.

Personally I think there's a good chance that Aprillia will put their new 1200 engine into an RSV/Falco type bike at some point down the line as they will sooner or later realise that that is what most custsomers want and more importantly can afford. In addition it is what will also pay the bills for Aprilia, unlike the V4.

Personally I've only just got my RSV so it's not really relevant for me at the moment but in a couple of years I'll definitely be on the look out for something different and who knows what'll be about then.

I'd ridden a couple of Dukes for work (999, Multistrada) but I'd never once considered buying one, or any twin for that matter. The MStrada was a bit of a laugh but the 999 I found a bit bland and, well, just not very exciting - preferred the SV1000 to ride.
I'd been abroad for a while and RSVs had just passed me by. Then one day, a mate brought his round and insisted I take it for a spin - and it was awesome - I was completely smitten. Did a bit of reading up, saw the magic words 'Rotax engine' and ended up buying the same bike six months later, having flogged my Jap4.
Those latest Dukes look really nice but I just would never consider one for the amount of time they spend in the dealer's.
Nothing I've ridden recently has impressed me like my Mille - the only thing that came close for fun and 'character' was a mate's Speed Triple with loud pipe - and now even he's gone out and swapped it for a brand new 2no!
If you want a reliable, reasonably cheap to run V-Twin, there simply is nothing to touch the 990s at the moment.
But for the same reason I won't be buying a Duke, lush though it is, I don't think I'll be buying an RSV4 either - at least not a five-year-old one, which is what they'll be when I can afford it!