Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 999 / 749 > Why does there appear to be this hatred?

[keefer]

the 999 have come on a bit with the colour frame and decent swing arm
but when they 1st came out I think they looked pants
where as the 916 when it came out looked like it had just rolled of the race track
999 look good in race trim but that includes the extra frame brace under the tank for me

[749er]

taste is a funny thing. I really dont like the new swing arm on the 999. I really appreciate the craftmanship and texture of the original cast swing arm, for me its a real peice of engineering beauty, the shape, the finish, those radii, the newer welded one just doesn't have that for me. But I have a bias as I work in manufacturing and when I get the rare opportunity to work with castings I love it as you can do do much with them but the tooling costs a fortune and the castings have a limited life. Working with aluminium extrusions is much more common for me and I see them as a cheap method of construction, so because of that I am biased towards the cast arm. There is probably a performance benefit in the newer arm, but to be fair I am not a good enough rider to notice it, if it were there.

[phil_h]

actually, tbh, I now hate them cos I would like to try one, but dont like buying new(ish) bikes cos of all the depreciation.

[Redruth]

I didn't like them when they first came out. Too radical and far removed from the 996 shape. Now, it's definitely a case of 'love is blind'. I can't remember why I didn't lilke the look of them in the first place, tbh. It's just a fantastic machine to ride. In fact, every time I ride the 749 I think about getting rid of the other two and just keeping this one.

Admittedly, there are lots of bikes I haven't ridden and maybe I'd feel the same about them if I had a go on them but I doubt it because the Ducati brand captured my imagination long before I was a biker with the 916 in a way that no other make has since. I think brand loyalty has a lot to do with accepting the new designs.