Ducatista
 

Am I the only one who thinks some of the new Ducati's look like crap? I'm sure they are fast and handle well, but looks have to account for something. Especially that Diavel Strada. It looks like a V-Max and Ducati had an ugly love child.

As you probably know, I like the look and feel of older bikes. There's a beautiful Ducati 750 Paso in Colorado for only $2,700: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ducat...item2ec4efc3f8

Here's a short retrospective on the 750 Paso: http://www.ridermagazine.com/style/v...-1986-1988.htm

I remember seeing a red Paso several decades ago. The red fairing, red windscreen and red leathers the rider wore were a memorable sight. If I saw a Diavel on the street now, I'd forget it in an instant.

I like the diavel actualy, but also like some of their older bikes better. I love the old super sports, and wish they would resurrect the st-3 or st-4 type of bike for sport touring.

So 848 vs the 750 paso and you think the Paso looks better?

I like me some old bikes too...But I have to say, that Paso looks like an even fatter Katana.

Yeah, what he said.
For me, the 916/996 is what a Ducati is supposed to look like. Everything since has been... I dunno... too Japanese?
That's not to say I don't love the 1990's Monsters and, at one time, if I had bought a Ducati it would have been a Supersport 800.

http://www.motorstown.com/images/ducati-ss-800-02.jpg

Ducati was what I wanted when I knew nothing of motorcycles, now that I ride, I have no interest in them. They have been getting progressively less exotic to me as well.

Looks like an Italian ZX-11, lol

Sorry, I'm kind of partial to the new ones... :wink:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...220040-002.jpg

I've heard that before... that the 916/996 is the "true" Ducati or the "epitome" of Ducati. Bullshit. WTF is the true Ducati? What is a Ducati "supposed" to look like? So you want to produce the same bike for 40 years? The old Ducatista say that because that's what they grew up wanting/ couldn't afford.

The new ones look too scrunched up to me :idk:

Yeah, pretty much :lol:
I mean, I realize things have to change with the times, I just can't say I care for the way they chose to go stylistically.
Performance (and cost wise) they're still very much what they've always been, but when someone says "Ducati", my mind conjures up an image of a 916 or an older Monster, not a Panigale, Diavel, or just about anything else they make now. Sure, that could be because it's what I saw when I first found out what a "Ducati" even was, but that's how we develop our tastes. :idk:

even funnier since the 916 was tamburini ripping off honda's nr.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And I think the Paso is a beauty. It's also a cheap and easy way for someone who wants to join the Ducatista.

I just happen to have the April 1990 issue of Motorcyclist magazine on my desk. You remember that's the one where they tested the Sporting Superbikes, Honda CBR1000F, Kawasaki ZX10 and ZX11, GSXR 1100, and FZR1000. They also had an article on the "Great Bikes of the 80's".

Great bikes of the 80's? You mean there was more than one? That's right, they listed 30 of them including two Harleys (FXST Softail and XLH 883 Sportster). Well, they also listed one Ducati, the 750 Paso:

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/451...pasoreview.jpg

Yes, I did hear that recently. Honda dropped the NR750 with the SSS and undertail exhaust and Ducati rushed out with the 916 right after. And I think the NR750 is way way WAAAAAYYYYYY more gorgeous than the 916...

Speaking of the NR. That is #2 on my list of "dream rides" right behind the Honda RC166. :drool:

http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/...-Wallpaper.jpg

That April 1990 motorcyclist magazine was their first comparison of the ZX-11. It was no slouch. Besides being 105 pounds heavier than a 2012 R1 (tested in Sport Rider September 2012) the ZX-11 was almost 3/10 seconds quicker in the quarter. And that was with gearing that gave it a measured top speed of 175 mph. The 10.26 seconds for the quarter was also quicker than the 2012 Aprilia RSV4, ZX10R, and KTM RC8.

This issue also tested Honda's RC30. It cost $15K back then when the ZX-11 cost half as much. Here's what they said: "It outhandles any bike in America." Nick Ienatsch said it was "easily worth $15,000." High praise indeed.

And one of their "Great Bikes of the 80's" was a two-stroke. Yamaha's RZ350.

To me the Paso looks too stereotypically 80s. I particularly dislike the rectangle headlight that looks to have been pulled from the parts bin of any domestic truck or van from the 80s.

To a point weight is a benefit in the quarter mile, not a penalty. A 2012 Hayabusa or ZX-14R, each 30+ lbs heavier than even the ZX-11, are significantly quicker than any of the bikes you mentioned in the quarter in part because their increased weight.