I just think ducati shiped the tanks out to kawasaki to be welded!:lol::lol:

Tis strainge though how a realy nice bike can have welding on it like that. May be trying to give it the racer look, you know a little rough on the edges?

Or ...
 

.. perhaps they did not want to offend Allah ;)

[Edited on 21-3-2004 by Henners]

749r tank weld
 

Sorry lads but i think it adds to the charm of the bike.
all 749/999,s have a plastic cover over the weld,has anyone taken one off to see whats underneath?
And there was me going to give mine to one of you lads,no point now if you dont like that ugly weld!!

Karl took this photo of the of the tank weld on the 749R whilst visiting Ducati London Central today. You can't see it that well.........it is most apparant in the bottom left of the picture.

It is a bit ugly though and a shame on such a lovely bike.

Oh, that does it then I won't have one.

Come on guys...the 749R looks totally gorgeous from virtually any angle. Are you seriously saying you're gonna spend all your time getting yourself into just the right position so you can peer down, fret, fuss and tut-tut over a bit of weld?

If I was lucky enough to have a 749R, I'd never notice it, cos I'd be too busy riding the damn thing and enjoying what is probably one of the finest motorcycling experiences anywhere. I'd be looking at apexes and vanishing points, not wheedling away about a weld that's not as posey as I'd like

Point taken Jools but due to the higher tank it is quite obvious and not what you'd expect for that kind of money.

It's a bit like having an explosive red spot on the middle of your nose.........its a self-concious type of thing :lol::lol::lol:

There is a similar weld on my 999R but it is covered by a plastic shield that sits behind the ignition key barrel.

It just needed finishing off properly that's all:(:(

[Edited on 21-3-2004 by everton]

With you Jools ..
 

There .. I've said it again :P

Okay, so maybe it's an exaggeration to say that it ruins the bike, and it is supposed to be a racing homologation model, which you could say entitles it to be a bit rough around the edges.

Having said that. it's a lot of money, and if Ducati are bothered enough about the aesthetics of the bike to paint the frame and subframe different colours, put a carbon exhaust shroud on etc, along with other cosmetic enhancements, the least they could have done was produce a cleaner, smoother weld. I don't expect to pay £14k for a bike and have sloppier weld quality on the fuel tank than the frame on a £3k dirt bike!

Ducati already take a ****ging for crappy finish quality, and they're doing themselves no favours by assuming their customers will be happy with poor attention to detail. It's a gorgeous motorcycle by any standards, but what a pity they didn't finish the job properly.

Rob

[Edited on 22-3-2004 by robracenut]