SHOULD I SWITCH MY BIKE/PICS PLEASE

Get a Ducati monster. Great low end torque, and it will fit the riding style you described. Picture attached as requested.
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You need gas...

 

I LOVE MY 600RR IT IS ABSOLUTELY GREAT. pm me if you want some info. i have a 2003 600rr. i put a jardine carbon race pipe on it and it sounds wiked going through underpasses. fun stuff. thad
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nother
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Urraco,

Thadbrown already posted pics, so that takes care of that. Ducati maintenance is not really that bad. However, I am not going to sell you a Ducati. It is one of those things in life, if you have to ask, then it is not for you. You seem like you like the RR and you should buy it, its a good bike. Personally if you don't like your current bike, I don't see how the RR will improve the situation.

I have had Japanese bikes for about 5.5 years and I love them, and I own 2 honda cars and am big advocate of them if you want practicality and vanilla transportation. Hey we all need that sometime. However bikes are not practical, its a hobby and a passion. I buy bikes that stir my soul, and no Hondas ever do that to me. As far as the design of the undertail exhaust of the RR, its horrid. The guy who owns the local coffee shop that I pass every morning has one, and it looks good in black, but the tail is terrible and it looks like an exposed anus. The r6 is a way better looking bike, if you are buying on looks alone.

If you want a lawn mower or a dependable car, buy a Honda. If you want torque and don't want a RC-51 buy something else.

My .02.

*flamesuit on*

 

An important thing to remember since you are afraid of misusing your 900rr is that the new 600's are almost as powerful so you might find yourself in the same situation with the new bike. However, if you are set on getting a new bike then do it. You will not regret it. All of the new bikes, Japanese and Italian, seem to be light years ahead of bikes from even 5 years ago.

 

Disagree. My 2002 750 gixx is not lightyears ahead of my 98 750 gixx. They are very similar. Ducatis from 5 years ago (748/996) are not such bad machines even compared to 749/999 today.

Your point is somewhat valid when you bring in bikes like gix 1000, or cbr 1000 rr, or the r1, and such liter bikes. As far as 600/750 bikes, they are not that diff than 5 years ago, imho.

They were fast then and could kill you, and nothing has changed. Sure there is fancier bodywork, and a bit more hp, but nothing to make them "lightyears" ahead.

If you disagree, come over, I will let you ride my bikes. Also my dad's friend owns a Kawa dealer, where you can test the new Kawa's versus his personally owned older ones.

Statements like the one you made, allows for squids to go out and buy new R1s, because the 98/99 yamahas are so slow.

Nothing personal, but disagree with your opinion.

 

If i had to do it over again I would have waited a little while longer and bought a 748 Ducati but I was in the gotta have it now stage. 600rr looks good but it isnt a ducati. pretty much any modern bike is more than fast enough. just buy what you like. LAFun when are you getting your ducati?
thad

 

I'll second the Monster advice. I have had one for 10 years and it is definitely the best bike I have ever owned for the kind of riding you describe

 

Thad, got it, and its resting under its cover in my garage in LA. Should be able to swing my legs over her Thursday, May 14th when I am back in town.

 

I agree with you regarding maintenance. However, the 749/999s are MUCH improved in the handling department vs. their predecessors. I've logged ample mileage on both, and the 748 steering feels much heavier. The 749, taking the same line, requires about half the leaning/countersteering force that the **8 does, and feels stickier at the same time.

The steering is feather light and after riding it for a bit, the 748 feels extremely cumbersome... Ducati did have about ~ 7 years to work on the new one, so they had time to truly advance the bike as opposed to the facelifting by the Jap companies every 3 years.

Here's a pic of me on the 2004 Duke 749R with my gangsta face.
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my friend just got a CBR600RR, it's a 2003. he's had it for about a year or so. i have a little experience with the Yamaha R6 and the CBR. 600's aren't going to give you a lot of low end torque. if that's what you're looking for you probably want a bigger bike, maybe a GSXR750. i felt the R6 was a little more nimble but i think that was because i'm just used to it's more narrow frame. but the CBR is a great handling bike. my friend told me it can be a little sloppy in the corners compared to other 600s because the CBR is a little heavier. but maybe it's just his riding. other than that he really loves the bike. if i remember right he said that the CBR is a lot better at mid to high end on the torque. if the weather clears up and he rides it to school i'll take some pics for ya.

 

You are right Ducati sucks, honda rules. Thank you for using logic

SOunds good. Its a free country buy what you want. I am smarter than to get into a pissing match over what bike is better and such. As far as your above post, your argument is so out of this world and ignorant, it is not even worth saying anything to you. I actually regret spending a few minutes and helping you out on this thread.

Ride safe and good luck.

 

I'm not even sure where to begin...

First off, do you care about motorcycle racing at the top levels? Ducati is DOMINATING World Superbike with it's 999s, claiming 6 of the top 7 spots in the 2004 points standings. A lone Honda is tied for 3rd... Also, Ducati fields a MotoGP team, where they build a race-specific bike ground up...similar to F1. These machines are 6th gear wheelie, 230+ hp bikes. Posted below are pics of the Ducati race factory.

Their production bikes are electronically controlled with Magneti Marelli ECUs. Magneti, of course the Ferrari F1 electronics company, is at the cutting edge of motorsport electronics and engine control. Also, when you refer to how they're "just v-twin bikes that suck"...are you even familiar with the Desmo system? If you were, you'd find they're valve timing system clever. I'm assuming you're not, and suggest you read up on it before making ignorant comments.

I could keep going about Ducati's technical advances and trickle downs from competitive racing, but I'll address specific issues as they arise...as opposed to the vague and not well thoughtout "ducati sucks" statements.

Maintenance on a Ducati is hardly more than a regular Japanese bike. It's not like the maintenance difference between and F-car and a Toyota. Ducatis are very reliable, and want some hard evidence of them NOT being...before you start making accusations from the sky. The initial premium is higher, and if your taste buds can't understand the reasoning behind this, then you have more problems than I can help you with. Taste man, class! These bikes have soul, and are MUCH more special than the millions of gixxers seen everyday. I'm also a former gixxer owner, mind you.

What else?

 

Some pics of these bikes. Er, these low-tech, middle ages bikes.

Also, what Jap company has a full carbon fiber fairing stock on a production bike?

What Jap company has magnesium cylinder heads on a stock bike?

What Jap company produces a bike with Ohlins or equivalent suspension all around (fork, rear, steering dampener)?

If you answered NONE OF THE ABOVE, congrats!

FYI, if you have to ask why Ducatis are special, they're obviously not for you.
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LAfun, I feel I must give a bit more detail following your response to my post. Okay, maybe "light years" was a bit of an overstatement. But there are differences that make the new bikes worth looking at. It is true, as you have stated that the gixxer 750 hasn't changed that much over the years. However, since there is no race class (that I know of anyway) for the 750s because 1000s have been allowed to take over, there really isn't that big of a market for 750s. Kawasaki stopped making one, thank god since it was essentially the same bike for , what, 8-10 years or something like that. Yamaha stopped long ago with their 750 sportbike, and I don't think Honda had one, at least not for a long time.

I do believe there is more to new bikes than fancier bodywork and a bit more horsepower, 600s especially. If you put my bike, 2000 ZX6R, up against a 2003 ZX6R there will be drastic differences. Lighter weight, better handling, radial mounted brakes, fuel injection, just to name a few. I do think my bike is a lot more comfortable, and seeing as how I do a bit of commuting on my bike, that's kinda important.

True, older bikes are fast enough to kill a rider. Hell, you could die on a 50cc scooter. Now, I'm not trying to say that an older bike sucks compared to a new bike. Being the owner of an older bike I know that's not true. I'm not gonna run out and buy the newest, fastest bike and I don't think anyone else should. Ride whatcha got.

I wouldn't mind taking you up on your offer to sample your bikes, but I'd be too concerned of the "what if's" that could happen, especially on someone elses bike. I got cut off just the other day on the freeway by a guy that didn't check the lane that I was in. I'd hate for that to happen if I was on one of your bikes.

 

Full coverage insurance, not a problem. Bikes are meant to be ridden.
I agree with your assesment, and was only pointing out the fact that "light years" was a statement that was not really appropriate. Sure their have been changes, but with a good rider on a older bike, you can easily keep up with half the morons on the new street bikes that can't ride worth of $*$& anyways.

Good day.

 

LAfun, you're right about having a good rider on an older bike. Someone with the right experience on an older, or even smaller, bike would school a lot of riders out there on new bikes.

 

Ducatis, while state of the art, are very edgy. They're much more sensitive to rider input than any of the Jap bikes, which makes them very fulfilling to ride at higher levels. Of course, if you never ride at the more skilled levels...then I can see why you wouldn't enjoy them. The Jap bikes are so predictable...all culminating the in the CBR 600 F4 from '00/01. Besides that, your statement doesn't make much sense.

Ducati is high tech -> not fun to ride -> thus you're responsible "of" riding on art...

We're obviously thinking on different levels, and

MotoGP is dominated by Rossi, who would be spanking if he were on a Duke My point to YOU was that Ducati is a high tech firm from their successful efforts in MotoGP, and not a "stupid italian company who just relies on a heritage."