Wanna buy » 06 vs 07 and other questions...

[Skeandhu 2006 1000S DS (Red)]

I have reached a bit of a conundrum. For some freakish unknown reason, I have found myself drawn to the beautiful beast that is the MTS.

I currently own an '02 F4i which is a fantastic bike but leaves me crippled at the end of a day's ride. I'm looking for something that has sporty handling for zipping around the city and carving back-roads, but can also offer comfort for a full (or multi!) day tour.

My biggest hangups on moving to the Duc are reliability, maintenance, and cost:

a. Will the bike be able to do high km?
b. If I tour to the East Coast, will I need the name of every Duc mech along the way?
c. If I'm doing (maybe) 10k km per year, what kind of relationship should / will I have with my mech? and my banker?

Cost and desire are another huge factor. I've done some looking around, and found the following "fresh out of the crate" MTS (prices are CDN):

06 1000S - $14k
07 1100 - $15k (MSRP)
07 1100S - $18k (MSRP)

This leads to a whirlwind of thoughts:
1. Are the wet clutch and "rubber mounted bars" a better purchase than the Ohlins?
2. Should I wait till the end of 07 to see what an 1100S is priced at?
3. How much is the reduced maintenance schedule going to save me, really?

You guys have put together a really good board here and I have had a chance to go through most of it in search of answers. Unfortunately, it was all still quite murky in my mind.

Any thoughts or opinions on the above would be appreciated... especially from former Jap bike owners. I need to know what the hell I'm getting myself into.


Thanks in advance...

[JohnB 2005 1000S DS (Red)]

'06 1000S

[Scrambles 2006 1000 DS (Red)]

If it's an '06 S model, get that. No question!

[richmond 2014 1200ST (Red)]

a. Will the bike be able to do high km?
b. If I tour to the East Coast, will I need the name of every Duc mech along the way?
c. If I'm doing (maybe) 10k km per year, what kind of relationship should / will I have with my mech? and my banker?

Strangely enough just the mileage that I've done the last 8 years, and thats with half of it going up and down the Alps and a few trackdays in between. I've still to se my mech in betweeen the regular services. Sad that, I had a '97 Ducati ST2 and that had crap quality. So quality these days are as good if not better than most Jap-Crap

The relationship with your banker will be more strained by all the add-on that you want, just look on my list: SIL Motors Full Titan Exhaust, LED DP Mirrors, Open Clutch and red preassure platt, Rack and Panniers, Tomtom GPS, Carbonfiber hugger, Ducati leathers, belt, gloves .... and that just last year

About the choices you have, I would take the 1000S -06 anytime, but the -07 have apparently 50% lower service cost, if you are sensative to costs. The rest of us just live with the fact that having a Multistrada is probarbly the best way you can spend your money

/Hans , Multistrada 1000S -06

[douga 2010 1200S (White)]

Having had the 1000S and now the 1100S, I must say that the engine on the 1100 is much more torquey. Riding around town is no longer a chore. The 1100 pulls right from 2000 RPM--the 1000 doesn't feel good till past 4000.

If you just plan to be on the highway a lot, I found the 1000 requires you change the grips as your hands will go to sleep on those 8-10 hour rides from the buzz in the bars.

A working fuel gauge is also nice on those long rides. The gauge on my 1000S never did work past 50%.

Either bike needs a taller wind screen for less fatigue on those long rides.

Good luck in your pick.

douga

[duc-dog]

You appear to be in the same dilemma that I am in. One issue that I find is that I have never ridden a multi. It would be nice if there was a demo day to test them out. With limited availability in our area it looks like we are looking at the same bikes.

Cheers

[Skeandhu 2006 1000S DS (Red)]

Thanks everyone for your input. After looking at my budget a bit more realistically, I may be SOL until the end of the summer. A late season 1100S is looking like the best option...

duc-dog - I spoke with Ducati Toronto (aka Rev Cycle) yesterday and they are hosting a demo day on 15 May. GP Bikes (in Ajax) is doing theres on 17 May. Duc Toronto needs a full "M" license to ride, not sure about GP Bikes; best to call them directly to confirm dates / times. If you hear something different let me know - I haven't ridden the MTS yet either!

I was going to test for my M later in the summer, now it looks like I'll have to fast-track it.

[duc-dog]

Thanks for the info Skeandhu. I will try and get to one of the demo days. Makes a big difference if you can actually test one out.

[lotus54 - Moderator]

With bugets in mind, I'd go for the '06 S. They changed the suspension on the non 'S' model for the 1100, I don't think it is as good as the old 'standard' suspension (although I could be mistaken).

I own a '05 S and took a test ride on the 1100 S. I liked it a lot, had more bottom end mostly. Otherwise I didn't really notice much difference. I would certainly like the working fuel gauge. I never noticed vibration on the grips of my bike, but I am careful doing the throttle body sync, and have changed the mixture to around 5% CO.
I also have Arrow collectors, and I think it may give a bit better bottom end than the stock setup. But probably only with a mixture change. Understand, I am just going seat of the pants here, and without doing a back to back test it really is a little hard to say (on the Arrows). It does sound better with the Arrow collectors (with stock muffler).

I see you may be waiting anyway, and if you can snag a deal on a 'leftover' 1100 S that would be a good deal. Of course, you may even be able to get a better deal on a '06 S floating around...

Maintenance isn't a big issue with these from my experience. Yes, they want to have the scheduled maintenance done. That will keep an eye for any potential problems and keep it working well. If you are paying someone to do all of the work, realize you will save a little on the '07 bike since they extended the service intervals. Nothing on the bike changed to do that, they just found it didn't need it as often as they said.
Ducati has done this before and it has worked out well.


Mark

[Skeandhu 2006 1000S DS (Red)]

Bad news... for my pocket book.

I found a used 2006 1000S for $12k... 8000km on it, used to be Duc's demo bike. If I pick it up from the dealer, I still get the full 2yr warranty starting the day I drive home.

Deal is tempting, wallet is empty... AAAAAAAaaaaarrrrrrggggggggg!!!

[hockeybrat 2007 1100S (Red)]

If you can buy that bike through the dealer and it is a demo they can probably finance it through Ducati "GE Finance" and right now they have a 6 months no interest and no payment plan. I know I just purchased an '07 1100S on March 1 and I believe the program runs until the middle of April. Good Luck!

[bone 2006 1000S DS (Red)]

Boy, sure seems to be a whole lot of hosers coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden... welcome to you all, good luck with your prospecting and happy riding!

[Skeandhu 2006 1000S DS (Red)]

Sealing the deal tonight on the '06 1000S!

It was a tough decision, but my heart won over my mind. If anyone want to come over for dinner, I'm having Kraft Dinner for the next four years.

[wim1000]

Welcome to the club, excellent choice. I also own a 06 1000S, use full arrows (without cat) and a DP air filter kit. Rode an 1100 but the difference to me is very little.

About the food: you will have so much fun with this bike you will probably forget to eat anyway

[bone 2006 1000S DS (Red)]

Congrats Skeandhu!

I spent about 9 times more money to buy my '06 1000S than I ever had before in my life, so I can appreciate the Kraft Dinner comments... now, I'm slowly slowly slowly saving up for some nice farkles.

Did you buy from someplace in town?