Looking for advice and tips

VYRUS said:

Ducatis are like a love affair with a woman you know is out of your league. I don’t recall you saying how much experience you have? This is not a good bike start out on. But young guys never listen. I never did.
Look at the owner. If he looks like some goofis that can’t afford the bike, it was probably neglected. Look behind the fairings and look at how clean it looks. The V2 is a good bike. You should really love taking care of it. Enjoy taking things apart just to see how it works. Bond with your motorcycle. I understand why you’re asking these questions, but you should’ve already read every article about the bike. You can commute on the bike. I rode superbikes to work for 50 years. But you need to understand this type of motorcycle and the stupid people in cars who are jealous of someone like you. Assume everyone is out to get you. Have enough money to keep her in the style she’s accustomed to. As so as you start letting stuff go, it will stop being fun.
It would be great if you could look in the air filter box and look for oil. If you see oil, I would pass.
What’s the deal with meeting you in public? I would want to see the bike at his house. What’s his garage look like? That will tell you if he takes care of it. As for the price, look it up on one of the sites that does that. Don’t get caught up in the moment and think you’ve just got to have it. There’s other fish in the sea.

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gas tank needs to come off right? idk if the seller would be patient enough for that. But I will check.

newducguy said:

gas tank needs to come off right? idk if the seller would be patient enough for that. But I will check.

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Is this your first bike you’ve ever bought 2ndhand?

Hello new duc guy, I read over this conversation. Here's my two cents. I daily my 1299. Even in hot texas heat. I have a very specific route I take and I am fortunate I have this route. I don't need to sit at many lights and traffic isn't anything I can't work through. Although, I agree that panigales are not for city riding. These machines are harder to control at slower speeds. The throttle is super touchy if your want to do anything under 40mph. The heat doesn't bother me. Who doesn't want something hot between their legs. There is more to think about, if you will be taking this around town. That is, parking. How will you feel leaving this expensive machine that you love out in the open while you eat, work, whatever. I park mine inside the warehouse at work. Or it's at home in the garage. I never take mine somewhere it will be out of my sight for more than five minutes. I love my bike and I'm jealous. No one sits on it but me. I really think what you should do Is plan on getting your dream Ducati as the next bike. Get something that won't control you in regards to the cost this time. The bikes are not going away and it will be less expensive in the future. I know you really want that Duc. Though, I think if you look around the used market and get something else. You will enjoy every aspect of riding more. Plus you can get whatever power level you want, tell them i said so. By keeping your upfront cost low, leaves money free if problems pop up. Also I'm sure you will want to mod it some. Last thing, don't forget about the cost of insurance and tires. My tires cost me like $550 and I get the installed for free. Super last thing I promise. If you buy a ducati as a second bike. You will have a bike to ride when the ducati breaks

If you're hell-bent on a Ducati, there's easier, more street friendly ones to ride. If you must have something larger / faster, the Supersport is way more affordable, comfortable, less hot, and has a more reasonable power. Then there's the Scramblers, which are awesome, but that's obviously a totally different aesthetic. I ride on the street a lot, and before I turned this V2 in to a race bike, it was fun for the first few days, but quickly became just too much for the street. And I'm a pretty advanced rider.

From a reliability / maintenance perspective, I've had Ducatis for decades now and have had nothing but good experiences with them. (Slight exception with this race bike I'm building, but that was a salvage purchase, so some issues were perhaps to be expected.)

Ducati now is not the Ducati of 20 years ago. They've been bought and sold by various private equity firms and large corporation parent-cos. With these ownerships, and thus larger resource buckets and access to large-factory experience, have come vastly improved manufacturing and designing techniques. Just look at the maintenance intervals -- they're largely the same as a Japanese bike.

Do whatever maintenance you can on your own. I also feel, and I'm sure to get hate on this one, that the valve adjusting requirements are overstated and overly enforced. I think the old Ducatis got out of timing a lot more easily. Again, this is my dumb, and likely unpopular opinion, but I don't get the valves looked at until it feels like something is not running right (hard to start, etc.). At least on a street bike. I've never had the valves adjusted on any of my Duc street bikes, and I've had to over 20k that ran great (until they were stolen...

JBJR said:

I also feel, and I'm sure to get hate on this one, that the valve adjusting requirements are overstated and overly enforced. I think the old Ducatis got out of timing a lot more easily. Again, this is my dumb, and likely unpopular opinion, but I don't get the valves looked at until it feels like something is not running right (hard to start, etc.). At least on a street bike. I've never had the valves adjusted on any of my Duc street bikes, and I've had to over 20k that ran great (until they were stolen...

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Haaaaaate

Update. Ended up not going with the deal, found some issues with carfax report and seller stated information had inconsistencies.

The search continues…. Looking at a 2020 v2 with very low miles right now. Will keep y’all updated.

There aren’t a lot of differences in the 2020 and 2021 versions right?

newducguy said:

Update. Ended up not going with the deal, found some issues with carfax report and seller stated information had inconsistencies.

The search continues…. Looking at a 2020 v2 with very low miles right now. Will keep y’all updated.

There aren’t a lot of differences in the 2020 and 2021 versions right?

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No differences for any year. Except paint. And that's only for this 2024/2025 model, that you can get in black. (I think.)

newducguy said:

Update. Ended up not going with the deal, found some issues with carfax report and seller stated information had inconsistencies.

The search continues…. Looking at a 2020 v2 with very low miles right now. Will keep y’all updated.

There aren’t a lot of differences in the 2020 and 2021 versions right?

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Always trust your gut. Good decision. If something looks suss, it’s most likely suss

thorny said:

My 2 cents on the choice of a sportbike. They all suck unless you can travel at 70-80mph+ for most of your rides. Most young guys but them to look good, but the reality of it they are very compromised and just PITA at slow speeds and especially city riding. If you: need a fast bike; do not do track days; have some city riding to deal with; can tolerate slightly less sexy look on Instagram - get an upright naked bike with as much displacement as you can afford. Sport bikes and superbikes in particular are great as a second bike in the stable for weekend rides on great country/mountain roads away from traffic and if you track.

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Couldn't agree more.

I'd get a used Tuono 660. You can get one with an exhaust and a flash for under $8k. 50lbs of torque. Just bitchin', for the street.

thorny said:

My 2 cents on the choice of a sportbike. They all suck unless you can travel at 70-80mph+ for most of your rides. Most young guys but them to look good, but the reality of it they are very compromised and just PITA at slow speeds and especially city riding. If you: need a fast bike; do not do track days; have some city riding to deal with; can tolerate slightly less sexy look on Instagram - get an upright naked bike with as much displacement as you can afford. Sport bikes and superbikes in particular are great as a second bike in the stable for weekend rides on great country/mountain roads away from traffic and if you track.

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my issue is the naked bikes I like are expensive as well. Like street fighter v2, so still searching for now.

does anyone know what's the best cost effective/cheap method to transport a motorcycle from a different state. I do have a '15 Tahoe with hitch however, she is a big gal who is thirsty for gas all the time. I am thinking about what my best options are here.

Might take a road trip with the parents so that the car isn't empty but open to hearing if anyone has better options.

From least to worst as far as MPG...

Bed of a pickup truck.

U-Haul motorcycle trailer.

Enclosed box trailer.

Toy hauler.

I recently went about 800 miles and picked up a 6x14 tandem trailer (6'-6" interior height) with a F-150. I went from 23 MPG unloaded to 13 MPG. I was towing at mostly 70 MPH, but when towing its MUCH better to stick to 60 or 65 MPH. One less fueling stop is a lot more time on the road.

bp_SFV4 said:

From least to worst as far as MPG...

Bed of a pickup truck.

U-Haul motorcycle trailer.

Enclosed box trailer.

Toy hauler.

I recently went about 800 miles and picked up a 6x14 tandem trailer (6'-6" interior height) with a F-150. I went from 23 MPG unloaded to 13 MPG. I was towing at mostly 70 MPH, but when towing its MUCH better to stick to 60 or 65 MPH. One less fueling stop is a lot more time on the road.

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I wish I knew people with pickup truck. Can I borrow yours?

Plan is to use the Tahoe with motorcycle trailer and show my parents few states meanwhile/enroute. Unfortunately U-Haul doesn’t do one way trip for the motorcycle trailer so I’d have to travel with it.

I also thought of renting a car but they take 1$/mile so would end up with the same cost of paying someone to deliver.

Thanks for the reply regardless. Much appreciate the help.

The only thing to consider with the U-Haul trailers is that you can't lock them to your hitch. There's a knob which you turn to latch it, but anyone can come by and easily steal it if there are so inclined.

I have a set of 9' ramps for loading, but its not for the faint of heart. It feels wonky even just walking up and down the ramps.

I bought my motorcycle in Houston. I live in austin. The trip took about 4 hours on the way back. My wife drove me there. It was really fun and gave me a chance to feel out the bike. Of course I knew I wanted the bike. How far would you need to ride it back?

PerfectGnome said:

I bought my motorcycle in Houston. I live in austin. The trip took about 4 hours on the way back. My wife drove me there. It was really fun and gave me a chance to feel out the bike. Of course I knew I wanted the bike. How far would you need to ride it back?

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13 hrs. I don’t mind the ride, just that I won’t have the plates and possible pull over will get me in trouble.

You can probably buy a temporary plate. Or just have a bill of sale printed up for the seller to fill out. I'm sure if you did get pulled over. That bill of sale would suffice.

thorny said:

My 2 cents on the choice of a sportbike. They all suck unless you can travel at 70-80mph+ for most of your rides. Most young guys but them to look good, but the reality of it they are very compromised and just PITA at slow speeds and especially city riding. If you: need a fast bike; do not do track days; have some city riding to deal with; can tolerate slightly less sexy look on Instagram - get an upright naked bike with as much displacement as you can afford. Sport bikes and superbikes in particular are great as a second bike in the stable for weekend rides on great country/mountain roads away from traffic and if you track.

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Second bike if you can afford it absolutely. Have a sensible fun bike for touring or more relaxed riding. Caveat is that while generally extreme overkill, the electronic Ohlins on the V4S, make it excellent as a road bike when adjusted for your local road conditions with a lower power setting.

Does anyone really need a 911 GT3 RS and will they use even a fraction of its capabilities on the street? That’s not the point…..

SBK-SP said:

City riding/commuting on any Panigale is not recommended, even in “cooler” weather. The bikes aren't designed for it and while the bike itself will be ok, It will run very hot and basically become not “fun to ride” enough to justify the negatives, which are heat and riding position.
I’ve ridden in ALL weather for 60+ years and the issue with “cooler” weather is that your body is “tenser” due to cold and then the riding position and the ability to move around/adjust is very limited. All said, yes you can make it work if you’re aware of the issues.

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This, I use mine as a fun bike, and that is it, take it out to certain canyon turns, and old racetracks that I still have access to. I don't commute on it, I don't go on group rides. Don't ride it around town dont ride it to work, not made for that. And I sure as hell won't even consider putting a leg over it if the temperature outside is above 75 degrees. Other than that, it does what it's told and doesn't disappoint, it puts the lotion in the basket.

Sounds like you may just need to forget about saving a couple of k by going to a reputable dealer, but if you go private then this is how I do it; first its my inbuilt ........ detector based on first impressions, appearances and the story, then its the bike itself- overall condition etc then the legals service records etc. Try and get low miles, avoid anything rebuilt, customized or anything with evidence of being crashed until you have a bit of confidence. What you want is stock standard, a service history and chicken strips plus someone who bought it for the brand but discovered it wasn't for them. Everyone is different, half the guys here would buy something tracked and crashed if it came from the the right person i.e someone who wrenches and doesnt cut corners but that not for beginners in Ducati world.

As for the bike itself, the V2's are bullet proof in normal use and they are a great all round bike that love being revved and tracked. Ducatis are not crap despite some members thinking they should be built like their F100's, they are well engineered, well built but highly strung motorcycles with a sporting DNA which requires a different approach to working on them and with patience and appropriate care they are just as reliable as any similarly tuned sportsbike.

Good luck, anything you see post the advert up here and you'll get a lot of useful advice