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What else can go wrong?

I am almost scared to say this but I now have 20000km on mine and narya problem! Hope I haven't hexed myself!

I wonder if Hypermotard owners have been having any of the same problems? The bike is very similar.

BTW, I'm another "older guy", turn 62 next January. I ride frequently with a bunch of other older hooligans, on our last tour the average age was 64, and I was the second youngest!

Colin
 
PomGP said:
Although I understand both sides of the debate I would push a Ducati before I ride a Kawa.
Italian bikes have soul and character, the love/hate relationship is not for everyone.
As someone once told me, you can never call yourself a petrol head until you have owned Italian
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Ride a Kawasaki Mach 3 and get back to us. This soul thing is old and absurd. You like Ducati - great - you like Kawasaki great.

One thing to note is that the reliability and level of engineering that goes into modern bikes owes a lot to Honda. No longer was it possible to recycle 1940s tech and produce a piece of unreliable crap - after the cb750 you had to pay to play.

Even today not many - if any - can match Honda for thorough engineering and precise manufacturing , they set the bar. (and as a bitter side note - even a Korean 250 has a fuel gauge).
 
appliance821 said:
Ride a Kawasaki Mach 3 and get back to us. This soul thing is old and absurd. You like Ducati - great - you like Kawasaki great.

One thing to note is that the reliability and level of engineering that goes into modern bikes owes a lot to Honda. No longer was it possible to recycle 1940s tech and produce a piece of unreliable crap - after the cb750 you had to pay to play.

Even today not many - if any - can match Honda for thorough engineering and precise manufacturing , they set the bar. (and as a bitter side note - even a Korean 250 has a fuel gauge).
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The one thing you fail to mention is that Honda is also a top 3 car manufacturer and has Moto GP racing success to bolster what it offers the public. Look hard enough and you can always spot where any manufacturer cuts corners to reach a price point.

When you buy a Honda, you are looking for reliability first and foremost. That's called conscious purchasing. Do you think people buy Ferrari's for reliability? Nope. There's flare, racing lineage, personality and performance.

The Japanese vs Everybody Else argument is so tired in the motorcycle debate. And I bought and rode Japanese when...I couldn't afford what I really wanted.

Final Point: I don't think any Asian manufacturer has a match for the 821 right now. Ducati really has a marvelous power plant here. They are gonna sell tons of bikes built on this motor.
 
appliance821 said:
Ride a Kawasaki Mach 3 and get back to us. (and as a bitter side note - even a Korean 250 has a fuel gauge).
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My furnace has a fuel gauge...but it doesn't have an 821 Testastreta, 4 ride modes, the best brakes in the business, looks that inspire people to pull out their camera phones in traffic to take pix [I've had this happen a good few times], and handling that is - to use the admittedly abused term - telepathic. Oh, and all day comfort. Would a fuel gauge be nice to have? Sure. Do I care? Not in the slightest.
 
appliance821 said:
Ride a Kawasaki Mach 3 and get back to us. This soul thing is old and absurd. You like Ducati - great - you like Kawasaki great.

One thing to note is that the reliability and level of engineering that goes into modern bikes owes a lot to Honda. No longer was it possible to recycle 1940s tech and produce a piece of unreliable crap - after the cb750 you had to pay to play.

Even today not many - if any - can match Honda for thorough engineering and precise manufacturing , they set the bar. (and as a bitter side note - even a Korean 250 has a fuel gauge).
Click to expand...

If I wanted a scooter or a Hybrid car I may visit my local Honda dealer, no thanks.
At 50 years old and 37 bikes down the line my mind is made up, been there and got the tee shirt with pretty much all the manufacturers that are available here.
Sticking to Italian thank you:cool:
 
appliance821 said:
Ride a Kawasaki Mach 3 and get back to us. This soul thing is old and absurd. You like Ducati - great - you like Kawasaki great.
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I actually owned a 1969 H1 (the one with the light switch power band), and used it for daily transport from 1970 - 72. It did not lack character. It did lack stable handling and effective brakes. It was certainly fast and exciting, but I'm lucky I survived owning it. And compared to my 350 Sebring it was a paragon of reliability.
 
3rd time in shop

mines in the shop for an oil leak they cannot find.. errrr... my first ducati and probably my last... its a shame cause i really like the bike
 
I have one of the first bikes state side. With 3500 miles on it, I've only had the odometer issue with the bars for the display. Oh, other than the recall for the seal. My dealer has been great to deal with, Bellevue Ducati. I mainly ride it late spring and into the fall as my transport to work. Did do a track day with it, so had a chance to burn up the asphalt.
 
NewRider said:
Yup. These clutch cable are worth ****. I'm going through one every year.
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I'm over 2 years/ 10K miles on my clutch cable. It doesn't have the plastic shield, either. I don't know if it's particular riders use or faulty production run, but a little lube on my about 1K mile ago and it's fine.

Do you inspect it regularly? Where does it fail and do you see any fraying or stress in the cable?