| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
My friend dropped his 749S in the gravel a couple of weeks ago. A couple of years ago, I dropped my M2 Cyclone off it's sidestand and suffered similar damage. As a point of reference, for what I paid for a new clutch lever, shifter peg, front directional lens and mirror I STILL couldn't pay for his clutch lever ALONE! Thanks but... I think I'll stick with Buells... | ||
| Irideabuell |
 Like my license plate says, "BUY USA". | ||
| Jaimec |
Maybe, but I don't think ANY of the parts I damaged were actually manufactured in the US either... | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
That's nuthin' You ought to ask your buddy what would happen if he lost the both keys to his bike - including the red master key. I'll give you a hint: he won't be calling his favorite dealer and getting another one in a couple of days for ten bucks or so, like Daves sent me. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I was at a movie theater with my wife, and we came across an R6 that had been parked on hot asphalt, and the sidestand had sunk and it had toppled. A guy on a red Ducati 749 was riding by, and I flagged him over to help me get the R6 up without hurting anything, and to be a witness that I was just helping put it back up and did not knock it over. It was going to be bad enough the owner came out of the movie to a damaged bike, I didn't want his oil and gas leaking everywhere, or to have somebody swing into that "open" parking place and go right over his bike. Anyway, the R6 had significant fairing scuffs, broken mirror, broken signal, bend clutch lever. I mentioned "thats gonna be expensive" to the Ducati owner, and he just laughed. The supermodel looking girlfriend that was riding with him (this was a Ducati after all  ) looked sheepish, and I noticed almost the same damage to his 749. She explained that he was teaching her to ride a bike (on a new Ducati 749 no less) and she had dumped it in a parking lot. I just laughed and told her "He must really love you" and started writing the note to the R6 owner with contact information for me if he had any questions. Only a little relevant, but a funny memory. | ||
| Alpha |
It took a Duc rider and a Buell rider to pick up an R6? Don't tell too many people that. LOL. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I'm sure there's a "how many V-Twin riders does it take to change a light bulb" joke in there somewhere.  | ||
| Brucen |
When my XB tipped over in the driveway I had to replace the clutch lever, foot peg, and mirror. Those three items totaled less than the Brembo clutch lever for my old Ducati Monster. I am always amazed at the low cost of Buell parts. | ||
| Bigblock |
SSSHHH.... Don't say that too loud... | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Kinda makes up for the low resale value and justifies keeping an older model in the stable. "Yeah, I have to replace parts to keep it running, but man are they reasonable." | ||
| Reepicheep |
A brand freaking new R6 (temp tags and all) that had been parked on a newly paved parking lot for a movie on a 90+ degree day means there is about a 99.999% chance that the owner was some sort of idiot squid poser (not to put too fine a point on it). I was more interested in Mr. Ducati as an independent witness and another body in case said squid owner came out and saw me wrestling with his new (and newly wrecked) bike. Expose a poser (maybe in front of their girlfriend), even accidentally, and you run a high risk of things going badly. Plus, it was not my bike, and at that point the side stand was buried about 6 inches deep in melted asphalt. 9 out of 10 times it will pop back up with no problem. 1 out of 10 times something you didn't think about or couldn't see will do something you didn't expect. I'll take those odds with my bike, but not with somebody elses, especially when I am in a position where I feel compelled to handle their bike without their permission (in their own interest). A wise man would have left it alone. A good man would have picked it up. Good won that day... I wish I would let it win more often. Ask me about being tangled under a 2000 M2, wedged between it and an open grate trailer, at 5 AM on a Sunday at a Bethany Beach MD beach house. I waited about 10 minutes like that hoping for a jogger to amble up. My leg was pinned under the M2 holding it up, the brake peg was wedged into the open grate of the trailer holding the bike down, and I could barely move without nasty ligament popping noises. No jogger came to help, so I sat there trying to mentally calculate how much it would cost to break off my Banke rear brake peg, and if I could do it without rupturing some important organ. I finally got the thing out by levering up the entire bike sidewise on my leg, allowing the brake peg to come straight out of the grate, and could stand the bike up again. Friday is tangent day, right? | ||
| Ducxl |
I prefer quality over cheap imported crap.I saw a set of forks at my Ducati dealer last week for $11,000.Definately not cheap Chinese crap.Like our clutch levers.Don't like breaking them? don't park on scorching pavement,and ride within your limits. | ||
| Jaimec |
Are you assuming my bike fell off it's sidestand because it sunk into hot asphalt? Bad assumption. The sidestand was not completely set when I got off the bike and the stand just collapsed under the bike. From what I've seen on BadWeb and the Yahoo group, I was far from being the only person this happened to with the tube framed Buells... | ||
| Reepicheep |
LOL! No Jaimec, I apologize for inferring anything of the sort, I was on a complete and total tangent! | ||
| Midknyte |
 | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Nice.  | ||
| Rocketman |
Quality costs! Rocket | ||
| Ducxl |
Quality costs! Not if your focus is the bottom line and you're dedicated to finding the CHEAPEST products the planet can deliver. But the thing i like most about Ducati is the passion for assembling only with the highest QUALITY products,they wreak of quality.Too bad that passion means they're always on the brink of monetary failure.They seem driven more by engineering than "the bottom line". I cringe now everytime a "Buell vs. Ducati" thread pops up here.And it seems often,i get taken in "hook...line....and sinker" We're going to go ride the Buells' for breakfast now | ||
| Crusty |
Why is it that the exact same turn signals from the same manufacturer cost four times as much from a Ducati (or Triumph or Moto Guzzi)dealer than from a Buell dealer? When Buell came up with an improved front brake rotor, back in '99, they were selling for $105.00. Who else sells rotors that cheap? I bought a clutch cable for my Wife's Moto Guzzi. It cost fifty bucks. Fifty Bucks for a freakin' clutch cable! I could go on, but my point is that Buell has some of the best parts pricing in the industry, and it's not because the parts are of lesser quality. | ||
| Ducxl |
True,Crusty,i'm feeling a little violated now for spending 1k each for two Ceramic rotors..While i despise sourcing Buell parts from China,i do like the pricing(dare i say). Join us for breakfast in Oxford? 10ish? | ||
| Crusty |
Sounds good. Where in Oxford? | ||
| Jaimec |
I was thinking back over my 300,000 miles on BMWs. Certainly in that time I've had more than a few "Oopsies." I've come to the realization that I've NEVER broken a BMW clutch or brake lever! Never! They are made of aluminum too, but instead of snapping, they bend. I still have to replace them, but at least they're still usable until such time as I can get the replacement (which NEVER required special ordering, either... my dealer always had them in stock). Makes you wonder what the difference is between a $110.00 Ducati clutch lever, and a $25 Buell clutch lever could be when they both snap on impact... | ||
| Tommy_black_shark |
But the thing i like most about Ducati is the passion for assembling only with the highest QUALITY products,they wreak of quality.Too bad that passion means they're always on the brink of monetary failure.They seem driven more by engineering than "the bottom line". Well Ducati's reek of something. Ducati's financial problems in the past have had a lot more to do with poor cash management and weak exchange rates with their primary markets than with "passion." | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I truly believe that Ducatis are built with quality components as is the Buell. Ducatis don't cost that much more than Buells. I would say that there is $4,000 more in a 1098 than a 12R. I believe it is a justifiable cost. What I don't understand is why it would cost you $42,000 to build the same 1098 if you bought each piece independently and assembled it yourself. That isn't quality. That is called "gigging". The parts suppliers know that Ducati owners will pay the price for the parts believing that the parts are "higher quality" than other parts. BMW owners do the same. Benelli is even more so (in spite of the fact that it is owned by the Chinese). It isn't specific to Ducati or even to motorcycles. I used to own a VW Passat. It was on the same B5 platform as an Audi A4. The parts were exactly the same. In fact, the parts I got from the dealership actually came in an Audi box. Buy the same part at an Audi dealership and it costs nearly twice as much. Sometimes the cookies you buy in the Kroger brand box come off the same Nabisco line as the Keebler cookies. Market segmentation at it's best. | ||
| Ulendo |
interesting aside on the whole 'snapped clutch lever'thing - when I dumped the CityX upside down on a rock last summer, the lever bent, but didn't snap. While attempting to bend it back to shape ( as a temp fix till my new lever arrived) I snapped it. the casting was of a high enough quality that I managed to clean up the break, and MIG it back together...solid enough that its still in my emergency spares box. The quality cant be all that bad if I can weld up the aluminum casting with the little Lincoln weldpac I keep at home! | ||
| Reepicheep |
I feel like Toyota gouges me for parts as well, and while I like my Sienna in general, the cost of parts has made me decide that when my Saturn SC2 finally dies, I will probably get a Saturn Vue instead of a Toyota Matrix. | ||
| Ducxl |
I will probably get a Saturn Vue instead of a Toyota Matrix. COOL  I like that new Saturn 2 seater...We Americans can match anything any other worldly manufacturer can. Our standard of living just costs a little more. | ||
| Thumper74 |
"How many V-twin riders does it take to change a light bulb?" Funny story. I work part time at a parts store in Columbus, some guy came up with a Yamaha Warrier and a few Harley's looking for a lightbulb. All were extremely drunk. After watching them dick around with it for a while in the parking lot, I went up and popped right in for'em. | ||
| 12r |
The 1098s I've seen are a little disappointing in terms of visual quality, certainly a backwards step from the 999. The parts that are not easily visible in the showroom look cheap. Other parts may have all the right labels but you have to remember OE kit is very different to aftermarket, and light years away from the SBK grid. Honda still have the edge, but Yamaha are running them very close. The latest R6 is very well put together as is the R1. My Firebolt looks distinctly Hyosung in comparison  Mr.Buell, you have until July. | ||
| Midknyte |
My Firebolt looks distinctly Hyosung in comparison That is an in-accurate statement | ||
| Ulendo |
That is an in-accurate statement its also kind of laughable: since Hyosung / Suzuki started diverging, Yamaha is reportedly one of the companies looking at using Hyosungs production capacity... |
