Advice Req'd on Ducati 750SS
Discussion about a dude who spotted a 750ss for sale, feedback was generally that the price mentioned (in the UK) was too high. Folks complain about brakes (single disk) and the usual uninformed worries about maintanence. On the positive side, insurance is lower than other 750s and handling and character a plus.
See Also: Topic Index | My Current Bike
From: Neil (neil.davidson@**MUNGED**ntlworld.com) Subject: Advice req'd on Ducati 750SS please :) (long-ish) Newsgroups: uk.rec.motorcycles Date: 2002-08-09 18:00:52 PST First off I'm a newbie here so hello one and all :) (Lurked for a while so I know what to expect from some of you!) Ok, thinking of getting myself a 750SS (half faired - new shape) and have a few question. Main one is £3800 for a T plate, 8000 miles, 2 owners, good nick (actually couldn't see anything wrong on the outside at all), FSH, buying from a dealer (Non Ducati) a good price? Seems a little steep to me for a half faired model. Secondly I'm a big fat c*nt (6'3", 16st), as they won't gimme a test ride on the thing, do any big fat c*nts here have one and how do you find it? Feels not to bad just having a sit on it compared to some other sporty bikes I've had a sit on. Finally, really after a fully faired model but given my budget (just blew 3k on 125 to get my through my test a few months back which I'm keeping for winter back) I'm considering saving a few quid just now on a HF version and adding fairing down the line when the wife's given me back my bank card. So does anyone know if A) the top fairing (headlight thingy) is the same on both the FF and HF versions and B) if any places do replica fairings? See loads of 748, 996 fairings but no SS (expect some place in California) Thanks for your help and time folks, Neil.
Having just passed your test I'd go for an older bike, trash that around a bit. There are some nice 400's which can do the trick nicely. My first proper bike was a CBR400 Aero. Quick enough for a first bike. Three days after passing my test I took it from Dublin to near German border in North-East Holland. I wouldn't even contemplate doing that on a Duc, but each his/her own. You might not do the long hauls. HTH Spete (the Silent One)
Reply From: Steve H (steve@italiancar.co.uk) Date: 2002-08-09 18:17:10 PST The one I found was a 750 'Sport' rather than the full 'SS' version. Still, I'd have the Sport in preference to the SS at those prices. Nice handling, comfy seat, decent warranty. hmmmm. I like the 750SS myself. But I'm not a quick rider and like the character of the Duke. I reckon it's an ideal 1st bike.
Reply From: Bear (bastardUNDERSCOREbear@yahoo.com) Date: 2002-08-09 18:21:17 PST Nice handling? "Too slow to stress anything" more like. Yes, but you're fucked in the head where all devices Italian are concerned. It's a heap of shit. You know it, I know it, the whole world apart from the poor sod above knows it.
From: Steve H (steve@italiancar.co.uk) Date: 2002-08-09 18:28:10 PST Oh, come on. You don't get much new bike for that money. Even a Divvy 600 would cost more. And they are dull. I know, I've had two. There's something about Italian engineering. You either live with the faults because the good bits outweigh them, or you hate it.
Reply From: Neil (neil.davidson@**MUNGED**ntlworld.com) Date: 2002-08-09 18:29:04 PST > The one I found was a 750 'Sport' rather than the full 'SS' version. > Still, I'd have the Sport in preference to the SS at those prices. Might be an option. Trouble is finding any 750ss for sale is nigh on impossible up here. Not even the bloody Ducati dealership has or has had since opening any 750ss's in. > Nice handling, comfy seat, decent warranty. So I've read which is why it appeals. That and the fact it's very tidy looking and only a grp 13 insurance. > hmmmm. I like the 750SS myself. But I'm not a quick rider and like the > character of the Duke. I reckon it's an ideal 1st bike. Seems well suited to me as I'm not a speed demon and it will be my first "big" bike. Neil.
Reply From: Bear (bastardUNDERSCOREbear@yahoo.com) Date: 2002-08-09 18:29:56 PST If you want Italian and novice with fun, get a Cagiva Raptor 650; see my go on H's; I loved that bike. Light, nimble, torquey, gutsy, and possessed of a certain attitude. And the engine's Japanese, so there's some chance it'll last more than 53 feet.
Reply From: The Older Gentleman (chateau.DELETEmurray@btinternet.com) Date: 2002-08-10 01:23:28 PST The Raptor 650 - indeed anything powered by the Suzuki SV650 engine - is absolutely on a par with the Duke 750 as regards power & performance. cagiva's build quality - hmmmm.... dunno. Reliability? Well, I'll let you know when mine goes wrong.
Reply From: Bear (bastardUNDERSCOREbear@yahoo.com) Date: 2002-08-10 04:13:59 PST That's pretty good, but would you say that when Dukes *do* have problems, they have big, nasty ones, coz that's what I've heard from owners and a dealer.
Reply From: The Older Gentleman (chateau.DELETEmurray@btinternet.com) Date: 2002-08-10 09:21:09 PST Yes, I'd agree. A lot of it, though, comes from owners who simply aren't scrupulous with maintenance or who don't use the bikes often and hard enough. Seals dry out, belts harden, etc. They definitely aren't plug & play machines.
Reply From: Bear (bastardUNDERSCOREbear@yahoo.com) Date: 2002-08-12 05:27:14 PST I've ridden the 600SS the 750 Single disc (shudder) and the 900 and only the 900 was anything like a decent bike, and then not all that.
Reply From: The Older Gentleman (chateau.murray@btinternet.com) Date: 2002-08-13 11:03:40 PST Yeah, I missed the mention of the single-disc 750, so yer right. For all that, though, describing the 750 as "gutless" just ain't true. It's not a powerhouse, agreed, but a simple lack of horsepower does not a "gutless" machine make.
Reply From: Steve H (steve@italiancar.co.uk) Date: 2002-08-09 18:14:10 PST Don't do it. They're a great bike and all that, but, that's a silly price. Where are you in the UK? - On Yer Bike in Aylesbury have a brand new, pre-registered, 750 Sport (the budget one with single disc and cheap suspension) for....... £3999. And it's been sat in the showroom for so long I reckon you'd get it for £3800....... plus you'd get the balance of the warranty on it.
Reply From: Bear (bastardUNDERSCOREbear@yahoo.com) Date: 2002-08-09 18:46:12 PST You don't understand: I've nothing against Italian bikes, but if you're going to get an Italian bike, get a *decent* Italian bike; save for a 748 or, as I suggested elsewhere, look at a Cagiva Raptor 650; I was seriously impressed by one, and that takes some doing. The 750SS is an outmoded, ancient design, and I don't think even their fans, like TOG, would try to imply they're a good bike for a novice; too much to break in the plastics department, not enough in the brakes department (TOG's review in a certain motorcycle monthly even mentioned this by name for the single disc model, IIRC) and overall you'd be better off spending your money on something that *worked*
Reply From: The Older Gentleman (chateau.DELETEmurray@btinternet.com) Date: 2002-08-10 01:23:29 PST > not enough in the brakes > department (TOG's review in a certain motorcycle monthly even mentioned > this by name for the single disc model, IIRC) I'd agree here, too. You need the twin-disc set-up. I've ridden a single-disc 750SS and it's adequate, no more, whereas the double-disc bike stops like a very stopping thing doing a stoppie on a stopper.
Reply From: The Older Gentleman (chateau.DELETEmurray@btinternet.com) Date: 2002-08-10 01:23:28 PST FWIW, I've had mine from new, and it's now five years old. Mileage 19k, and utterly reliable except for one well-documented episode with a (Japanese) spark plug. Good points: comfort (yes), utterly sublime handling and braking, torque, feel, character, economy, surprisingly cheap and easy to maintain. Bad points; crude, not fast (which is not the same as gutless - guts it has, but top whack is only 130 on a very very good day), heavy clutch, poor steering lock, needs to be going at least 50mph in top gear to avoid transmission clatter. On the right roads - twisty, sunny, probably Italian - it is marvellous. In town it's a pain. On fast dual carriageways and the like it gets blown into the weeds by Japanese 600s, never mind 750s.