he could be a new-ish rider. He's also Asian. Having lived in Asia for nine years, while his sentiments sound completely crazy to an American, it's not completely out of line in an Asian culture, although probably on the anal side of things nonetheless.
There are other factors too. Ducatis are crazy expensive in Asian countries. While walking into my dealer a couple months ago and writing a check for $28k was no issue for me, I'm not so wealthy that I could so easily do the same for a $50k motorcycle, which is what it would have cost me if I were still living over there, for the same damned bike. It would have required more meticulous financial planning to afford the same bike that's in my garage right now, simply by virtue of being in a different country.
It also means that Ducatis are ridden only by a certain socioeconomic elite, whereas here in the US, they're not so expensive that we can't have a little economic diversity within this community. So the OP is going to come off a certain way.
Perhaps not the best analogy, but what if any of us had hit a massive pothole while driving our pride and joy Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, with an impact that bent the rim. You might hear "dude, just replace the wheel and drive", but you'd worry about the suspension linkage, front subframe, and if you might have made it impossible to perfectly align all four wheels. You'd care because, well, if you haven't seen or driven an F12 Berlinetta, holy shitballs, it is as awesome as it is out of my price range. And if I did mortgage my house and my kids educational futures to buy one tomorrow, I might be more than a little OCD about that car!
