2014 Hyperstrada purchase

You know what, once you get one, you won't regret the purchase.. the good thing about the current HS/HM/SP is most of the problems are already documented because the bike hasn't changed since 2013, so their generally easier to fix and diagnose. Only real issue I've had with mine is the Evap canisters pinched vent line.. which was easy to fix to remove the system from the bike.

It's hard trying to get a good sense of the quality of a bike from a online forum.. generally people post online when they have a problem, or to complain about a dealer, or ***** about how bad the cagers are around their city.... Yet they hardly ever post about the countless hours out enjoying the bike without any issues.

On the '14 with 600 miles.. how much warranty is left? Are there any factory options installed? What's your spider sense saying about the dealer (or google reviews on that dealer)..?

I purchased a new '14 in December last year and have just clocked over 12000klms to mid April '15. Most of this has been weekends and trips with a little city work. I'm like you....a little older and needing to give the back and arms a rest.

Overall, I've had no issues. The run in period is a pain and I found that the more miles done the stronger and freer the bike has become. When asked, the dealer advised that all the software upgrades have been installed. I was able to watch the first service being done and they really did give the bike a full going over. I did my own oil and filter change at 7500klms.

Intially I found the front end a little harsh but have gotten used to it. There are others here who are talking about mods and these may be worth looking at. OEM tires went at 9500klms and were replaced with Road Pilot 4s running 34 and 36 psi cold. These have made a big difference. The RP4s are great for those looking to tour imo.

You sit forward and Hypers are like riding a big trail bike....I found that I can knock over 300k plus days with out feeling tired or saw. From my experience most of the intial teathing issues seem to have been sorted. The bikes not perfect but then what bike is....I reckon the Hyper is a very good alrounder and more fun than a sports bike in the twisty bits

zibbit u2 said:

It's hard trying to get a good sense of the quality of a bike from a online forum.. generally people post online when they have a problem, or to complain about a dealer, or ***** about how bad the cagers are around their city.... Yet they hardly ever post about the countless hours out enjoying the bike without any issues.

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I wholeheartedly agree with this. I've been a member of many a forum over the years and I have seen this phenomenon time and time again.

I did share your concerns about reliability before I purchased mine back in Feb, as coming from a strictly Honda background I am used to die-hard reliability and Ducati don't have the best reputation for this aspect of biking that I find so valuable.

After putting 4000 miles on the 'strada though, I can safely say that the build quality is not what I am used to (I already have a slight issue with what I suspect to be a weak valve spring which will be looked at under warranty). HOWEVER (I cannot emphasize this more) the bike is just an absolute joy to ride.

I mean, it just inspires such a feeling of passion.

That's not always a particularly safe thing, as it does urge me on to ride it hard. But in comparison to say my Fireblade, which is by far the best bike I have ever owned - it is so ridiculously capable in every way - I just feel the Fireblade lacks the soul of the Hyperstrada. The 'strada has it in bags full.

As said above, you won't regret it.

Also, price wise, it seems fair. At that price I would stump up the few hundred extra quid and go brand new myself, however I paid £8000 for one with 4000 miles on her.

Jokeshopbeard said:

After putting 4000 miles on the 'strada though, I can safely say that the build quality is not what I am used to (I already have a slight issue with what I suspect to be a weak valve spring which will be looked at under warranty).

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^^^ there definitely no valve springs to be found in a Ducati motor.. That's why they charge lots of bucks to check/adjust the Desmo valve system.

creimer said:

One year is left on warranty. In regards to the dealer, they are about 3 hours away so any work on the bike would be from a local DUC dealer. After talking to the dealership further(I forgot to factor in dealership greed here) the out the door price was a little over 11k which includes tax, license, 400.00 doc fee, 200.00 handling fee blah blah blah. I asked to sweeten the deal by 400.00 and they wouldn't work with me. "We know we can get this out of this bike" which I replied that they wouldn't be getting it from me. Looking for a private seller and buy it outright and not deal with a dealership. I understand they have to make money but 3k off one bike? No I don't think so.

If you know anyone looking to sell and they are relatively close to NC, let me know. Thanks all for the replies.

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Sounds like a good deal.

appliance821 said:

Sounds like a good deal.

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For a demo with 600 miles, if the first service is done, I agree that this sounds pretty good. A new one here is about $15k OTD. And I also agree that the bike is fundamentally sound and add that many reported problems are somewhat "operator related."

BTW, 7000 miles and no problems with mine. Done some long solo rides, too. Get the forks fixed, though. All else is basically just bling.

zibbit u2 said:

^^^ there definitely no valve springs to be found in a Ducati motor.. That's why they charge lots of bucks to check/adjust the Desmo valve system.

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Ah, something new learned for today!!

zippy49 said:

Get the forks fixed, though. All else is basically just bling.

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What's wrong with the forks in your opinion Zippy? What did you do to fix? Just new internals?

See my thread "Fork upgrade for Hyperstrada." Best $500 I've spent in a long time. The stock setup is awful, not enough spring rate and then they tried to compensate with too much preload and compression damping.

I wonder what Ducati was thinking, really.

And I'm pretty sure that you can find a shop in your area for a similar job. I'm ten miles from Racetech, so it was easy for me.