saying hi with a few questions

zibbit u2 · Jan 25, 2015

Hey, I'm Zibbit. I'm up in the great white north in Alberta, and I'm trying to research a new bike. After building a 100% custom 501cc 04 WR450 Supermoto which I'll never get rid of..

and riding a R6 last season, which I'm selling because I hated my life after any ride extended past 30 minutes on it.. plus.. the roads here SUCK.

Leaves me here, so I signed up to ask a few questions about the Hyper line of Ducati. I am a very small rider at about 115-120 lbs soaking wet, and about 5'6" so with the nimble handling ability of the hyper lineup combined with the lower Strada OEM seat means that I should be pretty comfortable on these bikes. So, a few questions;

-Does anyone know where to get a proper service manual?

Reason being I'm almost 4 hours away (8hr round trip) from the closest dealer so it would be nice to be able to do the work myself. Obviously the oil service light would still be on, but that's the least of my worries.

-After everything you've seen/experienced with your Hyper would you consider buying one used? or lets flip that question into.. Will you keep yours past the warranty period?

I know this is pretty open ended question, open to lots of interpretation... Reasoning, new and used in the same year is about 3 g difference in price...

I'll probably have more questions

Thanks for your time-

zippy49 · Jan 26, 2015

Manuals are available on fleabay. I have a 34" inseam and the Strada fits me just fine. But if you can handle that WR, you should have no trouble. In fact, you might think that the Strada is just a bigger, heavier (and prettier) version of it.

The oil service light won't come on until 9000 miles, and any dealer can reset it for you. You might want to let them have it for CPU updates, though.

As for keeping it, I have no intention of ever selling mine. But I say that about every bike...

PS nice R6, love that anniversary paint. But I agree about what a bed of nails it is on a rough road....

BlueSwede · Jan 26, 2015

Hi Zibbit,

I like your WR a lot! I believe you will feel very comfortable on an HS. A little heavier, but shorter suspension, similar seating position - you should feel at home I bet.

Yes, I would buy an HS used, if there was a good record of the maintenance / service done. I'd lean towards an extended warranty, if available. Overall, it's a great machine and well designed / made. You will probably want to investigate fork improvements, if not already done. I'm still considering which way to go with mine in that regard. But, no it's not for sale
;-)

zibbit u2 · Jan 26, 2015

The current owner of used '13 has a service history with the bike, done at one dealership. However upon my own personal inspection of the unit revealed a couple minor issues;

-Front tire needs replacement because it's darn near a slick (estimate 2/32" tread depth)
-Rear tire is about 70%
-RH fork is weeping (LH is dry)
-Only 1 key remains because he lost the second one
-Chain is as dry as a popcorn fart and stiff, and the rear sprocket is showing wear
-Front brake pads are at about 50%
-Has an active Lean on the bike which would need to be cleared before transfer
-due for service in ~2,000 km's for 15K.

I know this is nitpicking.. but;

-He painted the front and rear turn signals lenses which bothers me.. WHY would you cover a safety feature on a bike that lets cagers behind/infront of you know what you're trying to do... lol

zippy49 · Jan 27, 2015

Sounds like it has led a fairly hard life. How are the cosmetics?
Here are my guesses on costs (in US dollars)...

Fork service/rebuild - $300-500
Tires F/R - $300
Chain & Sprockets - $250+ depending on quality
16K km service - $500-600

Take an average, comes to $1500 in needed work. I use values from Kelley Blue Book when I buy and sell vehicles. They are for my local area, but I doubt they vary that much. For a 2013 Strada, they are:

Retail (all the stuff above fixed plus a bit of markup): $9950
Trade-in (needs most of the above plus cosmetics): $7050

Bet your seller goes into shock and denial when he hears those numbers...but they are based on actual selling prices. And KBB does remind us that value is always dependent on condition.

gatdammit · Jan 28, 2015

Agree. What's the age of seller? Sounds like he had the front wheel in the air more than on the pavement with a leaking front fork. I can't remember one post on this forum about that issue, regardless of use. I have a first round '13 with over 9K miles and I could sell it in "like new" condition. And I ride mine as hard as the street will allow and will pop the front from time-to-time.

The chain is just poor form. Not a deal breaker in itself but what else has he neglected?

The rest is consumables/routine maintenance. Judging by your project above, you can handle the first couple service stops yourself. Big one is the 18K mile valve adjustment- a major improvement with this engine.

Bottom line: there are much better used 13's out there that have been selling way below blue book. The good ones pop up on here from time to time but I understand the benefit of buying locally.

zippy49 · Jan 29, 2015

Absolutely. To borrow the real estate saying about location....there are three things to look at when buying used. Condition, condition, condition. This one I'd give a pass.

GR8 · May 14, 2015

In this instance I'd pass for sure....leaking fork and dry chain....that's asking for trouble man.

saying hi with a few questions

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