Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > Thinking of selling ??? UPDATE ?

[iang]

Well, you all know that I have been considering selling this 749R because of the discomfort I am experiencing and I had been offered an 05 Repsol Blade + £3000 cash for it.

I had the chance of a 30 mile try on a Repsol balde yesterday and here are my thoughts.

The bike looks nice with great build quality and when sitting on it stationary it feels comfortable with a soft seat and reasonably high bars.

Once on the move I immediately was aware that it feels 'big', my knees were pushed apart by the very wide tank and I felt that I was sitting on top of the bike rather than 'In' the bike like the Ducati.
Accelerating away it was very smooth and pulled away at warp speed but to be honest I much prefer being able to use all the power of the Ducati rather than the blades surge higher up especially when exiting corners, on the Ducati I can power on about 3/4 round the corner while on the blade it felt twitchy until it was up straight then it easily spun the wheel which was a bit scary, especially when it is not your bike !
Coming into corners I personally felt as though the front was a bit vague and I felt nowhere near as confident as I do on the Ducati, maybe this is why I can virtually go underneath this bike in corners when I am on my Ducati.
Also every time I braked I slid forward and felt as though I was going to end up on top of the tank which again felt strange.
As for comfort I found my arms were a lot more comfortable but the footrests were very high and as I said my legs felt pushed apart and were constantly up against the sides of the tank.

Overall the Blade felt nice and rode quite well but it was not in the same league as my 749R.
Maybe like all new bikes it would only take a short while to get used to it but I do not want to do a deal and think later "What the f**k have I done "

My wife saw the Blade and my Ducati next to each other and she said that in her opinion the Ducati looked 10 times the bike that the Blade was and that if I was that sure of what I was doing I would not be hesitating which should tell me something.

When I look at the figures, the guy wants £8000 for the blade and says that he will give me £3000 cash so £11000 for my bike sounds quite good ( well as good as losing nearly £6000 in 12 months can be ! ) but what I have been trying to figure out is what would my bike be worth next year ?, would I ever get the chance of £11,000 again ?, then again what would a Blade be worth next year especially so a race rep which seems to be unwanted once the colours etc change and is it worth the £8000 asking price now ?

I am very drawn to keeping my bike and hoping that the market for the 749R picks up as it really is a very special bike and probably something I might never be able to afford again with this spec, but I will have to buy some bar risers or I am in the same position as before so these will cost around £200, plus the bike is due its 1st year service so that will probably be another £200 to £300, so If I look at it this way it might work out at near enough £11,500 for my bike if I done a deal.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????749R

[Edited on 6-9-2005 by iang]

[Jools]

I think the market for 749R's may pick up, but not until the market for all bikes picks up.

What we're dealing with is normal economic cycles, not exactly boom and bust, but a cooling of the housing market that was in turn fuelling a big remortgaging and credit boom that was enabling people to go shopping.

Now the High Street retailers are reporting their 5th straight month of downturn in sales (so they are officially in recession then) which goes to show that people are pulling in their horns and are either refinanced to the max or trying to reduce things like credit card debt.

So if the bottom has dropped out of the market for Marks & Spencer's pants (fnarr, fnarr) then it's not surprising that big ticket items like motorcycles will REALLY be suffering. That's why all the dealers and distributors are slashing prices and offering interest free credit, in turn knocking the stuffing out of the whole secondhand bike market.

But, put it this way. If you cash your bike in for a Fireblade plus a bit of cash and come next spring there is a turn in the economic tide (we can only hope) what will the Fireblade be worth then? Two parts of sweet FA I would guess.

You say you've already lost £6K on the 749R on an 11K deal I thought they were only around £13.5K new which would suggest that the extra £3.5K you 'lost' was in trick bits? Could be wrong about that but the sad truth is that bikes that are tricked up to the nines are never worth what the extras cost you...better to flog the bits seperately.

If the driver for taking the deal is health then you may have no choice, but if you can hang on to the R that's what i would do. How much for a full carbon 749R compared to a Blade of the same age in a couple of years?

[Edited on 6-9-2005 by Jools]

[Wylie1]

Keep the 749R. You know what a fantastic bike it is. Otherwise you would have swapped it straight away. Like somebody else said above, it can be something to look forward to when you get better.

I would rather ride 30 miles on a 749R than 150 on a blade.

I hope you GWS

[ali]

2004 blades are now changing hands for £6.5k, and 2003s for £4.5k. The three grand in cash will be long gone in two years, and you'll be left wondering how your pride-and-joy 749R turned into an unwanted £4.5 IL4.....

The 749R is one of the most desirable bikes you can buy, regardless of cost, but the depreciation was always going to be savage. As an example, the 911 turbo is possibly the most saleable porker ever made, has reliability and resale values Ducati can only dream about, but they still drop £15k in the first year. Owning a new piece of luxury is an expensive business.

I'd say keep it if it won't nail you financially. It's just a world apart from anything produced in the far east, not only different but genuinely better in the real world. If it doesn't fit then do what's necessary to make it fit, it'll cost next to nowt and you'll be 100 times happier.

Just my £0.02.

Cheers,

Ali

[electricsheep]

Originally posted by iang
plus the bike is due its 1st year service so that will probably be another £200 to £300

might be a touch more than that on a 749R at a dealer

[Ducnow]

Keep the 794R.

If it's confort you want get a cruiser, not a blade

[Spank]

Personally I hope bikes continue to get cheaper as that means I could keep my 749 and have more bikes. I'm up to 3 at the moment, you can't have too many to play with.
And I'm speaking as someone who's had 6 brand new bikes in the last 12 years so I'm no stranger to depreciation, but since bikes have been generally cheaper over the past few years overall I've found that it has worked in my favour. No way could I have bought a Duke at the prices they were a few years ago.

[iang]

Well I have turned down the guy with the Repsol Blade and have decided to stick with the 749R and fit some bar risers.

I like the look of the cycle cat ones, they are $355 and come with replacement reservoirs ? ( I think )

They have a uk distributor ( spareshack ) who is getting me a uk price which will save postage but I was also wondering if anyone else was interested and I will see what deal he will do for multiple/bulk purchase ?

[BDG]

Originally posted by iang
Well I have turned down the guy with the Repsol Blade and have decided to stick with the 749R and fit some bar risers.

I like the look of the cycle cat ones, they are $355 and come with replacement reservoirs ? ( I think )

They have a uk distributor ( spareshack ) who is getting me a uk price which will save postage but I was also wondering if anyone else was interested and I will see what deal he will do for multiple/bulk purchase ?

Wise move i think, BTW i don't think the Blade (repsol or not) would have been worth anywhere near £8000. Heli bars transformed the comfort of my 996 which are supposed to be more uncomfortable than the 749/999's

[Edited on 7-9-2005 by BDG]

[KP]

Hi Ian,
We may have crossed paths on another thread about bar risers. I am definately looking to get the cyclecat ones for my 999 see thread - http://www.ducatisportingclub.com/xm....php?tid=22944
I have been in contact with cyclecat directly and their sister company. No adjustment to the idle is necessary BTW.
Let me know the cost of them through Spareshack. If they are cheaper in the states and you can wait until early November, u2u me.
KP