Thinking of buying a Ducati 400

[kahn]

400 thinking of buying one ,first road bike in 15 years anyone own one or still riding one.:scooter:

[Paul in NZ]

They are so gutless they make a good source of gearboxes and spares for the bigger pantahs etc.

By all means buy it for fun but don't pay much. A flogged out Jap 400 of the same era would eat one alive. ;-)

[hospitalfood]

They are so gutless they make a good source of gearboxes and spares for the bigger pantahs etc.

By all means buy it for fun but don't pay much. A flogged out Jap 400 of the same era would eat one alive. ;-)

and be more reliable
and less work
and cost less
and have more street cred
and go

[musicman]

By all means buy it for fun but don't pay much. A flogged out Jap 400 of the same era would eat one alive. ;-)

and be more reliable
and less work
and cost less
and have more street cred
and go

All true, but then it's just another Japanese bike.

If you're going for a Ducati, why not go for a 600+?

[Bullitt]

Aside from living in Japan where they had registration classes which made 400cc bikes desirable theres no advantage to a 400. Theyre just a 600cc engine with a reduced bore and/or stroke (cant remember which) so they weigh exactly the same and use as much gas but make only 2/3rds the power.

A 600cc Ducati will have similar performance to a 400cc inline 4 Jap bike (which is still quite respectable) but a 400cc Ducati is approaching 250cc levels of performance.

I love my Ducati and have no regrets at all about buying it and Id recommend it to anyone but I wouldnt say the same about the 400 (not that ive owned one)

[DUCATI*HARD]

400 thinking of buying one ,first road bike in 15 years anyone own one or still riding one.:scooter:

go the duke,,,mrs D*H had a 400monster and it was a good eye opener for her,,,all i can say is i rode it as hard as it could go and it was singing:wari:test ride first is always best:scooter:

[wbks]

Why choose a duc over a jap 400? Look really nice and are more unique but performance? Not just power... Chassis, suspension, ergs, powerband?

[DUCATI*HARD]

all i can say is i rode it as hard as it could go and it was singing:wari:test ride first is always best:scooter:

in saying that i probably would have blown it up if i rode it like that too often,,,maybe the reason i stayed off it:cool:

[McJim]

Why choose a duc over a jap 400? Look really nice and are more unique but performance? Not just power... Chassis, suspension, ergs, powerband?
If you have to ask that question you probably wouldn't understand the answer.:rofl:

I know of a bloke just bought an absolute mint 400ss down here. His previous experience was back in the 60s on British bikes of that era. He is having so much fun on it it's silly.

I have only a 600ss myself and often am asked why I enjoy a bike that is so gutless. If it's all you are used to you don't miss it.

Also different riders require different things of bikes. It's not always about speed, power or scaring yourself shitless. Sometimes it's just for the enjoyment of getting around the countryside without being caged.

Try before you buy if you can. Nowt wrong with a 400M or a 400ss if you don't plan on breaking speed records. you can lose your licence on a 4 stroke 250 twin FFS.

[wbks]

more of an experience then a speed thing? That could be nice. do 749's rate among 600 japs or just 400's?

[McJim]

more of an experience then a speed thing? That could be nice. do 749's rate among 600 japs or just 400's?

Ducati have recently taken the step (of which I approve) of creating a middleweight bike that doesn't conform to any racing standards. The 848 can't, as far as I'm aware, be entered in any kind of standardised racing anywhere in the world. A 750 air cooled twin can be raced against a 4 cylinder liquid cooled 400 in F3 I believe. the 748 and 749 would be about comparable to the 600cc IL4s of the time but with torque being delivered a bit sooner in the rev range (which is handier for real world riding than peak power). So I would reckon the 749 would be a good foil for a 600 IL4 in a race.

Another point is that I have ridden a couple of 636 Kwaks - one in race trim with Ohlins and another in stock condition. I have to confess my old 1997 600ss handled better then the stock 2006 636. But that's just my opinion which doesn't really count for a lot these days as I am and old fart and a bit of a nana!

[wbks]

748/749. difference?

[McJim]

748/749. difference?

748 (and 916 & 996) was designed by Masimo Tamburini - worshipped by Ducatisti as the quintissential Italian bike designer. He is also responsible for designing the MV Agusta F4 and Brutale and more recently the Ducati 1098, 848 and 1198 bikes.

The 749 (& 999)was designed by Pierre Terreblanche and was unfortunately shunned by many of the Ducati loyals almost solely du to the headlight cluster which is unfortunate as it had a better engine and better handling than the 748 according to many riders.

Both the 748 and 749 are liquid cooled mulitvalved V twin sports bikes employing desmodromic valve operation which eliminates valve float thus allowing the use of larger valves at higher revs. The 749 uses Ducati's Testastretta (Straight head) engine technology which means the valves open and close at a flatter angle than previously - but I'll be a monkey's uncle if I understand why that makes the bike faster! I'm not a technoweenie.

[hospitalfood]

McJim, you know i respect your bike and riding, but i would never recommend a ducati to anybody.
i think they are common, unreliable, high and expensive maintenance, and overpriced.
I have to admit that your model is not that common, but it seems to me that a lot of people decide they don't want a jap bike so they take a giant leap backwards and buy a ducati.

i hope you ducati owners i know will still talk to me after expressing my opinion.

[McJim]

McJim, you know i respect your bike and riding, but i would never recommend a ducati to anybody.
i think they are common, unreliable, high and expensive maintenance, and overpriced.
I have to admit that your model is not that common, but it seems to me that a lot of people decide they don't want a jap bike so they take a giant leap backwards and buy a ducati.

i hope you ducati owners i know will still talk to me after expressing my opinion.

You're entitled to your opinion and I wouldn't let a daft comment like that get in the way of a friendship! The truth is the service intervals are longer than jap bikes and the parts are cheaper too - I know - I had to buy parts for a Honda VTR250 AND had to pay to get it serviced. I'm still unsure where this myth of Ducati unreliability originates from.....I suspect it's from the pre-Cagiva days mibbe.

[popelli]

I'm still unsure where this myth of Ducati unreliability originates from......

we have 2 ducatis in our shed

both are far more reliable than any jap bike I have every owned

[jrandom]

He is also responsible for designing... the Ducati 1098, 848 and 1198 bikes.

Eh? Surely not.

Just looking at a 1098 should tell you it wasn't a Tamburini design. Why would he so blatantly and slavishly pay homage to earlier designs of his own? (The 916 front and F4 rear, etc.) All the bikes he has designed have been fresh starts and new looks.

*checks Wikipedia*

There y'go! Apparently the design is by one Giandrea Fabbro, a Ducati employee. Presumably he recognised that sticking together elements of existing Tamburini designs was a smarter move than trying to be original and ending up with an ugly duckling.

[Kickaha]

McJim, you know i respect your bike and riding, but i would never recommend a ducati to anybody.
i think they are common, unreliable, high and expensive maintenance, and overpriced.

I wouldn't agree with that apart from common,but the rest seems to be a popular myth among the uneducated, although personally I wouldn't buy a 400 if a 600 was available



but it seems to me that a lot of people decide they don't want a jap bike so they take a giant leap backwards and buy a ducati.

Not so much different than buying a Buell then:bleh:

[McDuck]

748/749. difference?

Spelling...

[hospitalfood]

Not so much different than buying a Buell then:bleh:[/QUOTE]

some of us like 1930's agricultural technology in a motorcycle engine, and i never have to do valve clearances. very low maintenance.

they do say the only moving part is the person pushing it.

[McDuck]

they do say the only moving part is the person pushing it.

and even then they are barely moving....

[SteveC45]

I recently gave up my Ducati 400 F3 for a Suzuki 600 Bandit. reason, the Bandit I can commute to work on everyday in comfort.

If I could fit the Duc in I would...... was brilliant for week end riding, handled really well, and the sound, mmmm yummie!!

[mikeey01]

400 thinking of buying one ,first road bike in 15 years anyone own one or still riding one.:scooter:

Kahn the 400, 600, old 750 sport and 750ss's are great bikes, are easy to ride at a surprisingly quick pace, hours of fun can be had on them and the best of all it's an Italian machine.
I think the following fits in this case!
I would say go for it!

Re-printed w/o permission but I thought it's worth it :niceone:


Italian bikes are about emotion.

If you want the fastest, sharpest, trickest bike on the planet, buy Japanese and follow the crowd.

But if you want a bike to stir you deep inside every time you open the garage door,
a bike you will spend hours cleaning just for the sake of it,
a bike that will make you shudder every time you hit the starter button and grin like an idiot behind a dark visor on the open road, there is none better.

[Bullitt]

McJim, you know i respect your bike and riding, but i would never recommend a ducati to anybody.
i think they are common, unreliable, high and expensive maintenance, and overpriced.
I have to admit that your model is not that common, but it seems to me that a lot of people decide they don't want a jap bike so they take a giant leap backwards and buy a ducati.

i hope you ducati owners i know will still talk to me after expressing my opinion.

Ive now owned my Ducati for about 18 months and have done almost 20,000ks. In that time Ive had a problem with the rear shock and with a loose connection on a wire to a coil, hardly ducati specific problems and both easily fixed.

Every 10,000 ks you have to check the valve clearances, on mine they didnt even need adjusting. Every 20,000 ks the cam belts need replacing, I just had that done and including a WOF it cost $380...hardly enough to break the bank.

As far as being common, you could probably make that argument for a monster but theyre still no more common than lots of other bikes. Of all the other types of ducatis if you except the ones Ive seen in Motomart Ive probably seen less of any individual model in total than Ive seen of certain Japanese models on large group rides.

I only know the figures for supersports but worldwide the total number of 600SS's was only 757 for my year (1995) and 4376 for total production. Over 9 years of production they only made 3651 400SS's. Hardly Japanese production numbers.

Ducatis have a reputation for being expensive to own, and perhaps the 4 valve motors do somewhat deserve it (I dont know having not owned one) but at the least the 2 valve air cooled motors are no more expensive or unreliable than any Japanese bike. I suspect most of the rumors are perpetuated by people who have never owned one.

[Paul in NZ]

Hey don't get me wrong - I'm not anti italian or ducati, hell I ride an old pom bomb and an old wog shitter myself BUT unless its cheap as chips I would avoid a 400 ducati. They made sense in Japan but not here unless you are going to do the servicing etc yourself and are prepared to hang onto it for yonks as its going to be hard to shift. If you want a 'better' italian lightweight look out for a moto guzzi monza 500 (avoid the 350's, they are OK but fairly slow)

My approach is always to set the budget for a bike, allow a % to fix stuff, tyres etc and get the best deal I can within the parameters of what I want. Brand should not matter unless it is one of the prime intial parameters.

[kahn]

Thanks for all your replys ,
I,am looking at the bike as a starting point and have always loved the look and sound of the monsters.
Hopefully i never have to sell it has i have four kids (two of each) which i hope one or all of them may use it when they are older.
I,am not so much into the speed side thats what the dirtbike is for.

[kahn]

Thanks for all your replys ,
I,am looking at the bike as a starting point and have always loved the look and sound of the monsters.
Hopefully i never have to sell it has i have four kids (two of each) which i hope one or all of them may use it when they are older.
I,am not so much into the speed side thats what the dirtbike is for.

[Rob Taylor]

You wont look back getting a Ducati.They stir your sole & passion for motorcycles...We have a 749r & 999r race bike,they get thrashed and are trouble free.We even had a test rider smash one at nearly every event and it still ran like a charm...Give Kerry Jeffs a ring at KTL motorcycles in Morningside 021765912 work 09 915 8384.Real nice guy no pressure and knows his Ducati's......:niceone:

[piston broke]

more than happy with mine.
aside the leaky front fork and the fuck that broke the screen.:angry:
she's now 5k over the 20k service.only let me down once when it was pissin rain by the bucketfull.goin again less than 2 mins later.
a beauty ride,i'll never look back:love: