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.

[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.

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 singingtest ride first is always best

[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 singingtest ride first is always best

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

[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.

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.