| Author | Message | ||
     Kevyn |
Will this put you over the edge? 996 SBK motor with SSS...plus some other nicde goodies  | ||
| Crusty |
Choosing between that Duck and a Buell reminds me of Jethro Clampetts dilemma, "I can't decide whether I want to be a brain surgeon or a soda jerk." | ||
| V2win |
Kevyn, That is the best looking monster yet! The guys are riding tomorrow. You? | ||
| Kim |
Jethro's last name was Bodine. | ||
| Hans |
Without txt:  | ||
| Crusty |
Kim, you're right. It's still one of my favorite lines from the show. | ||
| Smitty |
My friend has a 2002 S4. Great bike cheep insurance. Sounds great .I can keep up with him on my 86 700 cc Yamaha. He also has 600 miles on the trailer running to the dealer for service. It currently shuts off at lights with no warning but it restarts without a problem. With a Buell you can work on it if you are handy with a Duck you better trust your dealer. | ||
| Grndskpr |
Jason, just for info, i have an S3T, and thewife has a Ducati m900(not the s4, just a regular 900 air cooled) from the hand book, and some other reading, regular pm's are 8000 miles, Buell is 10,000(very little difference) Ducati are not as hard as everyone thinks, and i would say about the same as the Buell(i have done both) they run about the same tires, and act about the same(i have test ridden the xb) i feel that the Duck is just a little ahead of the game(900m, not the S4, which is no longer avaliable in the US, it stops this year or next, something to consider)The Duc feels just nice, dont get me wrong i like both bikes, if the xb was a little bigger i would consider it, but overall i just like the duc, now my S3 has had some odd problems, but i have not had the duc long enuff to comment of breackage issues, but i think a new 2002 is going to be the same price as a Buell, maybe a little less, dealers are about the same(i have 2 good duc dealers in the area and 1 good hd dealer, plus 1 bad duc dealer and 3 bad hd dealers) so thats about equal, i think you were right about the test ride, try them both and ignore what everyone says and buy what you want good luck enoy Roger | ||
| Budo |
I always have to laugh when someone says the Ducati are high maintance. I had a 1998 S1W that I mangaed to put 31k miles on in spite of numerious and some serious problems. You think a Duc is expensive to own. I holed a piston at 19,324 miles. My dealer all but refused to rebuild the bike so a buddy of mine did it. I had to replace the rear wheel at 25k miles. Now when was the last time you heard of a wheel wearing out? I am not going to bore you guys with the laundry list of problems I had. I will say my Buell was the Yugo of motorcycles, which is why I no longer own it. I do like the Ducati's alot. A buddy has a m900s and it is a real sweet bike. So you have to get the valves adjusted, BFD. Cheaper than my experience with my bike. As always YMMV. | ||
| Budo |
LOW PRICE ON XB9S and R. My local dealer who I think blows by the way has 2003 XB9's for $8,495. That is Bumpas HD/Buell of Memphis. 800-264-1793. As long as you don't want them to service the bike you should be ok. | ||
| Imonabuss |
Didn't own an S1. Did own a couple of Ducatis. Do own an XB9R. XB9R virtually bulletproof, much cheaper to ride and own than the Ducatis. | ||
| Rmckimmie |
I am seriously considering a Ducati Monster 1000DS or XB9S, but I am concerned by the reliability of Buell’s, especially after seeing sights like www.mybuell.com. Imonabuss… how long have you had the XB9R? How may miles? “Virtually bulletproof” what have you had happen so far? | ||
| Darthane |
Rmckimmie, I have nearly 8000 miles on my Firebolt with absolutely no problems that weren't caused by me. I'd have to agree with Imonabuss, personally. Buell nailed this one but good. As with all new models there are going to be growing pains, but none have hit me so far and I don't see anything that concerns me anyhere in the near future, either. It may interest you to know that the maintenance on my Firebolt over 8000 miles has cost me approximately $100, and that's only because I use pure synthetics in it. Not sure what the maintenance costs on a Ducati would be after that many miles. Bryan | ||
| Reepicheep |
Rmckimmie I experienced much of what can go badly in Buell ownership with my 2000 tube framer. And if I could go back in time and have a conversation with myself on the way to buy the bike (a 4 hour drive one way in the snow), what I would say to myself would be: 1) Don't let the previous owner park it on an incline in the wind before loading truck. 2) Replace your front exhaust mount as soon as Buell releases the updated part. 3) When eastgate buell (cincy) tells you the recall shock is there on the shelf waiting for you, they are lying. All four times. 4) get the supertrapp sooner. 5) When you get the bad shifting cruncy transmission sound, don't panic, it is just the primary chain tensioner. 6) You are about to buy a tremendously satisfying motorcycle. I have been watching this forum for a few years now, and it started with the blast. While all we tube framers were talking about fixing this and fixing that, they were all chatting back and forth about riding here or riding there or what exhaust to put on or what new paint schemes to try. There were a couple noteworthy "grenade blasts", but not many relative to the number of bikes there, and not unlike what I hear about on honda or other big manufacturers forums. The writing was on the wall, and it seemed like just about every good fix for the tubers was already on the blast. They had several years of blast production, with really good results, and a lot of good improvements to a really good base bike, and that became the platform for the XB's. The XB's have seemed to be absolutely amazing.... the problems reported so far have been minor (wheel bearings and side stand) and very easy to resolve, and most importantly the factory was all over the problems before they even hit our radar. That is an astounding feat... moving faster then an internet enthusiast forum. I have buddies with all sorts of bikes, and I somehow end up working on most of them. What people are describing as ownership experiences with the XB's is as good as any of them, and better then most. The only step backwards I can see was noted by Aaron... the XB's no longer have a cartridge transmission, so tranny work requires splitting the cases, which I think is a shame. That being said, a broken XB transmission arguably works better then the tuber transmission in peak form, so maybe it makes no difference  Buy the XB, run full synthetics in it, make sure it has the upgraded sidestand and wheel bearings, and enjoy the bike. I would have an XB9s in the garage beside my Cyclone tomorrow if the minivan were paid off... | ||
| Blake |
Sell the minivan. ![:]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) | ||
| Imonabuss |
Rmck, Just over 5000 miles. I got an early one, so I had it fall over in the garage (broke clutch lever), in response to which the dealer put on new parts for free (including the recall sidestand...why it fell). I also had the wheel bearings replaced for free. Other than that, nothing but standard services. | ||
| Rmckimmie |
Thanks guys… might have to go a 9S! Race Kit of course… | ||
| Aesquire |
Reepacheep, The XB9R has 2 flaws. Don't fit me (but would w/XB9S pegs), & I can't buy one. (minivan payment.) | ||
| Grndskpr |
Ducati has 2 flaws, geared way to high from the factory for me, and hard clutch pull, both of whom are easy fixes, and i doubt you will go wrong with either bike, both have had problems, i have read acounts of both having engine/trans failures, both are fun to ride, i would consider a call to the insurance agent first on both bikes, you may be surprised at the quotes you get(my wifes monster were as high as 3000 a year, they are considered exotic by some companies) One other sugestion, go test ride them both, for example you could make a trip to the honda hoot, ride them back to back, best way to find the bike you like the most Roger | ||
| Budo |
Someone said the 15k maintance schedule on the XB9's requires the belt to be replaced. Can anyone confirm this and how much does that cost? | ||
| Ftd |
Anybody know how the S and R sales compare?? It seems more posters like the S better but I have encountered many more R's on the road. Frank | ||
| Reepicheep |
Damn these minivans anyway! (Actually, it really is the minivans fault, got a 96 ford windstar with 80k miles on it for $8k or so, and it had nothing but problems until it finally started making crank death rattles so I had to trade it in... cost me $6000 to drive for less then two years... *thats* where my next bike went for a couple more years)... Grrrrrrrrrr | ||
| Darthane |
Shouldn't have bought a Ford... | ||
| Budo |
The other thing to consider is resale value. If you did get a Ducati and had problems and wanted to sell it you might be able to do that. A Buell on the other hand has very little reslae value. AT one time some Buell dealers would not take a Buell in trade. Even if they did would you trade for, another Buell or a Fatboy? Other than Modesto Buell which has Ducati also other Buell dealers are HD only. Most Ducati dealers also have other brands, Kawak, Suzuki, Yamaha, etc... I remember being in the Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda dealer looking at a FZ1. A salesman strikes up a conversation with me. I tell him yeah I want a FZ1 but I gotta sell my current bike first. He says 'I will take a trade, what do you have?' I say a 1998 Buell S1W with lots of mods in excellent cond. He rocked back on his heels, his eyes rolled back in his head and he said 'Ummm, I don't think I can do anything with that'. Yeah, I know. | ||
| Blake |
Have you looked at the prices of used Ducati's lately?... No bids yet on this one... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2416928071&categor y=6026 Low low bid price on this one... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2416877542&categor y=6026 No bids on this one and it's brand new... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2417166082&categor y=6026 Heck, used anything except Harley's won't retain much of their retail price. Not many bikes hold resale well. The XB9's on ebay that are nearing bid completion are going for an impressive price. Look for yourself... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2417157047&categor y=6704 All the dealers around me are eager for used Buells to sell. A dealer that cannot sell new Buells, won't want to sell used ones either. Asking a Jap bike shop to take a Buell on trade? I think that reflects more on the person asking for the trade-in than the value of the bike. Would a Buell shop take a Jap bike in trade? If a shop doesn't know how to work on a bike, like just to tune it and perform basic maintenance, they aren't likely to accept it in trade. | ||
| Jim_witt |
My turn, In my neck of the woods, a 98 S3T sold for $12,500 "plus" tax and lincese in 1998. If you put on the pro series race system that added another $799.95 plus installation. Most purchase a new seat or have theirs reworked. I paid $350.60 for my Corbin seat. Then add the extended warranty (depending on the number of years) if you purchased one. If you ride 10,000 miles a year (I ride way more than that) add the maintenance cost (if you don't do it yourself), 500, 2,500, 5,000, 7,500 and 10,000 and at least one set of tires. I'd guesstimate one would easily have $16,000 wrapped up in this scenario within the first year if you paid cash for the puppy, which of course most don't. If I tried to sell MY 98 S3T today, with 40,000 miles on it, in execellent shape, including the paint (probably a 9.5) I doubt I'd get $5,000 for it. Used Buells in my neck of the woods simply don't sell, especially at dealerships. I scope out the newspaper, cycletrader, and dealers weekly for S2's, S1's. To my knowledge none of the dealerships in my area will take a trade in either. -JW:> | ||
| Budo |
It was not that I expected the japanese bike dealer to really take my bike in treade, I just wanted to see his reaction. I thought it was interesting though. It was not that he lowballed me, he did not want it at any price! So I had a 1998 S1W, all black, twin tail, carbon fiber A/C, V&H pipe, new front rotor, Nallin Stage 1 heads and hurricane pistons, corbin seat, all service records and recalls, and various other mods too many to list here. So I sold the bike for $3,000.00, delivered it 400 miles away and was glad to get it. I sold it off of the board, the cycletrader and local paper got zero response. | ||
| Blake |
So I sold the bike for $3,000.00, delivered it 400 miles away and was glad to get it. Ebay? Oh well, you made someone VERY happy. The new Buells seem to be doing excellent on resale. The used XB9R on ebay shown above sold for $7,700. The guy is looking to by a new XB9S right?  | ||
| Darthane |
Ohhhhh...if only I could afford it, there would be a black XB9S parked right next to the Blast and Firebolt in my garage...then I'd have a REALLY hard decision every time I opened the door! It's bad enough having to choose between the Blast and Firebolt (and yes, the Blast does, on occasion, win out), but tossing a 9S in the mix might just make my head explode. LOL Bryan | ||
| Jim_sb |
I've been eyeing several new bikes as potential stable mates for my S2. I like the look and feel of the Monster 1000S i.e. so I hooked up with the local Ducati Club last weekend for some advice. 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. Another guy said if you're gonna buy a Monster you'd really be better off just getting a new Buell.... Of course with my Buell I do most everything myself. Might be time to look at the XB's again... |
