The Kneeslider

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Ducati Desmosedici RR – Motorcycle or Art?

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Ducati Desmosedici RR - collectible or curiosity?The Ducati Desmosedici RR may not be a motorcycle at all, I’m beginning to think it’s art. Not long ago, in a post titled Collectible Motorcycles – Memories and History, I said this:

Will any Desmosedici owner run it hard and really enjoy it or will they all be carefully preserved under glass? Most likely, they will all be treated as so special the risk of actually breaking it would be unthinkable and they’ll be traded as investments instead of motorcycles, after all, they’re collectible. There will never be a large owner base, due to limited numbers and high price, no one to look back and remember the days when he ripped around town on his old Desmosedici. They will be interesting curiosities to all but a few.

Unfortunately, that appears to be exactly what’s happening, as they’re already being traded on eBay by owners who have never ridden them or if they did, rode them just enough to say they did, and I like the Ducati, it’s a great bike with amazing technology but who will ever know what it’s like day to day in the real world?

Like a bottle of fine wine at auction created to be appreciated by the connoisseur, the Ducati will be seen by the devoted follower of the marque as the ultimate expression of the brand, the quintessential Ducati, … but, it seems destined to be an object viewed, not ridden. And like the wine which needs to be consumed to be appreciated but often, never is, the Ducati was made to be ridden hard by someone who has the experience to appreciate its engineering, power and handling and yet it will sit, destined to be dusted and polished. There are many fine vintage bikes restored to their former glory and now kept in collections to be viewed as reminders of what once was, but in this case, the viewer might say, it never was. It was art from day one.

Perhaps someone will soon buy one and break the cycle of endless investment and simply ride it as intended. Wouldn’t that be refreshing?

Comments

  1. I guarantee I’d take one for a spin from time to time if I were so fortunate as to have one.

    Of course I’ve always wanted an RC30 as well,
    http://tinyurl.com/43cyft , but I doubt I’ll be getting one of those any time soon either.

    The couple road tests I’ve seen have all said how much easier it was to ride this bike at speed than other GP machines. If I had some serious track time under my belt I’d think it’s be too cool to get a sense of what Stoner sees.

  3. If I had one, I’d ride it and to heck with the consequences. I’m not one for art you can just look at and buff up every now and again. I am much more into kinetic art especially if goes really fast!

  4. That would be refreshing….. Would be interesting to here from some of those celebs who were short listed…about the only thing I care to hear about from them.

  7. I’m not surprised at that outcome. Heck, even on a trackday its not often you see someone caning their 1098 really hard, simply because they cost so much money. My beater trackbike? I dont care if I drop it so the only thing is self preservation: my $30+ k 1098 or Tricolore? I will be very careful thank you.

  8. With the exception of winning the lottory, I don’t forsee ever being able to afford one.
    Of course, if I do happen to win the lottory, count on me buying one and basicly flogging it to death at the track…

  9. what’s better: staring at the machine for a lifetime wondering what could’ve been, or watching it tumble down the road as you slide to a stop after having the most amazing ride of your life? personally, i’ve never been a fan of having to wonder “WHAT IF?”

  10. Un-used = Use-less

    No tool should be made to sit unused waiting for obsolescence. It’s an insult to the men and women who designed and built it for the purpose of being used* and a waste of money**.

    —
    *Show bikes and trailer choppers excepted, they were never designed for use.

    **Definition of show bikes and trailer choppers.

  11. No offense to anyone who thinks otherwise, but I don’t find it pretty enough to be “art”. Looks pretty track worthy though.

  12. A friend of was National Champion (in Canada) on an RZ500 Yamaha, he then rebuit it, made some minor improvements and road it on the street for years after before getting a FZR 1000.

    One day (a few moons ago) we went to a show and shine and someone there had an RZ500 with 800 miles on it. It was bone stock and cleaner than new. The owner of course was proud that he managed to keep it mint and the miles off it..

    My friend commented.. “What a waste..”

    I think most bikes ARE to be ridden. Yes, if I saw someone crash a Desmosedici I would cry. Ive already seen a Honda NR750 fall over (its on YouTube.. DONT WATCH IT!!). But at the same time, I think your missing out on the manufacturers desire, which is for you to experience the thrill of thier greatest achivement.

  13. Haha, I love the irony of the eBay link to the (currently) $65,100 Desmosedici with 100 miles, right next to the article lamenting this exact ‘use’ of the bike.

    I don’t know if that was done on purpose, or if its some program, but it made me chuckle. I made the ebay link ‘my’ website in case its different for someone else.

  14. The same thing came up after work last Saturday. My boss has a Dunstall Commando, with the original paintwork. He was originally going to repaint it black with gold, but kept being told to “keep it original”. To me, that seems a waste. The original colour is hideous, and the only thing keeping it on the bike is this ridiculous notion of “keeping it original”. It’s the same as the guys not riding their Black Shadows, because the more miles, the less it’s worth. If it’s there, ride it. The RR is ugly as sin, you might as well use it for what it was built for.

  15. Well I can tell you after picking up the bike today from the dealer
    I know understand why people want to sell it.
    the bike is a beast, but more than that it will burn your behind if ridden in slow traffic in less than 5 minutes.
    Bike was not build for city use at all.
    Bike needs to be on the track , open roads, Cherohala Skyway etc.

  16. To me the Desmosedici is NOT a beautiful bike. There, I said it! Beauty went out Ducati’s door a long time ago with Massimo Tamburini moving to MV Agusta.

    This bike’s technology and performance is what it’s got going for it. If anyone’s buying it for beauty, I’d say they need to stop sleeping with their Ducati-branded goggles on and take a look around.

    The RC211V was the penultimate beauty, and I’d bet if it were painted red and had a Ducati logo on it it’d be the wet dream of the decade.

  18. If I wanted a $75,000 bike to cruise on, or set aside as a work of art, I’d visit the OCC and get a “My Little Pony” themed machine (preferably a Unicorn!).

    If I couldn’t afford to crash a Desmosedici on the track, I wouldn’t buy one. Same goes for a 1098R or any other high priced sport bike.

    A bell is a cup, until it is struck.

  19. Motorcycle or Art? Motorcycle, expensive one.

    Art is usually expensive, but everything that is expensive is not art … That’s the top dog these days in the motorcycle technology, but nothing artistic or groundbreaking in it.

  20. Oh i think there was alot of artistry involved. Craftsmanship too.

    As far as groundbreaking, 197hp and 85ft-lb @ 377 dry pounds is quite a ratio. Ive never seen a stock street bike with those numbers. And the front suspension has preload, rebound and compression adjustment, another first for me.

    ‘Four 50 mm Magneti Marelli throttle bodies, 12-hole “microjet” with injectors over throttle” i dont even know what that IS, but it sounds pretty rare.

    You can not like it all you want, you can think its ugly, but artistic and groundbreaking it is.

    That being said, think 65,000 is outrageous.

  21. Yet another bike where pictures do not do it justice. If I could have that sexy shape on a $10k bike…Which doesn’t seem all that much to ask, it’s just a matter of who shapes the clay.

    So, I agree, the cost is in the tech and the exclusivity. It must be expensive, though, to only build 1500 units. But when you think about how much money professional teams put into their track bikes, the RR price seems like a deal, FOR THE TRACK. OF COURSE the RR is not practical for the city streets, neither is a Gallardo Superleggera.

    I believe this is really only a debate amongst people who can’t afford it anyway. But for the people who can afford it, you have to look at what else they can buy with $65k liquid cash. Chances are, whatever it is, they probably already own it.

    I often wondered what drove people to drop small fortunes on custom cruisers. It’s easy to say they’re fools, or they’re looking for a status symbol. Then I realized, I too would probably think differently if I was in their cash flow position. -bc

  22. Excellent point, Case, I know many riders who balk at $10K for a bike because that’s a sizable percentage of box 1 on their W2. Still, one doesn’t become rich by writing checks…

    PS. That said, how’s my Renovatio Sport-Tourer coming?

  23. I think someone should buy 3 or 4 of these and start a privateer team in world superbike. homologation has already been taken care of…

  24. Hi,

    I’ve been a long time lurker here, and my 1st time to post/comment.

    While most of this beauties will end up as ‘art decos’, some will find there home in the track.

    At least this is what I read from a certain Mr. Thorsten Durbahn, creator of the 999 v2 (http://shop.durbahn.de/shop/en/products)

    Reading on the progress he is doing in rebuilding a better 1098s (http://www.1098-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2059), he mentions that he has a customer who just ordered a D16, and seem to be willing to have it modified to make it even better.

    Here are his 1st impressions on the D16. http://shop.durbahn.de/shop/en/products

    I do hope kneeslider will get in touch with him, and see what other goodies he has in his garage.