[Evolution]

It strikes me that as I see more and more people join the forum, it seems that most of us are coming from a Japanese bike. As we know, brand loyaltly/lifestyle stuff is usually not a huge motivator when buying a bike from the big 4. It usually ends up that whatever bike is faster that year seems to sell more since all those bikes are in direct competition with eachother in their own segments. While bike sales have been on the decline lately, it seems that Ducati, Triumph and BMW have seen a steady stream of sales with some decent growth here and there (particularly North America for Ducati). It seems to me that it's a bit more rare for a Ducati or BMW or (dare I say it) Harley rider to leave their preferred manufacturer than it is with most brands. So that makes me wonder.... if the 899 is bringing so many new riders to Ducati, will they stay? Honestly even though I've only had the bike since November, I'm attached to it in a way that I never was to my other bikes. I really can't see a circumstance from now on when I won't own at least one Duc.

With it's power to draw new customers, and possibly lock them into the brand, might this be the most important Ducati superbike yet? I can't wait to see sales numbers for Ducati at the end of this year. I think it's going to blow people away.

 

[Evolution]

True, the R1 was faster and cheaper, but to me it lacked a "soul".

Whenever I used to hear people justify a Duc over a faster Japanese bike because it has "soul" or "character", I used to shake my head. I always thought it was frankly quite foolish to buy a slower bike over a faster one for the same price. I rode a 748S and I just didn't like it at all, so I was pretty sure Ducs weren't for me.

Then I was at a track day with a good friend of mine who rides an 1198. In between sessions he asked me if I wanted to take the Duc out for the next run. As soon as I got off the bike, I knew I was going to be a Ducati owner. It's just such a different experience all the way around from riding anything else. Even other twins don't feel the same. I rode a Honda RC-51 for a day and thought it was a great bike, but it didn't have that raw feeling that the 1198 did. I kind of felt like that 1198 was trying to kick me right off the seat....I'll never laugh when someone says a bike has "soul" again.