What do you guys think about the Ducati GT1000

[g4string]

Has anybody owned-test drove one? I am curious what your thoughts were. It is an interesting bike. Thanks!!

[dcameron]

isn't this the bmw 1150/1200 site?

[g4string]

sure is

[gibbo111]

Had a 750GT way back in the 70"s ,not a very good bike , but seem a lot better now but still wonder about maintence costs and are there stories of owners with hundreds of thousands of mile/km of trouble free riding? Probably not many, but dont like the looks of any of the retro Ducatis, the only one I desire is a silver shotgun 450 desmo, not to ride much thou

[celticus]

I think it is a very nice looking bike. Very practical for a Duc. I don't know much else about it.

Mark

[motoracer8]

Yes, this is a BMW site, some also Ducati's. I have a Multistrada. I have a friend with a GT1000, that I have ridden a few miles. It handles well, has great breakes, it rides alittle stiff compaired to my Multistrada, or R12R. It has a diecent seat, John the owner says it regulary gets 50 mpg. Ducati, BMW,and some of the other makers have had issues with Acerbis manufactured fuel tanks with expansion, cracks and leaks because of the ethenol in US. fuel.
Befor you buy check out service costs, valve maintainence can be expensive. Over the years I have owened 3 Ducati's, and 6 BMW's, all have been good reliable machines.

Ken G.

[Ves]

I like em... just has a certain raw, basic, appeal... I've seriously thought about buying one... This particular one is for sale at Wisconsin Cycle Salvage...

[gibbo111]

I like em... just has a certain raw, basic, appeal... I've seriously thought about buying one... This particular one is for sale at Wisconsin Cycle Salvage...

for me the tank is too square and I wish the mufflers looked like the old Contis, they sort of flowed

[Tr250Tom]

I rode one, along with a Multistrada S, in '07 before buying another BMW.

The engine is fantastic; just a hoot. The chassis is capable, in the sense that a very well built 1980's bike was. The styling missed the mark, IMO. The gap between the rear wheel and rear subframe might look normal on a modern sport bike, but it looks WAY out of place on a "retro" bike. Ditto for the 17" front wheel. Nice seats though, and I would have welcomed having a good dealer just 30 minutes away.

In the end, I wanted ABS, and Ducati didn't offer it on either bike. Style is nice, but a lot has happened since the '70's, and IMO I can't afford to play games in modern traffic. I also couldn't see touring on it, even with the optional windscreen (which would ruin the effect anyway.) But that 90 degree engine with Termignoni exhausts...ahhhhhh.

Cheers, Tom

[acapulcoGP]

I think this is a beautiful bike, and looked at it closely when buying the R1200R. In the end, I wasn't crazy about the riding position. I thought there was a little too much reach towards the bars versus the R1200R. And the longer I thought about it, the more confused I became on the whole retro thing. The idea of a modern retro bike seems to be a desire to return to basic lines and functionality, but with modern technology. I think the R1200R is in fact the best implementation of that idea without all the nostalgia baggage that comes with the retro bikes.

[LumpyCam]

There's a fine difference between 'retro' and 'backwards'. One of the things i respect most about the R1200R is the direct homage to BMW's long motorcycle history, retaining the best designs and technologies. But the R1200R isn't a sentimental machine - in fact it is one of the most modernly appointed (e.g. ASC) and designed bikes on the market today. Sure, you can get futuristic with a B-King (or K1300R for that matter), but that doesn't detract from the balanced styling of our R12R.

I like the GT1000, but agree with Tom it just seems to miss the mark on the style vs. functionality. The balance isn't quite there. If i wanted to go really retro, i'd have to give my nod to the Triumph line with the Bonneville and Thruxton. They have nailed the retro look better than Ducati while maintaining good performance and reliability.

A T100 accompanied my R1150R to the Yukon with me last year and it kept pace every step of the way, even dirt roads up in Alaska.

[mogu83]

When I bought my R1200R (the most beautiful, best engineered, most wonderful bike in the world - that's for the I love my R1200R guys, ) the Ducati GT1000 was on my short list. What bumped it off was the insurance cost, a few companies I checked with consider ALL Ducatis sportbikes and the rates reflect that.

[g4string]

Update......

I went at looked at bikes last week. I looked at the R12R (again), the Duc GT1000, and the Duc MS 1100S (only because it was there). I was bummed that between the two dealerships I went to, none were offering any bikes to demo. So, my impressions are from dealer discussions and show-room piloting only.

GT1000 - My first impression sitting in the seat of the Duc was that it felt "cheap"?? I feel that the R12R seems like an extremely well built/engineered bike when I sit on it/look at it. I did not get that feeling with the GT1000. The bike had way more appeal to me in photo than in person. After looking at the bike, I started to feel the way acapulcoGP and LumpyCam feel about the GT1000. Since I was under-impressed with the GT1000, I meandered off a few bikes over and started to look at the Multistrada 1100S.

MS 1100S - It seemed like a well built bike, had nice ergos, was close to the same $$ as the R12R, and was probably a better statistical comparison to the R12R. One of the things I could not get over was how "awkward" the bike looked. I think the lines on the bike do not flow well. It has a "futuristic" "space man" "F-117 Fighter" kind of vibe to it - definitely not as attractive as the R12R. I think the bike will be out of "style" rather quickly where the R12R's design, lines, and flow lends itself to be more timeless.

Here is where Ducati became a non-option and R12R the only bike I am going to buy.............I asked the Ducati dealer how hard the top cylinder was to get to in order to adjust the valves. His response was that unless you are a trained Duc mechanic, DO NOT attempt to to your own valve work. He went on to say that the it is too complex for your average bike owner/operator/self-maintainer to understand. Now I don't know of this is a huge lie only to drum up business for their shop. However, it was enough to get thinking anti-Ducati thoughts. Compiled with my recent opinions of the two bikes from the Duc ine-up I was interested in, this was enough to steer me away from the Duc line-up. The ability to rest my legs on the cylinders and stretch out, ABS, heated grips, center stand, and way cheaper after-market exhaust options were the final nails in the coffin for Ducati.


PS - I forgot to mention that all of the Ducs had a SUPER hard clutch pull. That would get really annoying - really fast. Not good in my book.

[ronhartless]

A close friend of mine owns one, and he loves it. We drove from Virginia to California last spring...I had a '99 F650 at the time.

[wobblybob]

hoot Off

[celticus]

I have a friend who is a fair mechanic and who owns a Ducati Monster. He says adjusting the valves is no problem. He sat in on a demonstration somewhere and watched it being done once and came away knowing how to correctly adjust his own valves.

What do you mean by ----- OFF? Am I just being slow?



Mark

[spaetzelrocket]

I was curious and took one for a ride... entirely different animal if you ask me. If you sit on it you'll probably notice right away what I'm talking about. The ergos are dramatically different; not necessarily worse... just different. I'm guessing the wheelbase is shorter and the fork angle more aggressive. You feel like you are much more over the front of the bike which is not necessarily bad if your doing some aggressive cornering. As a matter of fact it would probably be a hoot if you were doing some fast canyon carving. However, I traded a supersport for my R1200R and I'm not in a hurry to go back. I've also ridden a Tuono, granted it's not retro; however, if your looking for something more upright and "sport" like than a R1200R I'd get that before the duc.

update/details: GT1000 wheelbase 56" rake/trail 24 degrees; R1200R wheelbase 59" rake/trail 27 degrees... After riding the R1200R 1000+ miles and then climbing on the GT1000, it provided some crazy insights on the effects of geometry. I thought the bike would be a similar tool for naked sport touring... the bike may have some potential for sport touring but similar it is not.