ducati london central - nice people, easy to arrange and would buy a bike there if i was minted...took a new '05 749bip and my mate an '04 MTS so i could try both. the 749 was great, brakes amazing compared to the old 748 things, engine smooth and handling the usual ducati thing. minor disappointments were the finish, the air intake tubes don't finish flush with the fairing, the wiring is all over the place and exposed(worse than the 748) and the disc carriers were all corroding (1000miles). swingarm paint(black) looks nice but scratches and the mirrors!!!!! make the 748 ones like they are off a cruiser or tourer - i got plenty of view of my arm. deceptively fast tho' you end up going up to rounabouts at a fair pace and need those sharp stoppers to wash off the extra pace quickly. But the MTS is still in the frame - even tho' it feels agricultural in the engine dept against the 749....watch this space oh - are the '05 brakes and '04 brakes the same? and the lever has a funny little plastic wheel to adjust span unlike the gold wheel of the earlier 748 series - easy to have someone fiddle with?.
best 749 deal from official dealer was an '04 Bip at £6,995OTR - what do you think? an "S" for the same money but not from an official dealer? but you have got me thinking......Can't stretch above this figure so need to maximise what i get for that amount of money - if anyone knows of a good deal let me know.
aylesbury and daytona were same - daytona are closer with the deal as above, P&H and Pegasus had great deals on '04 MTS - will give Leeds a call on monday - even a pair of gloves thrown in would be useful (as i need some new) thanks guys.
I live in Surrey and got the bike from Leeds as he did the best deal money wise. Even delivered free of charge.
Did everything over the phone / email although I did go up one Saturday just to shake the mans hand.
Service really was head and shoulders above London South, Aylesbury, Pro Twins, P&H and Ashford. Also tried Wolverhampton and Manchester but nobody got near.
I just bought a 749s, 04 spec from Ducati Bristol. I paid £7499 for it. Mine keeps cutting out, but hopefully this will be sorted after the first service. It's an awesome bike apart from that. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I'm enjoying mine!