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Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
It has the two wheeled Ferrari emblem on the shroud.
Unfortunately, it doesn't help sell anything here. Project budgets aren't magically increasing and we've already received notice that a number of contracts are now under review and may be cancelled due to increased costs. We almost shut the doors due to the 2002 steel tariffs and nearly everyone was laid off.
The mills sent out new pricing as soon as there was talk of tariffs and they had escalators for the next several months. Too bad no one is putting escalators on our income or our client's. Not expecting this go-around to be fun.
I think they have a very different approach: Ducati unveiled the bike last year making it clear it was a prototype that was going to be developed in the open in Italian championship and MXGP.
And now the production bike based on this prototype will enter production on schedule, one year after its racing debut.
Great to see another brand committing to dirt bikes. That's a beautiful bike.
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To be straight: it's a two-wheeled Lamborghini, not Ferrari.
Cool,bike, but at that price they are bringing nothing to help the sport. Just another over-priced dirt bike….Not sure what the point is…
Bikes are already too expensive for a lot of folks, now we just have one more..
Ducati isn't the company to offer an entry level dirt bike.
They are adding mx team jobs, and a high end 450 and 250.
Yes, we all know that. But that in no one helps grow the sport- which needs more affordable options.
Last thing MX needs is a high end dirt bike…that’s all we have now days..
Suzuki just took off it's shirt.
You can buy cheap dirt bikes. Maybe it's just not the one you personally want. Deals are to be had on Kawi's, Suzuki's and Beta's at the moment, off the top of my head.
I have also seen some pretty good prices on carry over triumph's fairly recently.
You could also go the Chinese route, or klx, CRF, ttr. There are affordable bikes to be had.
Seems like there are several lower cost alternatives out there. Example - https://www.kovemotousa.com/mx250-2024
I don't think anyone expected Ducati to compete in that space.
I do see your point. But you can get a father and son into the sport from the ground up with 10k. Quality used bikes, and gear. Then maybe next time they decide to go new.
The kove 250 would be considered entry level by most standards. Its still not cheap.
Also the CRF450R-S exists specifically to address this concern.
Has Honda dropped the R-S? I've only seen the '23 and '24 models listed on their site, not a '25. Wondering if it goes away altogether after they sell out of current inventory.
I don't think there is one -- nor should there be one as long as there are new even-more discounted '23/24s in stock at dealers -- but that also shows how receptive actual buyers are to a cheaper but still viable mx bike.
I had convinced myself this bike was going to be 16-20k, this is surprising.
I really didn't see the R-S as being that attractive from the jump - it was only $800 (8.2%) less than a current model, that's often within negotiating distance on a new model. And when other manufacturers are rebating current models for thousands less, it makes it even less attractive. If I was in the market for a new one and was trying to minimize my expenses, I'd being going the end-of-year/rebate route, for sure.
If it was 25% less than a current model then I could see them being a bigger mover.
I'm curious to see what the OTD numbers end up looking like. And remember what the "S" in MSRP stands for. 😁
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I’m interested to see the valve service intervals and the belt adjustment intervals. I haven’t been around Ducatis since the mid 2000’s but I know belt adjustment was measured with a hertz gauge. I believe belt replacement is currently at 5 years. I wonder how or if this changes.
Doesn't everyone already measure their chain tension with one? 🤔
Well, Zooks are roughly 25% most other manufacturer's MSRP after their never-ending manufacturers rebate, and nobody seems too interested in them.
Based on the engine castings, it has to be a timing chain.
Maybe because the kickstarter has been so stigmatized? 😄 But it does seem like more and more are embracing them lately, so maybe that's wearing off? 😁
I was speaking more to 25% less for a year-old model, like the R-S is supposed to represent. Kawie looks to have jump-started their sales with their rebates... but those offers are often the product of situations like a slow economy, and sometimes people don't have enough to buy a product even with huge discounts, so it's hard for me to gauge exactly how much influence the price has when there are a number of sliding-scale factors involved.
I would have given serious thought to that Beta 450 for $5k (even though I have zero need for one) if they had them near me for that price, just to check it out. 👍
25% off seems an awful lot to ask tor a for a bike that still has to go through every single manufacturing step, have every single part, just has a slightly higher economy of scale due to extending the run another year.
Didn't say it was realistic, just that it would be much more incentivizing than 8%. And are they actually extending the production run another year or just assembling leftover stock and stamping the frame so that they don't take as big a hit as they would if they sold it as a year-old leftover while also reaping the benefit of paring down their non-current model parts inventory?
Seems like possibly some marketing psychology in play here.
The only measurement I’ve ever seen for cam chain stretch is pin to pin distance.
I was in a dealer a few weeks ago and they thought it was belt but they admittedly didn’t have any solid info to go off of. It does look to be cast like it would be chain but I don’t think the traditional belt cover would hold up to off road conditions.
I thought that's what the Yamaha tuning fork symbol represented - the tuned frequency of a correctly tensioned 520 chain. Doesn't everyone use one when adjusting their chain tension?
I was talking drive chain... and apparently the intended humor wasn't so obvious. 😁
It's the same difference right? We never know when an exact part for a motorcycle was manufactured. But they have to produce enough quantity to manufacture motorcycles and sell parts.
And the '23 and '24 R Hondas mostly had refinements, not major changes to separate them price-wise from the R-S, which switched to that generation platform in 23'
I’m pretty sure all their modern water cooled bikes have a chain already. I know the Panigale V4 does.
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