Well, it was a rainy day and I was bored, never been to Ducati before, so I hit their shop and also the Triumph/BMW one.
First off the Triumph shop, it was single structure, full size building, the staff was generally pleasant and the shop looked well established and well stocked with gear and bikes. They had virtually every model from both MFG's jammed in there and they all seemed nice and sensible, the one flashy bike was the new 675R in white, covered in carbon fiber bits, with red frame, white tank, fancy rims, ohlins and brembos, it was very nice. The S1000RR's were okay as well, but the 675R really caught my eye. Good service area with 4 uniformed techs all working on bikes and professional looking set up.
Okay, now Ducati, I could barely find them at first, it was basically a single slot retail space in a strip mall with an unfinished looking floor. They had maybe a dozen new bikes, couple of used ones, and some retired show pieces for filler, but it was a sea of flashy red paint and forged wheels. I started by shopping the gear since they had Dainese stuff (surprised), and just struck up a casual conversation with a guy there, turns out he was the sales manager and we were just chatting like a couple of bike enthusiasts and no hard sell going on at all. Eventually, I was sitting on several of the bikes and he brings out their lead Tech since I had questions about their support.
So, I end up getting an exclusive with both these guys for like 30 minutes starting up and revving various bikes (Diavel, Multistrada, 1199). They were never in the hard sell mode, nor were they like 'you are wasting my time', not sure if this was a sales approach by design, but it was really laid back and the kind of dealership I like. That alone would make me want to buy from them, the bikes are beautiful, good paint, good sound, but expensive. It's funny, cause I realized later that Ducati is still kinda boutique after all these years, with limited inventory and scraping by small dealerships (in my area, at least).
It seems their product line is only just now becoming modernized, prior to 2010 a number of models were still air cooled and using some decades old technologies. Some may lament this 'progression', but even Harley has modernized their engines while still retaining most of the original character; people just don't want machines that break all the time, so I am enthused about the modernization of their line. The 1199, for example, really is their centerpiece of technology and likely represents the kind of engines you will see in the future, more refined and smooth off the bottom, with longer maintenance intervals and less intense maintenance procedures. It's funny cause they also had one of the new MV Agusta F3's, kinda seems that company is like the old Ducati of 15yrs ago, even smaller with a more raw engine with handling and fueling quirks, they used to call this 'character' on the Ducatis.
First off the Triumph shop, it was single structure, full size building, the staff was generally pleasant and the shop looked well established and well stocked with gear and bikes. They had virtually every model from both MFG's jammed in there and they all seemed nice and sensible, the one flashy bike was the new 675R in white, covered in carbon fiber bits, with red frame, white tank, fancy rims, ohlins and brembos, it was very nice. The S1000RR's were okay as well, but the 675R really caught my eye. Good service area with 4 uniformed techs all working on bikes and professional looking set up.
Okay, now Ducati, I could barely find them at first, it was basically a single slot retail space in a strip mall with an unfinished looking floor. They had maybe a dozen new bikes, couple of used ones, and some retired show pieces for filler, but it was a sea of flashy red paint and forged wheels. I started by shopping the gear since they had Dainese stuff (surprised), and just struck up a casual conversation with a guy there, turns out he was the sales manager and we were just chatting like a couple of bike enthusiasts and no hard sell going on at all. Eventually, I was sitting on several of the bikes and he brings out their lead Tech since I had questions about their support.
So, I end up getting an exclusive with both these guys for like 30 minutes starting up and revving various bikes (Diavel, Multistrada, 1199). They were never in the hard sell mode, nor were they like 'you are wasting my time', not sure if this was a sales approach by design, but it was really laid back and the kind of dealership I like. That alone would make me want to buy from them, the bikes are beautiful, good paint, good sound, but expensive. It's funny, cause I realized later that Ducati is still kinda boutique after all these years, with limited inventory and scraping by small dealerships (in my area, at least).
It seems their product line is only just now becoming modernized, prior to 2010 a number of models were still air cooled and using some decades old technologies. Some may lament this 'progression', but even Harley has modernized their engines while still retaining most of the original character; people just don't want machines that break all the time, so I am enthused about the modernization of their line. The 1199, for example, really is their centerpiece of technology and likely represents the kind of engines you will see in the future, more refined and smooth off the bottom, with longer maintenance intervals and less intense maintenance procedures. It's funny cause they also had one of the new MV Agusta F3's, kinda seems that company is like the old Ducati of 15yrs ago, even smaller with a more raw engine with handling and fueling quirks, they used to call this 'character' on the Ducatis.
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