Honda no doubt, too bad the 954 is slowing than a GSXR 750. MY 03 GSXR 1000's quality is suprizingly close to Honda quality.

 

954 is a GREAT bike regardless, and will still look/run great long after the GSXR 750's tranny has grenaded. Add in the comfy ergos + big trunk, and it makes one of the best sport bikes for the real world IMO.

 

How did I miss this thread the first two times around?

Let's see:

Honda S2000:

- Bent shift fork making it hard to get into 5th gear - fixed under warranty. Fixed 1-2 grind while they were in there.
- Rear window scratches fixed under warranty with new rear window.
- Soft top cover replaced in a recall.
- Seat belt repaired in a recall.

Ducati Monster:

- Handlebar replaced for some strange reason due to recall.

That's it.


A lot of people claim Ducatis are unreliable based on second-hand evidence. Other than a couple of flat tires, mine has been 100% reliable the entire 6 years I've owned it. I love the Monster and the S2000 equally and try to give them both equal time out in the twisties. The Monster has been getting more attention lately, but now that it's getting hot, the S2000 should come out ahead for a few months. Good thing the air conditioner works so well with the top down.

 

The Duck bashing is fairly common.

When I took delivery of my 748S 2.5 years and 5,000 miles ago it had a hole in the gas tank. Outside of that I have had zero, not ONE problem with the bike. In talking with other owners my experience seems fairly typical, yet if you go to a Japanese bike board every Ducati is an overpriced rattle trap waiting to fall apart and drain your wallet.

 

That's because that is what they were known for. TPG bailed Ducati out from going under, which was one reason why they were going under. HD made complete crap when they were owned by BMX iirc. Getting rid of that perception can take a lot of time. Another reason why Ducati has a bad reputation is because you see some owners always tinkering with the bike. Never looks good when you see someone with a toolkit doing something to it. The first thing you think of is that broke down.

Ducati has also had their fair share of problems. Like the chrome flaking off the cams. The belts that were too small to handle the job effectively. Checking the tension of said belts because they would stretch out because they were too weak. They could have used the belts that they used on the SPS version and that would have been minimized. Ducati has been or already had addressed most of their problems.

Changing the perception of people can take sometime.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by scottrnelson
[B]How did I miss this thread the first two times around?

Let's see:

Honda S2000:

- Bent shift fork making it hard to get into 5th gear - fixed under warranty.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chris S
[B]954 is a GREAT bike regardless, and will still look/run great long after the GSXR 750's tranny has grenaded.

 

a) headshake - go buy a steering damper, and headshake be gone...simple as that
b) the GSXR750's tranny probs. are well-documented, mainly for MY'00. They used a holllow shift shaft then to save weight, and it compromised durability. A friend went through 3 trannies on his '00 750.
c) real world = living w/ the bike. No doubt, the GSXR 1000 is a great bike/penis extender, but give the 954 credit for its great ergos, big trunk, and Honda quality. No doubt it can't match the G1K's performance, but most of these bikes offer more performance than 99% of us can fully exploit.

Before you accuse me of bitching, I've owned a RC51, R1, R6, and ZX9R (among others) for street bikes. I have a CMRA racing license and Lockhart Phillips Team Privateer sponsorship, so you're barking up the wrong tree!

 

If you have headshake on a street, a damper only masks the real problem. Suspension and tires should be checked and adjusted as needed. The 954 is no TL that Suzuki needed to add one from the factory.

Track, different story.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lanbrown
[B]If you have headshake on a street, a damper only masks the real problem.