Hey 999 guy- You have got to be kidding me, the mv showing its age already? Do folks stop you wherever you go on your 999 and take pics like they did when you had your mv? Enough said.

The 999, and I have had one, is sloppy,loose, and becoming oh so common compared to the mv.

BTW- Interesting to see you still on the mv site after you sold yours?!

-- mike (msoucy@deflaw.com), May 26, 2003.

-- mike (msoucy@deflaw.com), May 26, 2003

Answers

I have to say the 999 is just plain UGLY

Don't know why they just did'nt keep building the 916/996/998 that was the most beautiful bike made till the Mv came out

New 180HP/300km/h F5 is going to kick ARSE big time

Ciao O.A.

-- Otto Au (ottoau@hotmail.com), May 26, 2003.

First up, I am a Ducati fan through and through. The MV is beautiful, like the 916, but I like the big twin. After owning a 748BP from new for 3 years I felt like a change. I had alway promised myself a 996 but when the 999 arrived I thought, well, I must have the new bike. I tested the 749S and the 999, and decided the 749 was the more thrashable on the road. The bikes mid range is a vast improvement on the 748 and it steers like nothing else, absolutely fabulous. So I bought a 749s. Then came the hard part. I started to hate the looks, miss the character and the build quality of the 748. At first I thought I would 'grow' to like the 749, especially the looks , but frankly I became embarrassed to turn up anywhere on it. The only pleasure I was getting from it was tipping it hard into corners at insane speeds. Big grin factor here but I learned something about myself. The bike I ride has gotta be, well, cool ! It's gotta be sexy, its gotta have character, and make you feel good, not just perform well. And this is the point: Japanese bikes perform well. With the 749 / 999 Ducati have given up the very thing that set them so apart. I think the 749 / 999 is an enormous mistake, because the reason people bought Dukes in the first place was the feel good factor, the character, the quality, the looks ,the fact that they are different.

So guess what I did ? I went back to my Ducati dealer, ( CMW Chichester ) who I can't say to many good things about, and they took my 749s back with only a £500 hit. Instead, I bought a new end of line 998. It beautifully built, looks fantastic, the new motor ( from the 999 of course ) goes like stink, and whilst it doesnt steer like a 999 it is just as secure in the corners. Comfort. Well who on earth rides a sports bike for comfort. If the whole thing is as comfy as an airchair, and as easy to ride as a computer simulation whats the point anyway. The 998 is the better motorcycle because ultimately it is the more rewarding bike to ride well ( since its not so easy, though perfectly capable ) and the more rewarding bike to own.

I hate to say it but the further Ducati pursue the mass production high volume market the less the bikes will appeal in the long run. They should not try to compete with the Japanize head on. Hell, whats the point. We have 4 japanese bike manufacturers already. Or is it just about making huge pots of money now ?

-- Simon Avery (simon_mark.avery@virgin.net), May 27, 2003.

To Simon. Its just about making money in the short-term with the 999, although I think ironically that is the exact opposite to what will happen. As I was typing this post I had orginally went into detail about how Ducati has gotten greedy, cheapened its product and image, blah, blah. Suffice to say that the 999 was designed to be significantly cheaper to produce than the 998. A more telling thing about the "greed" factor is the cost difference between a 749 and 999 (or 748 and 998), even though they are both basically the same bike, and probably cost about the same to produce. I have to beleive they are still making money on the 749, so their per unit profit on the 999 must be unbelievable. I have the same questions about MV, as well. Does the bodywork of an F4 justify a $5k difference between the Brutale and the F4? This is not a rant about the cost of new bikes, their in the business to make money by charging what people will pay. Hopefully MV won't attempt to "Japanese" their products like Ducati and Triumph have done. People can tell the difference, even if company execs cannot. I think Ducati was counting on people just like you with the 999 (no offense), who had to have the "latest thing". I bet you're one of the first (but not the last) to trade one in on an older design. The 999 will be a flop, which hopefully will speed up the arrival of the Desmosedici. Maybe in 18 months or so this board will be filled with posts comparing it to the F4 Mille. With Ducati, I think history will remember four distinct phases of its existence. Pre-Cagiva, Cagiva, TPG, and post-TPG. Cagiva did great things to save Ducati and build it into one of the greatest "brands" in motorcycling. IMO TPG has ridden on the reputation started while Cagiva owned Ducati. Hopefully when TPG sells Ducati, its new owner can bring back all of the things that made Ducati great. God help them if Harley buy them...

-- Steve (sjb509@umr.edu), May 27, 2003.

Yeah right....thats why the 999 is crushing 998's ( and everything else) in WSB. Sloppy? Loose? Common? Who is kidding Who. Maybe you just dont know how to ride...

Love the MV and the MV vibe, but a few of the owners are kind of lost.

Cheers!

-- ShelbyPerson (shelbym@palm.net), May 28, 2003.

Hey big boy, come to Atlanta and let the lawyer show you how to ride. Dont hide behind WSB. I still see you can't stay off the mv chat site. Maybe you wish you still had your mv?

Hey, all this is in good fun...

Cheers

-- mike (msoucy@deflaw.com), May 28, 2003.

Interesting that WSB is brought up along with the word "crushing". We are pretty avid fans and I'd hesitate to say this is the case..especially when considering the amount of factory support, money involved and caliber of rider cultured for the 999's team.

The rest of this is moot from my perspective :)

James

-- JamesC (jamesacorell@hotmail.com), May 28, 2003.

Hey 999 guy! If it's not a creation of Massimo Tamburini,it's bullshit! :-)

-- erwin william m. benipayo (benipayo@hotmail.com), July 11, 2003.