Ducati ST-4s

ah so its not necessarily the bikes themselves that suck but that the cost
of maintenance precludes them to the wealthy - who of course suck


now i get it !

big_harold
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"Martin Taylor" <mjpt57 RemoveThis @yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:4106b9ec.18df3753.bm004@yahoo.com.au...
 > Whaddya reckon of this: Local bike shop has a 2001 Ducati ST4-S. 10,000
 > km, $16,000. It's tempting. A mate who owned a 996 Strada reckons that
 > it'd be OK, but cost of maintenance would be high. And they're not that
 > reliable.

Hi Martin,

I tested a ST4s some time back - sounds very similar to the one you mention
but back then (Jul-03) the asking price was about $22K. You'll be up for a
bit if you get the thing serviced as per the recommendations and agreeing
with Zebee, you'll have to find a good mechanic. I'm told the boys up at
Vee Twins (Coffs Harbour) are excellent - great excuse for a regular spin up
Thunderbolt's and the Waterfall Way...

For me, it was a bit too much to outlay for a 2nd hand bike (though less $$
in your case), running costs would have been a little high (we do around
20k/yr) and the XX was on offer back then for around $19k including the full
Givi panniers/topbox setup. I'm delighted with my choice but certainly my
ears miss that beautiful Ducati sound. Perhaps a 748/749 'toy' as well...

Our ST2 was perfectly reliable for the 15,000 kms we did on it. Not even a
glitch, though the $1K per service was tough to swallow. I could only
imagine what that would translate to on the ST4s model. Maybe someone here
can offer more specific numbers.

Good luck,
Dave ZZR600 => ST2 (stolen) => '03 XX<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

Watch out for broken frames near the engine mounts.

Boxer

"Martin Taylor" <mjpt57 DeleteThis @yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:4106b9ec.18df3753.bm004@yahoo.com.au...
 > Whaddya reckon of this: Local bike shop has a 2001 Ducati ST4-S. 10,000
 > km, $16,000. It's tempting. A mate who owned a 996 Strada reckons that
 > it'd be OK, but cost of maintenance would be high. And they're not that
 > reliable.
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"Dave Ello" <dave.DeleteThis@hot.male.com> wrote
 > I'm told the boys up at
 > Vee Twins (Coffs Harbour) are excellent - great excuse for a regular spin up
 > Thunderbolt's and the Waterfall Way...
 >

Now a trip to Coffs for a service would really add to the costs factor for Martin! They'd wanna be
bloody good for that.

--
Dale Porter
GPX250 => CBR600 => CBR954 + VTR1000
*Add .au to e-mail address to respond*<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"Martin Taylor" <mjpt57.RemoveThis@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:4106b9ec.18df3753.bm004@yahoo.com.au...
 > Whaddya reckon of this: Local bike shop has a 2001 Ducati ST4-S. 10,000
 > km, $16,000. It's tempting. A mate who owned a 996 Strada reckons that
 > it'd be OK, but cost of maintenance would be high. And they're not that
 > reliable.

I dont know why you guys who bitch about maintenance so much, dont just
invest in the even Genuine Workshop Manuals and do it yourself.Not like its
rocket_science

As for the *special_tools* and tricky bits just join the DOClub as they have
them on hand

Enjoy the savings and the bike

CDIHL
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

In aus.motorcycles on Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:29:06 +1000
Using "HatzOlah logic®" <hatzolah.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
 >
 >
 > I dont know why you guys who bitch about maintenance so much, dont just
 > invest in the even Genuine Workshop Manuals and do it yourself.Not like its
 > rocket_science

Except when it is.

If you re careful, and you know what it should look and feel like, then
it's quite doable.

Having seen what professional mechanics can do to 4valves, never mind
8valves, I'd say you wouldn't want to do the job unless you were sure
you had clue, and you had been shown what to do and what not to do,
rather than tried to learn it from a fairly useless book.

The manuals available aren't particularly step-by-step and there are
enough traps to make it necessary to get some help the first time.

Zebee<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

Zebee Johnstone said....

 > Dunno about not reliable, although the quality of a Ducati is often
 > directly the result of the mechanic who works on them. Good
 > spanner-twirler, reliable bike, average bod, poor bike. Find out who
 > worked on it, then go to the local Duke club and ask around.

Dunno if there is a local duke club around here. Still, I'll be checking
it out.

 > Tallish, expensive to maintain, very much the sport side of sport
 > tourer. If that sounds like you, go for it.

The thing feels as comfortable or more so, just sitting on it, getting
a feel for handlebar, footpeg etc. positions.

But then, I've got my eye on a Honda Blackbird, a ZZR12 and a ZX-12. But
I also like the sound of a V twin. And it's different to anything that
I've ever owned.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

Dave Ello said....

 > I tested a ST4s some time back - sounds very similar to the one you
 > mention but back then (Jul-03) the asking price was about $22K. You'll
 > be up for a bit if you get the thing serviced as per the recommendations
 > and agreeing with Zebee, you'll have to find a good mechanic. I'm told
 > the boys up at Vee Twins (Coffs Harbour) are excellent - great excuse
 > for a regular spin up Thunderbolt's and the Waterfall Way...

Could be. I s'pose that I'd get Moto One in Melbourne to service it for
me. But then, Glenn Middlemiss and his lads are pretty handy with a
spanner (that's where the bike is - on sale by consignment, owner O/S).

 > For me, it was a bit too much to outlay for a 2nd hand bike (though less
 > $$ in your case), running costs would have been a little high (we do

That's a point too. I think new BBirds are going for a similar price.
Haven't checked, though. About the only thing that puts me off the
Blackbird is the linked braking system. I wish Honda did it the BMW way,
where the front brake lever operated both brakes but the rear lever
operated only the rear brake. It's savage on my ancient CBR1000. I can
only assume that Honda has improved it since then.

 > Our ST2 was perfectly reliable for the 15,000 kms we did on it. Not

A mate at work has an ST2. He reckons it isn't the best bike that he's
owned, and wouldn't mind an ST4. Another mate has owned both and he
reckons that they're both OK, but the ST4 having more mumbo.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"Zebee Johnstone" <zebee RemoveThis @zip.com.au> wrote in message
news:slrncgeeei.dri.zebee@zeus.zipworld.com.au...
 > In aus.motorcycles on Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:29:06 +1000
 > Using "HatzOlah logic®" <hatzolah RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
  > >
  > >
  > > I dont know why you guys who bitch about maintenance so much, dont just
  > > invest in the even Genuine Workshop Manuals and do it yourself.Not like
its
  > > rocket_science
 >
 > Except when it is.
 >
 > If you re careful, and you know what it should look and feel like, then
 > it's quite doable.
 >
 > Having seen what professional mechanics can do to 4valves, never mind
 > 8valves, I'd say you wouldn't want to do the job unless you were sure
 > you had clue, and you had been shown what to do and what not to do,
 > rather than tried to learn it from a fairly useless book.
 >
 > The manuals available aren't particularly step-by-step and there are
 > enough traps to make it necessary to get some help the first time.

Hence the suggestion to join the D/O/C

CDIHL
 >
 > Zebee<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"Martin Taylor" <mjpt57 DeleteThis @yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:4106b9ec.18df3753.bm004@yahoo.com.au...
 > Whaddya reckon of this: Local bike shop has a 2001 Ducati ST4-S. 10,000
 > km, $16,000. It's tempting. A mate who owned a 996 Strada reckons that
 > it'd be OK, but cost of maintenance would be high. And they're not that
 > reliable.
 >
Mates often aren't.

--
conehead
try one of these wild-man pills, sir<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"conehead" <conehead.RemoveThis@witsend.com> wrote in message news:2mp2dpFpddisU1@uni-berlin.de...
 > "Martin Taylor" <mjpt57.RemoveThis@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
 > news:4106b9ec.18df3753.bm004@yahoo.com.au...
  > > Whaddya reckon of this: Local bike shop has a 2001 Ducati ST4-S. 10,000
  > > km, $16,000. It's tempting. A mate who owned a 996 Strada reckons that
  > > it'd be OK, but cost of maintenance would be high. And they're not that
  > > reliable.
  > >
 > Mates often aren't.
 >
 > --
 > conehead
 > try one of these wild-man pills, sir
 >
 >

fuck off,


Channel country on Friday. I have parts to collect at the fuck in the road. We can get some coffee at Banjo's<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"Zebee Johnstone" <zebee.TakeThisOut@zip.com.au> wrote in message
news:slrncgeeei.dri.zebee@zeus.zipworld.com.au...
 > In aus.motorcycles on Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:29:06 +1000
 > Using "HatzOlah logic®" <hatzolah.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote:
  > >
  > >
  > > I dont know why you guys who bitch about maintenance so much, dont just
  > > invest in the even Genuine Workshop Manuals and do it yourself.Not like
its
  > > rocket_science
 >
 > Except when it is.

no rocket science req

 >
 > If you re careful, and you know what it should look and feel like, then
 > it's quite doable.

not all that hard, just different to jap bikes and i never neeeded any
'special' tools

 >
 > Having seen what professional mechanics can do to 4valves, never mind
 > 8valves, I'd say you wouldn't want to do the job unless you were sure
 > you had clue, and you had been shown what to do and what not to do,
 > rather than tried to learn it from a fairly useless book.

thats why god invented the internet

 >
 > The manuals available aren't particularly step-by-step and there are
 > enough traps to make it necessary to get some help the first time.

yep the internet is full of help and the mailing lists give more help than
is required
with pictures

 >
 > Zebee<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s 

"smack" <smack.RemoveThis@rebels.com> wrote:

 >
 >"conehead" <conehead.RemoveThis@witsend.com> wrote in message news:2mp2dpFpddisU1@uni-berlin.de...
  >> "Martin Taylor" <mjpt57.RemoveThis@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
  >> news:4106b9ec.18df3753.bm004@yahoo.com.au...
   >> > Whaddya reckon of this: Local bike shop has a 2001 Ducati ST4-S. 10,000
   >> > km, $16,000. It's tempting. A mate who owned a 996 Strada reckons that
   >> > it'd be OK, but cost of maintenance would be high. And they're not that
   >> > reliable.
   >> >
  >> Mates often aren't.
  >>
  >> --
  >> conehead
  >> try one of these wild-man pills, sir
  >>
  >>
 >
 >fuck off,
 >
 >
 > Channel country on Friday. I have parts to collect at the fuck in the road. We can get some coffee at Banjo's

Anyone riding weekend? I've really gotta try and get out of bed before
3.30 pm

Cheers

Kevin Gleeson
Imagine It
West Hobart
Tasmania Australia
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.imagine-it.com.au" target="_blank">www.imagine-it.com.au</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Ducati ST-4s