| Author |
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Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 01:38 am: | 
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Dang, was that the SacDORG club you went riding with? |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 10:51 am: |
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Nope. Santa Barbara Ducati Club.
They like the Aprilia Tuono as well. Duh. |
Jmartz
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 01:03 pm: |
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I have ridden the S4 quite extensively (several 100 miles) and would like to offer an opinion. The bike feels heavy in both weight and steering effort. Styling is less pleasing than the 900 cc (now 1000) air cooled models. The radiator and accessory parts and somewhat ugly. With the CF radiator trim pieces and the engine scoop looks improve a bit.
Handling is not quick. The chassis is a touring design, but that being said, it is no FXWG. Where the bike excels is in the engine performance. The internals of that motor must be be very light because its spin-up is nothing short of stellar.
Getting going requires burning the clutch since off-the-line torque is quite low. If the right gear is selected cracking the throttle produces faster acceleration than my modified S1 is capable of. |
Grndskpr
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 06:54 pm: |
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They said timing belt replacement will need to be done every 6k miles at a cost of $700! Ouch! I guess they do it while they're in there adjusting the valves. Or whatever.
Funny thing is the manual for the 900 monster says every 12500, $700 seems a bit high, but then again Dave mentioned that the 10k for the XB bikes is about 500, throw in some brakes(or belt) and your at 700 or close to it, i think it is a matter of what you like, and how you like it, both bikes are fun, light air cooled(m900/1000) best bet would be test ride them both, side by side at a large event like the honda hoot coming up, then make up your mind, i like them both, but enjoy the duck engine more, but like the stability of the buell, there both fun and i doubt you would go wrong with either
Roger |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 - 07:17 pm: |
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Agreed. Both are fun bikes and would be enjoyable to ride.
I'll have to go by a dealership and look closely at the maintenance schedule and related costs before deciding.
The thing is I can do most of the stuff on the Buells myself. And while I do have a local Buell dealer there isn't a Duc dealer anywhere nearby... |
Grndskpr
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 02:34 pm: |
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Jim you may be surprised if you look into the Ducati side of it to, while the xb series engine is easiy to work on, what makes you think the Ducati is so hard??? Maybe you should try www.speedzilla.com and look at the ducati monster section and ask some questions, its not as hard as you think, if you have ever done work on Jap bikes or jap cars for that matter, just something to look at
Roger |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 05:07 pm: |
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I downloaded and read a Duc manual from the Ducati web site (great thing, that Internet, eh?). It lists all the maintenance they "allow" an Owner to perform. All the easy stuff (plugs, oil change, etc.).
It didn't mention the valves / timing belt deal. So I emailed my "local" (90 miles away) Duc dealership and we'll see how they respond.
Makes me really appreciate our easier to maintain Buell engine though... |
Steelshoe
| | Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 09:16 am: |
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I've been looking into m750, all m's have same basic eng. parts dept. said to change belts and adjust valves @6000 miles, belts were about $30 each (need 2), tech told me it's not hard to do, about 1.5 hrs for belt and valve adjust. I'm going to roadtest a duc today along with a kaw z1000 but still think I'll go for xb9s. |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 10:07 pm: |
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Yep. Z1000, XB9S/R and the Monster. I may sneak a peak at a Tuono as well. The S2 stays!  |
Steelshoe
| | Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 10:49 pm: |
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Tested Duc and z1000 today, duc was unique and had personality but kaw was way kool, felt alot like 9S, very comfy, quicker than my dyno tuned bandit and smoother than all but still leaning 9S, its a tossup between 9S and z1000, guess when I have cash in hand I'll make up mind fast! Z bike is 1 large cheaper than buell OTD. |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:02 pm: |
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Interesting. I am more concerned about ongoing maintenance and insurance than I am the "OTD" price. When I narrow it down to 1 or 2 bikes I'll call my insurance agent... |
Steelshoe
| | Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:45 pm: |
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Maintenance and insurance? If thats a big concern, sport bikes shouldn't be of interest. |
Grndskpr
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 02:32 pm: |
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Maintenance and insurance? If thats a big concern, sport bikes shouldn't be of interest.
Did you know, some ins. companies do NOT cover an S3T, they told me it was a high performance bike, and not covered, another company said the Duc M900 was an exotic and quoted me 3000 a year, now my ZX7 is only 750 cc'c and acording to state farm, is less cc's than the buell so it cost about 400 a year less, yea i call my insurance broker before i buy a sport or any bike for that matter, i dont worry about the main, until it breaks
Later
Roger |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 05:52 pm: |
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I have been fortunate on both insurance and maintenance. My bikes have cost roughly $350 - $380 per year for full coverage. I've done most maintenance myself.
Being a "financial type" I can't just run out and buy something without at least considering ongoing insurance and maintenance costs. It goes against my character. OTOH, if I know what I'm getting into up front and make a conscious decision, well, that's okay. Kinda like knowing in advance what your association dues will be on that new house. Some folks don't care. I do. |
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 06:27 pm: |
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I only pay $290/year for full coverage on my 1200cc Cyclone. Progressive rocks. They take the time to learn what each bike is all about, more than just its displacement. |
Darthane
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 06:49 pm: |
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Blah, Progressive wants $159 a year for BARE-ASSED MINIMUM on my Blast and well over $3000 a year for the 'bolt.
I tried AAA and was told, literally, that they only cover Goldwings (not sure if it's true or not, but that's what she told me).
State Farm, whom I currently have, is still the best deal around for me, and they are horribly overpriced at $1300 a year for the 'bolt and $500 a year for the Blast.
My favorite, though - last year I spent a month doing a TON of shopping around for insurance. Found a company that ONLY does motorcycle insurance. Figured, "Hey, they ought to have good prices and know what the difference between a 1000cc air-cooled twin and a 1000cc liquid cooled I4 are, right?" HA! They wanted... -=drumroll=- $14,000 a year for the Firebolt. No, that is not a typo.
All insurance agencies are is a legalized form of age discrimination. Each time I ask how to lower my rates I get the 'turn 25' bullshit.
Bryan |
Grndskpr
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 07:32 pm: |
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Bryan, try an indipendant ins. broker, they shop around for you, state farm however does good by there claims, i had a bike stolen and they did a great job, and covered my loses, however there basis is cc, so your kinda stuck
Blake, living in a small city has it advantages, living in a suburb of a medium to large city is just as good, but if you live in a big city, look out progressive is a huge rip off, i think they like suburban bikers, at least thats been mt experience, plus a lot of people in this area have experience a large rate increase in the last year, again advantages and dis, seems all bikes have them
Roger |
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 09:07 pm: |
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They do look at speeding tickets and whether or not you already have motorcycle coverage. The insurers' biggest risk is first time insured. They will nail you if you don't already have an existing policy. Progressive is one of the best out there. They paid me a fair price when I totalled my bike in '99. They did want to raise my rate, so I found a cheaper alternative, but then three years later they took me back at an even lower rate. |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 09:40 pm: |
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I just went through the Progressive online service and got a 6 month quote for my Buell of $2309.
I'll stick with Allstate. |
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 11:57 pm: |
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What did you do, tell then you were a newbie biker with a load of speeding tickets living in downtown NYC? I also set my collision deductable at $1,000. Forgot about that. |
Jim_sb
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 12:04 am: |
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I told them what my policy with Allstate was (from memory, so the coverage levels may not be perfect).
I did however have an accident a month ago (in my car, my fault). No injuries. I reported that as well.
Still, it's not like I live in a bad neighborhood. I'm guessing it's one of those "online" things that gets sorted out if you talk to an agent. Geez I hope so.
But I have pretty good coverage with Allstate so no reason to switch, but I was curious based upon your report.
I have no tickets, only the 1 accident in the last 10 years, otherwise spotless record. Plus I am not young anymore. I have 4 years riding experience, MSF course, pleasure only (no commuting), currently ride about 5k miles per year.
On a '96 S2. I guess that's the problem.
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Jim_sb
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 12:13 am: |
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PS. Maybe the Insurance industry is tough on SoCalites these days because of all the nastiness up on the Crest and Ortega Highway? [too many wrecks, too many fatalities involving bikes].
I dunno. My Agent told me Allstate is no longer going to accept "new" motorcycle customers. But they will keep in force coverage for "existing" motorcycle customers as long as the coverage does not lapse. That's my plan. |
Usapitbullz
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 05:48 pm: |
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$650.00 a year from Progressive for my XB9R! |
Thad
| | Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 04:31 pm: |
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I just insured my new bike with Allstate. No previous motorcycle insurance. First bike. For my XB9S $560.00 per year. Collision and Comprehensive deducts at $250.00.
Progressive wanted $2500.00 per year. |
Darthane
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 06:36 am: |
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Curse my being under 25. It gives the insurance agencies all the ammo they need to rape me with high rates regardless of driving records. Fuck them all.
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Prof_stack
| | Posted on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 10:46 am: |
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"Curse my being under 25."
Darthane, there's a bunch of us "old" guys who sometimes wish we could be 25 again knowing then what we do now. Enjoy your "curse". ![:]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) |
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