Ducati Quality - Ducati.ms

spyvito · Oct 11th, 2011, 7:50 am

Thanks to Mark the Whippersnapper for putting me on to Mr. DelTorchio's interview with Dealernews. Second of his stated objectives for Ducati is quality:

The second objective is quality. Today we are truly obsessed about quality and the results are gratifying. Analysis show that we are among the best European factories. We are not yet to the level of the Japanese, but we are improving. The number of failures during the warranty period has decreased by 54 percent.

I love the brand and most of the bikes but when I think of the plastic tank debacle I don't think about quality or commitment to the customer. I'm pretty sure the 2012 848 Streetfighter will have an expandable plastic tank and probably won't have a warning label for ethanoled gas. Will the Panigale also have a deformable tank? I wouldn't bet against that.

LessPeople_MoreRobots · Oct 11th, 2011, 11:16 pm

The tank thing is completely inexcusable at this point, considering just how widespread and well-documented the issue is. I've purchased two Ducatis new, but there will never be another as long as this isn't resolved.

999s · Oct 11th, 2011, 11:33 pm

I love Ducati...but this this whole expanding tank thing is fucking bullshit. The dealership replaced the original on my S2R1K but I think the second is beginning to disfigure.

Hailwood1 · Oct 13th, 2011, 7:20 am

Their level of failures under warranty have decreased 54% translates to " We have denied 54% more warranty claims this year "

They are true spinsters. Just like their sales numbers, they manipulate them to say what they want them to say. They take an obscure market segment and list their sales increase in Western Tennessee. They push out bikes to dealers with specials and consider any bike that went to a dealer as a sold unit. So Ducati sold 10,000 units in North America but North American dealers only sold 6,000 units. See what i mean.

Back to quality, every dealer I have spoken to has told me the quality has continued to decline since the 999 finished production and that the newest bikes like the Diavel are pure crap.

Lets see what happens with the 1199, I am betting on multiple recalls and all sorts of failures.

Now for the expanding tanks, that is a great representation of their quality and commitment to improving and their commitment to their current and future customers.

edvin70 · Oct 13th, 2011, 7:43 am

This is Ducati's AMF period ... I hope that someone can right the ship before its too late.

MTScott2 · Oct 13th, 2011, 8:06 am

Times are changing , Pretty much every vehicle will have some sort of "Recall", It is how the manufacturer and their network of dealers handle the Issue ...
Seems some dealers do not deserve our support and there are some that do the right thing and are a pleasure to do buisness with...
Rarely are there issues that cannot be fixed , sometimes it costs us some cash to make the bike how we want it...
How many times does the owner mess stuff up , when taking bike for service ask a lot of questions use the service manager or go even higher up ...
Know what you are getting into ...

If you dealer can't preform satisfactory work GO somewhere else...
Very frustrating about the tanks , is it the fuel? Or the tanks design ? THAT would drive me NUTS...

spyvito · Oct 13th, 2011, 9:51 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTScott2

Rarely are there issues that cannot be fixed , sometimes it costs us some cash to make the bike how we want it..

Spending money to personalize the bike is one thing but having to spend hundreds on tank coating and shipping is something else altogether. Also, despite how well-known and publicized the issue is, Ducati is continuing to introduce motorcycles with tanks that are not compatible with our available fuel. Yes, they will take care of you during your warranty but what then? Do you buy a bike to use only during the warranty period and then discard it?

LessPeople_MoreRobots · Oct 13th, 2011, 10:42 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyvito

Yes, they will take care of you during your warranty but what then? Do you buy a bike to use only during the warranty period and then discard it?

I don't know about you, but a new tank out of pocket for my bike goes for $2253.99. And you have to consider, thats as long as they're producing tanks for this model. Once they stop production, how many viable tanks are going to be on the used market?

Count Lippe · Oct 13th, 2011, 10:56 am

I think there was an encouraging although temporary improvement in quality at Ducati during the 999 era across the board with their models. I don't have any statistics to back this up, just based upon the bikes I owned then and people I talked to.
Over the past 3-4 years I've seen a reversal in quality that started with the basic design of some bikes. When I had my Monster 696 I would sometimes wonder if anyone had even test driven them at the factory before they were shipped out. Didn't anyone think to attach a heat shield so the exhaust didn't cook the thighs? Even if the plastic gas tank didn't expand who was the genius that decided to add twenty screws to remove it, whereas a single latch would sufficed with the old style.
I can't say I'm thrilled either by the recent transformers inspired styling.
Never thought I'd miss Pierre TerBlanche!

MTScott2 · Oct 13th, 2011, 11:10 am

$2254.oo for a new tank!!!
For that kind of cash you would think an independant would fab something up ...
We all know how much Ducati inflates their prices...
As I said that would drive me nuts...
Like the different size screws to get one part off ...WHY?
well worth finding a sympathetic dealer who can get you replacements...