New Motorcycle disintegrating

dovski

I'm afraid to say it was a lovely Ducati Supersport S. I bought panniers and tank bag for it expecting to be able to use it year round. I'm having it independently inspected next week. The inspector is very keen to assess it. I have said if it had been a honda or indeed a fiat 500, I'd be able to park it outside and ride 5000 miles through winter and it would come out the other side dirty but ride/driveable. I EXPECT a reasonable quality as consumer and reliability that would not endanger me.
There is a market for fenda extandas for this bike but only the rear.
This is definitely form over function in their case. Even riding without a mudguard fitted, its my opinion that the wiring should be adequately protected that this catastrophic failure would no occur over a seasons 'neglected' riding, the manufacturer word not mine. The are implying my neglect caused it!!!:mad:

shinytop

Really sorry and a bit surprised to hear this. I thought Ducati had improved things like this in recent years but maybe not. I don't think the mudguard/design issues are a consumer protection matter as a sportsbike will never have great rain protection but the other issues are shocking; you should be able to leave a bike outside all year and not have this happen. Letting a bike get wet isn't neglect. I hope you get it resolved under warranty.

Oh btw, to the earlier posters, Ducati isn't Chinese in case you didn't know

System

dovski wrote: »

I'm afraid to say it was a lovely Ducati Supersport S. I bought panniers and tank bag for it expecting to be able to use it year round. I'm having it independently inspected next week. The inspector is very keen to assess it. I have said if it had been a honda or indeed a fiat 500, I'd be able to park it outside and ride 5000 miles through winter and it would come out the other side dirty but ride/driveable. I EXPECT a reasonable quality as consumer and reliability that would not endanger me.
There is a market for fenda extandas for this bike but only the rear.
This is definitely form over function in their case. Even riding without a mudguard fitted, its my opinion that the wiring should be adequately protected that this catastrophic failure would no occur over a seasons 'neglected' riding, the manufacturer word not mine. The are implying my neglect caused it!!!:mad:

When I had my Ducati I found their customer service pretty good although this is dealer dependant. By the sounds of it there are some actual manufacture fault so complain to Ducati UK, their head office is at Silverstone.


All makers have recalls and you wouldn't have to have taken the bike in during the winter if you weren't using it, I personally would have spoken to dealer and said its currently sorn so will bring in when taxed they would have been ok with this.


Again a concise letter with bullet points outlining the issues to Ducati UK should help

scoot65

walwyn1978 wrote: »

As an aside I’ve had a number of Vespas/Lambrettas etc. They all were kept outside and ridden in all weathers.

I've been riding Vespas and Lambrettas for the last 39 years. Currently have two Lambrettas (GP and TV/GT) and a Vespa GTS.

Still get a buzz attending the various scooter rallies held up and down the country throughout the year .....

silverwhistle

dovski wrote: »

I'm afraid to say it was a lovely Ducati Supersport S.

Ooof. I've no idea of the price but not a Chinese (or East German!) cheapie then!



Maybe they've taken their eye off the ball a bit as so many bikers seem to be just summer for fun riders. I was never a biker chick: it was just cheap transport and hence all season, but I'd expect any bike to cope with a UK winter.



Good luck.

MEM62

dovski wrote: »

I'm afraid to say it was a lovely Ducati Supersport S.

Oh dear...... If I was making a list of bikes for year round commuting use, particularly somewhere like Scotland, I would put a Ducati at the bottom of the list - even below the Chinese rubbish. This is not because they are not good bikes, they are, but they are not designed for this type of use. They are expensive because they are exotic. They make great toy but a winter will have a big impact on it. I would expect the mechanics to hold up but the finish will decimated - as will the resale value. All those pristine examples you see on the road in summer are pampered.

Sorry OP, but it is a case of buying the wrong tool for the job. For that type of use you want a Honda.

Having said that, if the bike is that bad then you should have some comeback. Maybe some parts might be replaced under warranty once the bike has been properly inspected and you have an engineers report to support your claim. The problem is, one more winter and you are back to square one.

facade

MEM62 wrote: »

All those pristine examples you see on the road in summer are pampered.

The same is true for Harley Davidson and Moto Guzzi. If you cannot keep them in the living room, or failing that a heated garage, buying one will end in tears.


I had a lovely Moto Guzzi, but it got wet once, and literally dissolved into a ball of aluminium fur, so I cleaned it up and punted it on. I still wish I hadn't, maybe I'll get a new one, and keep it in the living room rather than the garage.

agrinnall

I must admit my thoughts align almost exactly with MEM62. Apart from perhaps some of the more recent Fiat models you can't really expect any vehicle built in Italy to cope well with Scottish winter weather. They're all designed for cruising on the autostrada and posing in piazzas, not for a commute in snow, slush, gravel and salt. I did drive a Panda for 80K miles over 4 years when living in the Highlands, but I wouldn't have picked a Ducati for even a tenth of that mileage.

dovski

Thanks for your thoughts.
I must say, the bike was never used for commuting, I work 5 on 5 off in the EU and only get to ride when the weather was acceptable including a ride out with my partner on christmas day...its seen very very few actual winter road miles which is why I'm devastated, they sell this model with £1000 worth of panniers and tank bag on top which declares intent to be used. At 2450 miles, its not out of the box yet imho..The finance company arent much help and I get the feeling they want as do Ducati to wash their hands of it! I'll see what the indie inspector says next week.:(:(

machasraven

I have asked my OH about your problem - he is an aircraft inspector his response I'm sorry to say was to burst out laughing. A Ducati in Scotland even ridden once in winter is a big no no to him. We have 10 motorbikes between us from the years 1973 to 2004 and have ridden all year round in the past(OH has built bikes too) and neither of us would see yours as anything less than a summer toy.