Need therapy

[radiotinnitus]

So I dropped by Ducati after work yesterday and didn't tell my wife Spent a bunch of time ogling the Hyperstrada, sitting on it and discussing possible packages with the salesman. Then went home and trolled the internet for reviews and videos that I hadn't already watched.

What is going on here? I love my NC and really consider it the perfect bike for my needs: an urban commuter and all-around short trip machine. I love the mpg, the frunk, the way it fits me, the way it pulls, the way I've got it accessorized, the reliability, the Honda dealership here, the way it behaves in parking lots, the quiet motor and my DCT. What's not to like? I'm really afraid that if I trade it I'll truly regret it. How can I be thinking of throwing away a good thing that's worked great for more than a year now?

And yet the Hyperstrada is so sleek, fast and exciting. And, no, I'm not one of those Have it both ways kind of guys: one for the week days and one on the side for fun. That doesn't work for me. It's gotta be one or the other.

I know a lot of you guys have been through this same type of "issue" yourselves. What do you recommend?

 

[SergeantChuck]

I'll be honest. I think about this daily. I traded my CBR1000RR for the NCX. I have withdrawals all the time. Quite possibly everyday. I put 60 miles on my bike daily and a good part of that is interstate without bad traffic. Trust me, I constantly think about the times where lots of power was fun and handy. I think it will be a very long time before I get over that. I also don't think there is a cure. I just have to remind myself why I bought this bike. To commute. For that purpose it is very handy. I break it down to the following reason. 1) I am a much safer driver on this bike. I'm closing on 50 and still rode like a nut on my CBR. Thinking about my family and not my needs. 2) Fuel Economy. This bike easily saves me $250 a month on fuel. 3)Storage capacity. I plan to ride this through winter. Heavy suits take a lot of space. I have that with this bike. 4) Quality and Reliability. Its a Honda and chances are I will have very few problems. In your case, Ducati's can be expensive to repair.

Doubt this will help you but it is how I cope.

By the way, If I was going to buy a Ducati I would get the Superbike 1199 Panigale R

 

[Spaceteach]

Over the years I've found two causes for New Bike Syndrome (NBS).
The first seems to be a virus, which will sometimes run in course in about a week. You can sometimes speed up the cure by thinking about the reasons you like the NC, maintenance costs associated with Ducati bikes, and motorcycle's tendency to rapid depreciation (low trade in value). In my case I've also found the virus can sometimes go into remission if I tell my wife about it and have her explain how miserable I'll be if she finds a new bike parked in the garage.
If, after a week passes, you are still afflicted with NBS the only hope would be the professional help you alluded to in the title of this thread. If you find yourself in this position I'd advise you to get the Ducati. It'll be less expensive than the therapy.
Unfortunately, I've found that once the virus is inside you, it can't be totally cured. The best you can hope for is that it stays dormant for an extended period.

Bob

 

[netizen]

You go with the bike that calls out to and fits you best. There may be bikes that seem really interesting but if you ask yourself, " will I be happy with this bike and this bike only", you will have your answer. Which bike can you not live without or not want to live without, because whichever you choose, you will live without the other one.

Follow your heart and you can't go wrong. It would be allot more straight forward if you didn't own either yet. Now your dealing with the new versus the known, so there will always be the allure of what you don't already know.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[mpgandfun]

There's an old addage: The heart wants, what the heart wants.

 

[670cc]

Now that my wife and I own six bikes, I've stopped going to motorcycle shops to browse. There's no other bikes I want. So your solution is to buy all of them that you fancy, and eventually you will want no more.

Greg

 

[Cyclerosis]

So I dropped by Ducati after work yesterday and didn't tell my wife Spent a bunch of time ogling the Hyperstrada, sitting on it and discussing possible packages with the salesman. Then went home and trolled the internet for reviews and videos that I hadn't already watched.

What is going on here? I love my NC and really consider it the perfect bike for my needs: an urban commuter and all-around short trip machine. I love the mpg, the frunk, the way it fits me, the way it pulls, the way I've got it accessorized, the reliability, the Honda dealership here, the way it behaves in parking lots, the quiet motor and my DCT. What's not to like? I'm really afraid that if I trade it I'll truly regret it. How can I be thinking of throwing away a good thing that's worked great for more than a year now?

And yet the Hyperstrada is so sleek, fast and exciting. And, no, I'm not one of those Have it both ways kind of guys: one for the week days and one on the side for fun. That doesn't work for me. It's gotta be one or the other.

I know a lot of you guys have been through this same type of "issue" yourselves. What do you recommend?

All the reasons you like the NC are all the reasons you should stay away from Ducati. I had a Multistrada that was a blast to ride! Super fast, quick acceleration, very good handling with the proper tire tread and not too bad on gas either (about 50 mpg under normal highway riding). However, if you're not a good bike wrench, the maintenance costs are extremely high. And even if you ARE a good wrench, the dealer will not likely turn off the annoying 'maintenance required' symbol that appears on you instrument cluster on a periodic schedule. In the case of the 2007 Multistrada, it was every 7500 miles. So it really depends on your tolerance for high dealer service costs. Personally, I wasn't willing to spend in excess of $1200.00 to have the dealer perform a service I was capable of doing myself, just to have the service indicator symbol turned off. A lot of the guys on the Multistrada forum said they just ignore the symbol, but, when it comes time to trading in or selling, you'll have to convince whomever is interested in purchasing your bike, that the service was actually performed; and performed correctly. I'm pushing 60 myself and find I'm putting more miles on the NCX than on any other machine I've owned, with the exception of the regretfully sold BMW R1200CE, which is now out of production. When I develop a bout of NBS, I reflect on my needs and riding style, which usually puts the NBS in remission. Good luck with either decision you make.

 

[jtkirk]

I'll be honest. I think about this daily. I traded my CBR1000RR for the NCX. I have withdrawals all the time. Quite possibly everyday. I put 60 miles on my bike daily and a good part of that is interstate without bad traffic. Trust me, I constantly think about the times where lots of power was fun and handy. I think it will be a very long time before I get over that. I also don't think there is a cure. I just have to remind myself why I bought this bike. To commute. For that purpose it is very handy. I break it down to the following reason. 1) I am a much safer driver on this bike. I'm closing on 50 and still rode like a nut on my CBR. Thinking about my family and not my needs. 2) Fuel Economy. This bike easily saves me $250 a month on fuel. 3)Storage capacity. I plan to ride this through winter. Heavy suits take a lot of space. I have that with this bike. 4) Quality and Reliability. Its a Honda and chances are I will have very few problems. In your case, Ducati's can be expensive to repair.

Doubt this will help you but it is how I cope.

By the way, If I was going to buy a Ducati I would get the Superbike 1199 Panigale R

Man either SgtChuck is in my head or I've been cloned and am secretly living around 150 miles South of my present location. I usually get a vehicle and keep it. My last pickup is a '94 Ext. Cab Silverado I bought in '97 as an example. I fully thought my last bike, Yamaha FZ6, purchased new in 2006 would be my last bike. It's no CBR1000R but it does have a 1st gen R6 engine and is as far as I'll go into the sportbike pond because I'm too old to fit myself into an all out SS bike. My FZ6 was fast, comfortable,
handles great and gets me 50 mpg. If there was slow traffic, idiots pulling out in front of me, or kids wanting to race on my 80 mile round trip on usually deserted two lane roads relief was just a twist of the throttle away. As someone said I tended to ride like a nut at times. Trouble is those times were starting to get more frequent.

As I said, I never thought I'd get another bike but I read the reviews last fall in all the bike mags and started thinking. That is never a good thing. I tend to focus on this until something is done. Started searching the internet for deals and finally pulled the trigger in a May. I have no gripes about the NC except that I was having a hard time adapting to the different power and not getting the mpg I thought I should be getting. That is the main reason I bought the NC. In my mind I was still comparing it to the FZ.

Well the FZ has been sitting for sale all summer and I've been running up the miles on the NC. I rode the FZ last week for a couple days just to run it and get some new gas in it. Yes I had it up in triple digits the first morning. Yes I smoked a punk-*** kid. But you know what - riding it was not quite the nirvana my memory told me it was. It is still going to be either my first or second favorite bike ever but I like the NC as much or more. The riding position is better. Handling is somewhat like the FZ. I can stand up on the pegs going down the highway at 55 and it's great. I have the factory saddlebags and those + the frunk = massive cargo hauling. I carried a whole bunch of groceries home last week and had room to spare. Most of all I get the same enjoyment out of riding at 55 - 60 on the NC as at 70+ on the FZ. It's just a completely different mindset. I even stopped worrying about getting maximum mpg and just decided to ride. Turns out the mpg is going up as a result. ( The fact my tires were woefully underinflated although they looked ok may have something to do with that.)

Bottom line I really really really like this bike.

 

[dramd]

I was at a similar spot just a week ago. You can see in my thread that I even had the paperwork printed up and was about to sign. The things that stopped me was realizing how fast the cost of the lower mileage fun bike would add up. Also, given the amount of commuting and driving around I do for my work day, I would wear out the super fun bike just working. The last nail was the fact I would have to wear a backpack every day to carry the tools I hide away in the Frunk. It killed the deal for me. I have decided I'm keeping the NC for work, and down the road I will get my fun bike. Yes it can be a super scooter at times, but I get scooter fuel mileage out of a heavier, big frame, large wheeled vehicle. This makes it safer than riding around on one of those small wheeled scooters, and its fun by the fact I feel I’m riding around on a more traditional 2 wheeled vehicle. Dream bikes are nice, but why wear them out just driving to work?

 

[Old Can Ride]

How can anyone ever have enough 2 wheelers? Never ever seen a motorcycle I didn't like!

I-I like em all, yeah I like em all
It don't matter to me, cause I like the way they are
Every single one of their flaws
It don't matter cause they got my heart
Cause I like em all, I-I like em all
It don't matter cause I like em all

 

[dduelin]

A carpenter has different kinds of hammers and a mechanic has different tools. Bikes are no different. If we are fortunate to have more than one pick them to do different jobs.

 

[radiotinnitus]

Thanks for the consultations, diagnosises, advice and prescriptions. You guys are real doctors. It seems like most of you lean towards keeping the Honda. That's my inclination too, for the moment. On the other hand the Ducati guy said they have the last few 2013's in the shop and they'll be getting in the '14s after that. So, hmmm, I wonder if I should wait for the '14s to come in and then try to get a better deal on that delicious white '13 I sat on...

 

[happy]

I concur with the rumors which indicate ducatis are extremely high cost maintenance and highly unreliable.
dont trade your faithful for a quickie with a booby blonde.

 

[Phil X]

Get the Ducati. There is no use at all in dogmatic argueing like "never do this or you will regret it". That is worn out.
On the one hand, there are many NC riders thinking about "upgrading" their NC to bigbikes like a CB1000F (or whatever). This is when I would recommend taking railroad trains, since they have even more powerful engines and riding comfort!
So why not prefer a nice bike like the duc. Go ahead and tell about it. Sure, there is some money involved, but this is the way it is.

I personally had the chance to ride my NC against (or together with) a KTM RC8 150HP 2cyl.. I found it was enjoyable and impressing riding the RC8 (and even much easier than I had thought), but on the other hand I also found the NC (despite being totally different) is not bad with respect to technical riding, handling and things. It works really well, given the money I spent for it. Sure it is heavy (my personal downside of it), it is way softer (which is not a bad thing) and wonderfully silent (I love this), and all in all it is such a cool ride, not at all being lame or boring. So, after changing back there was no question about keeping the NC and the easy living.

But for you, if the Duc makes you feel like this could be your bike, you would need to take this turn and see what it is like. No matter whether you would probably get back to a later NC7xx or no longer consider it a valid funbike for yourself

 

[happy]

Yes do it (seriously). Some people learn the hard way, while others insist it is still the right choice after they fall.

It's your life, do what you want with it.

Have fun and ride safe. Oh, just ride how you want to ride, it's your life, remember?

 

[Phil X]

Just to make it sure: there was neither any sarcasm, nor any educational purpose with my previous post.
What I recommended was the way I had done it with my bikes, and also the way I had come up with an NCXD (finally?)
And maybe this is one reason why I am pretty happy with it. Not saying my previous bikes were any bad.

 

[happy]

Just to make it sure: there was neither any sarcasm, nor any educational purpose with my previous post.
What I recommended was the way I had done it with my bikes, and also the way I had come up with an NCXD (finally?)
And maybe this is one reason why I am pretty happy with it. Not saying my previous bikes were any bad.

Don't worry too much.
What's life without a dash of sarcasm (all in good fun) and a nice Ducati thrown in?

I wish I have the guts (and patience) to buy a Multistrada. A friend just did, and I just wait patiently for him to call me when he is stranded somewhere out there. Towing service fees in Switzerland can buy you another bike.


Another one got a 1200 Monster and it broke after 1 year. Battery totally dead and gear box faults. Dunno why. Luckily he had 2 years warranty.

 

[radiotinnitus]

Progress report: Therapy worked! Over and done with that! Basically, I've been googling "Hyperstrada issues"/"Ducati maintenance" type of stuff. What I've decided is that my NC700x is a lot faster and sexier than any Ducati is sitting in the shop for maintenance and repairs.

Shortly afterward the idea of a new KTM Duke 690 crept in however. I went in to have a slow leak fixed on the NC and almost bought a new bike while I waited! They let me fire it up and sit on it. There was so much buzz and vibration coming through the handlebars that I decided not to even take it out for a test drive . There's no way my carpal tunnel would let me ride that bike at all. What a deal-breaking shame. If they could somehow damp down those vibrations I'm pretty sure I'd get one. An awesome looking bike with a ton of power. Guess I'm not quite cured after all.

 

[n30r3l0ad3d]

Take it from me, I have 2 bikes. One for sport, one for commute. I would much rather have the NC for commute and daily driver than my sport bike. The price at the pump also helps justify the horsepower difference.

 

[Beemerphile]

The best cure for Ducati Fever is buying one. It is an expensive but curable illness. The cure comes when it is time to pay the piper for maintenance. That is why you can catch a deal on a used one j-u-u-u-u-st about to need its second major maintenance.

I would not personally own one (or a new BMW, KTM, etc. for that matter) outside of the warranty period. But then, neither would I purchase a bike that I am unwilling to own outside the warranty period as I usually stay with one for 7-12 years. Thus ole Beemer bought a Honda, and though the hooligan in him is constantly longing for release, he is happy with his prudent decision.

I can look at the pretty things and dream of my prowess with them without actually executing. Not as fun, but way cheaper. If I get the fever too bad, I just go to the opening page of ADVRIDER and look at the slideshow of motorcycling pictures and think "...how much does what you are riding matter to the enjoyment that is presented?". The answer I come to is "not much". The cost of a bunch of bikes in the garage (or trading repeatedly) takes funds away from enjoying what you have. It is my worn-out phrase, but one I try to live by, that happiness comes not from having what you want, but from wanting what you have. It applies to wives, dogs, houses, cars, ... and yes, motorcycles.