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It's official: the 999R Xerox and Hypermotard are beautiful

5K views 36 replies 17 participants last post by  Chuckracer 
#1 ·
http://www.ducati.com/news/06/news014/news014.jhtml

"The judges were the artists Heinz Mack, Vittorio Matino and Kenneth Noland, 15 times motorcycle world champion Giacomo Agostini, the design professor Enrico Fagone, the transportation designer Michael Conrad, the fashion designer Carlo Rivetti, and the journalist Alessandro Giudice. The jury was chaired by Mr Bruno Alfieri. The 26 examined and evaluated motorcycle and scooter models and defined the top aesthetic achievements of 15 European, Japanese and American manufacturers.

After a careful examination, Jury presented two of the awards to Ducati models. The award in the “Special Series” category went to the Ducati 999R Xerox and the award for the “Best Prototype” went to the Ducati Hypermotard."

*****

Yeah, okay, maybe I'm being a troll. :p
 
#2 ·
Oh Jeez! I can see the fur fly on THIS forum, from some of the Terbie-SBK-is-a-turd ranters.

Wait - wanna bet they're gonna "substantiate" their arguments with all sorts of SBK sales figures and stuff? (regardless that good old Tambie's MV Agusta is a sales flop ;) )

:) :) :)
 
#3 ·
All of the the 999r should have come out with WSBK race graphics... It looks so much sexier... It finally got to see one in person, and the pictures don't do it justice... Its to bad, since the 999/749 series may change soon - I think the design is finally catching on.
 
#5 ·
I have never liked the 999 and having a bunch of "experts" telling me it is "beautiful" won't change my mind. But as much as I dislike the 999, I really can't stand pretendo-racer graphics no matter what make or model it's slathered on.
 
#7 ·
More Info

Other awards...

"Additional awards went to the MV Agusta F41000 Senna in the street bike category, the Kawasaki ER-6n in the naked category, the Husqvarna TE510 Centennial in the off-road category and the Aprilia Scarabeo 500 in the Scooter category. In addition, the MV Agusta Brutale R and the Harley-Davidson VRXSE Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod Destroyer received special prizes."
 
#8 ·
rob said:
Other awards...

"Additional awards went to the MV Agusta F41000 Senna in the street bike category, the Kawasaki ER-6n in the naked category, the Husqvarna TE510 Centennial in the off-road category and the Aprilia Scarabeo 500 in the Scooter category. In addition, the MV Agusta Brutale R and the Harley-Davidson VRXSE Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod Destroyer received special prizes."

Damn! Now you went and spoiled all the fun about the MV Agusta! :) :)
 
#9 · (Edited)
Page 28 my friend, page 28.......

OldBaldy said:
Damn! Now you went and spoiled all the fun about the MV Agusta! :) :)
Barry-

Good to hear from you again ! Just two comments

1. Didn't know that the MV is a sales flop ! I haven't seen either their forecasted sales or actual sales, so....!

2. Regarding the sales performance of the 999's, doesn't page 28 of the Ducati re-start plan say it all ? Or if I may quote..."Moreover Ducati is experiencing problems with product appeal in the premium SBK segments due to a style and discontinuity issue on the 999-749."

That doesn't seem to address what fine motorcycles they actually are. It just says that the marketplace....and not just a few of us old school guys......doesn't think it is attractive enough to let us enjoy it's superior performance and increased reliability.

Yikes ! What a terrible position to be in ! Gotta do something with that self acknowledged product problem.

You Terbie enthusiasts ought to fall in line with Ducati management on this one, no ?
 
#16 ·
Well, don't really care what you guys think. I like the 999 and wish I had one. If you don't like it go buy a rice burner. You'll feel better in the masses. A grain of rice in a bowl... HAHA.

AND. I'm already on the list to buy the Hypermotard. I hope you don't like it either. Go buy a KTM or better yet a KLR.

So there.
 
#17 ·
bev, Old Baldy's absolutely correct about the MV Agusta sales flop. Every time our local dealership uncrates an MV and puts it on the sales floor, somebody walks in, flops down a wad of cash and walks out with an MV. ;)
 
#18 ·
pazzoduc said:
Well, don't really care what you guys think. I like the 999 and wish I had one. If you don't like it go buy a rice burner. You'll feel better in the masses. A grain of rice in a bowl... HAHA.

AND. I'm already on the list to buy the Hypermotard. I hope you don't like it either. Go buy a KTM or better yet a KLR.

So there.
Don't know if this was directed at anything I said (don't think it was, actually) but, after all this time, I think the 999 is decent. I'd own one. Just not as nice (personal preference here) stylewise as the 916/996/998. And, the evolution of the 916 is the MV Agusta, clearly. If you love your 999 you are a lucky man. No doubt you are as happy as I am with my 998. Hey, we can all be happy, eh? :)

bruce19
 
#19 ·
The Troll speaks again...

I like the 749/999, but when it came time to put my money where my mouth is, I bought a used 748. If I were to go out RIGHT NOW with $20K in my pocket, I still don't think I'd get a Duc superbike. In fact I'd probably buy Moto's MV. :D

At the moment, the 748 gives me everything I can handle and still gives me little hints that it's got more when I'm ready for it. If I ever get to the point where moving up to a literbike makes sense, I'll probably start looking at used 999S or 999R models.

My real dreams, though, lie along the fog-misted path of what Ducati might have available as their "flagship" model in '08. I think it's quite likely I'll go from a turn-of-the-century, Tamburini-penned superbike and skip over the 999 to whatever the Next Big Thing is.

Nothing against the bikes or those who own them -- it just hasn't been in the cards for me to get one.
 
#20 ·
Any idea on the MSRP for the supermotard ???
 
#21 ·
Ha! Ron - KNEW you wouldn't be able to resist! :)

Ahhh.... can't help Ducati management getting cold feet on the SBK after the vociferous complaints from the old timer Duc guys. Look how WRONG they were with both the Hypermotard and the Sports Classics (ready years ago), both of which seem to have been instant successes, at least from current feedback.

Sales performance?- well, you wanna bet a few month's salary that the MV Agusta sales is nowhere NEAR the Duc SBK - yet in an identical market? Any reason for MV going bang and needing saving OTHER than styling? Of course! ...and that's my point.

The Ducati SBK sales performance is NOT a styling issue! Non Ducati riders and the publick LOVE the looks of the Ducati. Have you ever heard any non Duc rider say anything bad about the styling? The only things I've ever heard are "reliability issues?", "price", "not enough power", "cost of servicing" - but I hear LOTs of "beautiful bikes!"......

I say it's NOT an styling issue so much as a performance/cost issue. It's an issue with the competition raising the performance bar in recent years, after the 916 was introduced, to the point now where the Duc is handsomely thrashed by any of the top Japanese sportsbikes at half to one-third the price.

The market for the expensive exotic drops as soon as there is no performance advantage.

Don't talk to me about Ducati's great performance in BSB and World Superbike racing classes - rather take a stock Duc that you or I can buy, and compare it to a Japanese sportsbike from 600cc and up, as happens in magazine comparisons the world over - and tell me why some kid will want to spend 2 to 3 times the amount on a bike that can barely compete with the japanese on performance terms, and cannot compete in reliability and service costs and price?

There's a VERY limited market for huge price premiums when there is no performance advantage.

The Duc makes an average rider like myself feel great on the track. I don't ride much on the street anymore - it's too damned uncomfortable, and frankly my 996 is a pig on the street. Get into the twisties or on the track, and it's great. Fantastic. But still slower than most of the 600's you can buy. I KNOW that, and accept it....but this is an ENTIRELY different situation to when the 916 was introduced. Then you had the old heavy Gixxer slingshot 1100 in its last years, the Fizzy 1000 and Honda 900, the Kawa 750/900, and that's about it - and it was a performance leader against those bikes in anything except perhaps a dead straight line. Not true today.

Today, a Honda CBR600 has better roll-on performance than the 999 (look at the numbers), and every Japanese superbike is lighter and handles about as well (most are more agile with better transitions and have better weight distribution, but don't have the expensive Ducati suspension), and EVERY Japanese superbike absolutely anihilates the 999 in a straight line. Not even close.

I would be willing to bet a fairly large sum of money that if the 999 was 30 pounds lighter, and had 30 more HP, sales would go through the roof, despite the price premium - because the performance tables would be turned again (at least for now) - and no matter what we Duc owners think or try to rationalize away, the attraction of a performance leader counts in this market. I think you are missing the point when you (or even Ducati management now) thinks the sales performance is due to STYLING.

Ducati - tackle the REAL issues here - improve your reliability, reduce service costs, increase power, reduce weight, improve weight distribution...and leave the damned styling alone. Who wants another bland Japanese-esque face? It should be uniquely Ducati, and instantly recognizable. Not some half-arsed Honda clone or 916 retro update. PLEASE!
 
#22 ·
MikeM said:
bev, Old Baldy's absolutely correct about the MV Agusta sales flop. Every time our local dealership uncrates an MV and puts it on the sales floor, somebody walks in, flops down a wad of cash and walks out with an MV. ;)
Yeah, Mike - we see hundreds of them on the street, eh? Dime a dozen over here... :)
 
#23 ·
You must have a dealer that's Rollling Stones grade. When you start seeing Pamela Anderson across the breakfast table, send some my way, will ya?
 
#24 ·
OldBaldy said:
and no matter what we Duc owners think or try to rationalize away, the attraction of a performance leader counts in this market. I think you are missing the point when you (or even Ducati management now) thinks the sales performance is due to STYLING.
OB, I think you're right on the money with respect to the new buyer. Ducati enjoys as much brand loyalty as the next manufacturer, if not more, though. Those "old timer Duc guys" are the ones, as you pointed out, are the most vociferous scoffers at the new superbike styling -- and they are the pool from which repeat sales are drawn.

I have no idea what percentage of the overall market they represent, but they're a piece of it.
 
#26 ·
bevel450 said:
Didn't know that the MV is a sales flop ! I haven't seen either their forecasted sales or actual sales, so....!
The only thing I've seen is that MV's plan calls for the manufacture of 7,500 units per year and presumably that corresponds to the size of their manufacturing capacity.

If they're "flopping" it's interesting that Ducati should be following their model by slicing almost all of the low-margin bikes from the lineup, and "low-margin" bikes make up almost 50% of Ducati sales. A lot of slicing indeed.

They're also deleting two lines in total, presumably the SuperSport with 1,000 units sold last year plus another line, either the 1,500 ST's they sell annually or the balance of the MultiStrada line, probably the same number of units once the mini-Multis are removed from the picture.

Based on the 34,000 registrations last year, those changes would likely put them south of 20,000 units while trying to support plant capacity more than double that...
 
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