Has anyone bought a Ducati?

The real question to Vital Members: 

Its 2026 and You have to buy a new bike brand: The choices are Triumph, Ducati, Kove or Beta? 

Hypothetically?  Toss up between Ducati and Beta.

Beta by a mile. They're new to moto, not dirt bikes. 

Windham bend regular bars, the t clamp is 5 or 10 mm up & forward though.  Makes it perfect for busting out can cans. It’s a Jimmy Button setup basically. Another Great 125 rider. 

Big twins + manageable power = cornering beast.  You can roll it to the stops at the apex and not worry about the tire spinning up. Nicely balanced for in-turn stability as well. Ohlins & Brembos, baby!

I've seen a few around Houston. They're out there and they look way better in person imo. 

With better than a fair chance I’ll have another knee surgery in March.  Might not be riding this summer.  I may flip or try to flip a bike or three then get a new 2027 250F when they come out in the fall.  Or a deal on a left over 2026.  

I’ll also look at a 2026 Desmoto 250 that’s supposed to hit dealer floors this summer.  With that said, price and lack of aftermarket parts like extended shift levers etc may scare me off.

It won’t be a Kove, although being old and slow one would probably suit me fine.  But I’m not ready to show up at the track full Chi Comm just yet.  

A fair amount of Triumph’s on face book market place, my guess early bikes that shift rough.  I’m sure they will get that worked out, heck may already have.  As new as they are after market stuff like extended shift levers etc is a concern a same as Ducati.

Beta different story, they’ve been a round a while.  Even though I wouldn’t touch a 450 RX unless it was a serious steal.  I’d take a really hard look at a 2027 4 stroke 250 RX if they hit this fall.

If Ducati used kyb, id buy one.

Out of the choices given above, id try the Ducati. 

The guy never calls anyone out like that so why do feel you need to? We are all on here for the same reason.

It’s not worth unpacking the reasons this says more about yourself than Ducati, so I won’t try, but the bike literally just launched and is likely not in every Ducati dealership yet, and even if it were, in the battle between impatience and rushed assumptions, I’m not sure which wins here.

I met a guy the other weekend with two of them. He’s owned all the new 450s and said the Ducati is the best 450 he’s owned. Hearing him talk about the bike definitely got me interested in them, but I didn’t have the time to take him up on his offer to try it out 

Rough crowd. Personally, I love the look of the ducati. I think it's one of, if not, the best looking bike available right now.

That said, I am wayyy too slow for a 450. Once they make a 250, or better a 350, I'm in.

Yeah not a good look @soggy, no one talks to @profeshenal125 like that. The man’s a legend. 

My wife had to have surgery this morning.  Her Doctor races MX.  He’s pretty much been a Honda guy.  He told me to this morning as soon as he found out Ducati had a limited addition MX factory version he ordered one.  He said it supposed to show up sometime in March.

Be interesting to see what dealer fees Ducati throws at ya when you buy a Desmoto.  I’d bet 2k to 2.5k and full boat MSRP.  Which I think is about 11.5k

There’s been 3 at the local track. 1 is a good buddy’s. 2 guys I just met. All 3 love the bike. For reference Buddy is an A rider coming off Austrian brands. He probably has around 30 hours on it. No I haven’t rode it yet but I will soon. I have to say I wasn’t really a fan at first but for their first year and especially on a less forgiving 450 I really think they nailed it. 

If it had a honda wing on it, I wouldn’t know the difference..parts availability? Aftermarket support ? Maybe in a few years when they get more R&D …..definitely good for the guy that has to have the latest & greatest…

The front fender and shrouds look like they're melting.   Other than that it looks good.

I have had mine since October I think.   Coming off a 24 YZ450 with all the recommended mods etc and I can say the ducati is alot easier to ride.   

Stock the bike has in my opinion some balance issues with the rear wanting to ride high, mapping is dirty/rich feeling down low, and I didnt care for the 20mm steering offset.   

I was able to get one of factory connections linkage setups early on as well as an ECU out of company called Tomasin racing in Europe.   The linkage completely fixed the riding high issue.   The ECU was wayyyyy better down low, not much change in mid to top.   Nice thing is is that if I want something changed (less engine braking) I can send them a message and leave my laptop hooked up to the bike when I leave for work in the morning and they can remote in and make the changes and was still cheaper than a vortex/GET.  

I have went with the luxon clamps to swap to 23mm offset and had my suspension revalved.    I only have an hour or so since those changes but feels positive.

I can say the quality of what I have torn apart so far seems great.   

Hoping to make a trip south here in the next few weeks to get some more time on it.  Currently I think 9 or 10 hours on it.   Winter here has been brutal so far.

 I think I was 11,900 OTD and the dealer has been great to work with.  The service manger checks in with me every couple weeks to make sure I am not having any issues or need anything.   I also had reached out to Ducati support as I thought I had an issue and within a couple hours someone was calling me back going over everything.   

I have let a few people ride it and they all came back with a big smile.   

My neighbor has had one for a while now. I rode it on a vet type track. It barks epseically on top but I didnt like the rider triangle for me really at all. Felt hunched over and cramped and im only 5'9. Mightve been just the way he had it set up but it wasnt for me. Im sure with more time and had it my way itd be fine. 

Yeah that seems odd.   Rider triangle feels very similar to the honda at least for me.   I am 6ft and feel less cramped than I was with my Yamaha.  

I really liked the Yamaha after I was done messing with it but just an exhausting bike to ride. 

I know on paper they are really close weight wise but picking if off the stand and riding the ducati feels much lighter to me.   

Beta…350RX…? 🤣

There are no bad motorcycles, only bad owners 🙂

Im looking for that 350 Smoker to get a 6sp…that way it’s a “do everything” bike…for me.💪🏼

A guy named “Team Green” suggests a 350 smoker? I see what you did there! 🧐🤔😎

I can hope…

Shhhhhhh…

The real question is…KDX (which it should be!) or KX-X…?

And…it sounds like there’s 2 different “displacements”. 

KX SR is the proper answer! 

I’m gettin the impression that they’re “off-road” models not unlike the ol’ KDX bikes…an SR version of one of those was a rare thing. Like the 125s & 80s they built for ISDE (full size bikes)…

From Cycle World

BIG LITTLE BIKE

An 80cc enduro brings home the gold

LARRY ROESELER IS ONE OF America's most-versatile off-road riders. And although he's best known for his Baja wins, he's also one of our best enduro racers. Roeseler has proven competitive on every size of enduro bike, having won on 500, 250, 200, 125 and 100cc two-strokes, as well as on 500cc four-strokes.

Even so, Roeseler surprised people when he showed up for the 1989 running of the ultimate enduro, the ISDE, on a Kawasaki 80. The reasoning behind the small bike was simple: There’s less competition in the small-bore ISDE divisions, and the higher Roeseler could finish in class, the better the U.S. Trophy Team would do.

The 80 that Roeseler took into battle wasn’t your normal, runof-the-mill 80, either. Team Green had taken a KX125 frame and transplanted a KX80 minimotocrosser engine into it. An upside-down fork was added, and Pro-Circuit chipped in with a pipe, engine modifications and suspension work.

Team Green also fabricated a two-piece clutch cover for the ISDE 80, anticipating clutch problems during the long event. But, surprisingly, the clutch never caused a problem.

Germany’s ISDE didn't prove to be a great race for an 80, though. The six days of competition consisted mainly of cruis-

ing down dirt roads, with a couple of trail sections and several special tests thrown in each day. “The little 80 was a pain to ride on the smooth roads. It required five to six shifts for every corner. But the special-test sections were a blast,” Roeseler says with a smile. “It’s too bad the course wasn’t tough like a normal ISDE; I would have had a real advantage. But I still had a lot of fun.” Along the way, Roeseler also collected his ninth ISDE gold medal

I g6t a chance to ride Roes eler's 80, untouched since it fin ished the Six-Days. The bike is still in excellent condition: its engine strong and responsive, al though very pipey. The engine doesn't start making power until it is wound up to, oh. about a zillion rpm. where the power band hits stron~1y. but briefly.

Surely, the longevity of such a radical engine had to be the same as that of a carton of milk left overnight on the counter top, I reasoned. But, actually, the 80 took all the full-throttle operation the ISDE could dish out.

“The engine wasn’t touched during the Six-Days,” says Roeseler. “I practiced replacing the top-end before going to Germany—I can do it in 1 1-minutes—but I didn’t have to. It never lost any power or got loose. And I didn’t give it any mercy.”

Roeseler finished the ISDE third in class, against the world’s best 80cc specialists. So you can believe he kept the throttle pegged.

What’s next for LR and Team Green? Roeseler smiles, “I’d like to ride next year’s ISDE in Sweden on a modified KX125. That’s the only size of bike that I haven’t raced in the ISDE. I haven’t told (Team Green Race Manager) Mark Johnson yet, but I don’t think that he’ll object."

Ron Griewe

Thanks for the history lesson, TG! 
I have never heard the details around the 80. Such a cool time in ISDE history. Roeseler is a boss! 🏁

Team bikes, and the Factory editions look good, except that dang front fender. 

Yes! Great to see u on an mx site. You and your son are both top notch off road guys. I remember the first harescramble I did in 09 ?  McLean I think. I took off like a typical moto guy for the first 20 minutes. Ended up upside down in the tulees. You came by 30 seconds later. Probably giggling about the the dumb mxer. lol.