Ducati Motorcycles

DUCATI motorcycles are an Italian company with a massive reputation for creating a fast & exciting motorcycle. However, they historically had a reputation for electrical problems, but the newer Ducati motorbikes appear much more reliable.

The Supersport is a rebadged Cagiva Elefant (although they both shared the same Ducati engine); whilst the new Multistrada looks like it will fit road based adventure touring & all round use really well, althougth the saddle looks a bit thin & off-roading is out.

Multi-strada

E900 Elefant / Supersport

Ducati Motorcyle Parts & Servicing:

The Ducati Multistrada is in production, with motorcycle spares & parts readily available at service centers & motorcycle dealers. Some Elefant parts are unavailable & OEM parts & secondhand Ducati spares may not be common.

No haynes manual is available, so Ducati or Cagiva workshop manuals if available & the engine manual from Ducati.

Ducati motorcycle accessories (like luggage) are not as common as other models. No-one makes a luggage fitting kit for the Elefant anymore, however, you could get one engineered.

The Elefant is a traillie classic, & handles very well, along with a low seat height, makes it a great all rounder, but they suffer from some electrical problems.

The Ducati Multi-Strada is a new bike, but looks like it might be an excellent all round tourer. It will certainly be a quick, good handling & fun motorcycle.

Ducati Motorcycles Build Quality

Older Ducati motorcycles don't have a good record for reliability, especially in the electrical department. The Elefant uses the 900ss engine which was widely used, & I believe is reliable if maintained properly. In this case that means getting the belts changed regularly. The newer Ducati motorbikes appear to have much higher build quality. However, I don't think any Ducati bears up well to a British winter & all that salt on the roads. So a Ducati is best cleaned regularly & stored in a warm garage.

Review of the Multistrada in the Telegraph May 2007 (it wasn't good!)

Find your nearest Ducati Motorcycle Dealer

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Ducati motorcycle dealers, spares & parts, for Ducati trail & enduro motorcycles.