Royal Enfield to takeover Ducati?

[Richard-BKK]

To be honest, Ducati motorcycles are very reliable now-a-day – I have to say that the service of the dealers in Thailand are not in pair with the growth of the brand in the country. So service is paying the price of the brand success in Thailand.

I can remember a time that you would feel special if you came in for service on your motorcycle… Now I not feel much difference between if I’m going to my local Honda dealer for our Honda Wave okay the coffee is different…

[JonnyF]

I'd prefer they stay under Audi. The reliability has improved a lot in recent years but they've still managed to retain the beauty of the Italian design. I've found the servicing to be great, but then I haven't had any major issues in my 18,000 kms so far. Biggest issue was a leaking fork seal at 17,xxx kms but since they are Showa forks I'd assume that would have happened on any bike equipped with those particular forks. Ducati sorted at the 18,000kms service without any delay anyway.

 

They're doing pretty well in World Superbikes as well. Chaz Davies won both races at Imola last weekend. In MotoGP Lorenzo made the podium at Jerez in his fourth race. Not too shabby for a "non entity" .

 

 

[VocalNeal]

On 5/16/2017 at 11:57 AM, Kwasaki said:

Imagine Ferrari owned by an Indian company. 

Oh like Benelli being owned by the Chinese?  But they still have a factory in Italy.

 

22 hours ago, smotherb said:

It seems the Brits and the Itals have a lot in common.

Whoa! Surprising that? Although you maybe right. I don't think the Romans played away much when there were there. Then again they had 400 years to work on it.

 

21 hours ago, smotherb said:

Ducati is German, it's owned by VW.

 

I think Ducati is still Italian it just happens to be owned by Audi, through Lamborghini. Now part of VW group. 

 

Hey they even make Harleys in India now!  It all gets confusing. 

Edited May 17, 2017 by VocalNeal

[Kwasaki]

30 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Oh like Benelli being owned by the Chinese?  But they still have a factory in Italy.

I'm knocking anyone as such, for me it's just Italian made & owned has a certain ambience anything else throws a spanner in the works. 

[Kwasaki]

39 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

I think Ducati is still Italian it just happens to be owned by Audi, through Lamborghini. Now part of VW group. 

l refer to what l posted before, from what l've read way back sometime.

Ducati is owned by German automotive manufacturer Audi through its Italian subsidiary Lamborghini which is all owned by the Volkswagen Group.

[ktm jeff]

Italian bikes have an unmistakeable design flair and passion , and that feeling will always be in their DNA , even if some components arent Italian or the bike company is owned under an umbrella of German / Indian companys.  My Benelli Tornado , Aprilia RSV and previous Ducatis will always be , and "feel" Italian. No reliability problems with any of then , and i was doing up to 18,000 per year on them. I think its more important how the finished product looks , feels and excites the owner rather than what company ownes the most shares , after all , some people still think Honda is Japanese , despite a large portion of components being Chinese , and the bikes being assembled in India / Brazil / Thailand  etc etc.

[Nickymaster]

Or another company...

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN17S23J


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[Nickymaster]

Ducati? One of the most unreliable pieces of junk on the roads, pretty much sums up Italian engineering, if it was taken over by some Mongolian tribe it couldn't get any worse. Overpriced junk! Anyone with any sense would see they are buying a non entity just a name that relates to very poor quality and a shit dealer support and over priced rubbish for spares....if you can get them in less than 3 months.

I have owned a few and reliability has never been an issue with my bikes. They are expensive to own and maintain but that's it.

 

The 55,000 people who collected their Ducati last year must be either insane or very lucky and are having the time of their live riding this amazing piece of engineering. I know the answer.

[VocalNeal]

On 5/16/2017 at 9:12 PM, Formaleins said:

Ducati? One of the most unreliable pieces of junk on the roads, pretty much sums up Italian engineering

Sometimes one has to put things in perspective? Clarkson , who some people hate, but has driven almost every brand of car still states that Alfa Romeo is his brand of choice in certain segments, and it is Italian. Why? Because when you drive them  on a sunny day they make you feel happy. Not 100% reliable but who cares? If it is sunny they will strat and purr along in the sunshine. Early morning it is dark, wet and miserable , sometimes they don't start and don't really want to run at all.

 

So coming back to bikes. They can be compares to horses? In a stable one needs different horses for different jobs. Not all horses have the same temperament. Same goes for bikes and cars.  Need to ride into town to go to church? Need to ride to the big city for a business meeting ? You take a different horse than if you want to go galloping around your estate or go in the local point-to-point or steeplechase. Thoroughbreds and racehorses again are a completely different beast.

 

If one wants reliable etc, in a car? Buy a Toyota. Bike? Buy a Honda. Toyotas are very reliable but dull, Hondas for the road are mostly down speced and built for the road. 

 

Just thought of another reliable? bike BMW GS. As Hitler said"If I wanted to go ploughing I would get a real tractor"

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by VocalNeal

[JonnyF]

28 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Sometimes one has to put things in perspective? Clarkson , who some people hate, but has driven almost every brand of car still states that Alfa Romeo is his brand of choice in certain segments, and it is Italian. Why? Because when you drive them  on a sunny day they make you feel happy. Not 100% reliable but who cares? If it is sunny they will strat and purr along in the sunshine. Early morning it is dark, wet and miserable , sometimes they don't start and don't really want to run at all.

 

So coming back to bikes. They can be compares to horses? In a stable one needs different horses for different jobs. Not all horses have the same temperament. Same goes for bikes and cars.  Need to ride into town to go to church? Need to ride to the big city for a business meeting ? You take a different horse than if you want to go galloping around your estate or go in the local point-to-point or steeplechase. Thoroughbreds and racehorses again are a completely different beast.

 

If one wants reliable etc, in a car? Buy a Toyota. Bike? Buy a Honda. Toyotas are very reliable but dull, Hondas for the road are mostly down speced and built for the road. 

 

Just thought of another reliable? bike BMW GS. As Hitler said"If I wanted to go ploughing I would get a real tractor"

 

 

 

Exactly. I've got a couple of old Kawasaki's for riding around Bangkok in the heat, rain, traffic etc. I drive a Honda to work. But when I get up early on a Saturday morning for a blast to Kanchanaburi, Rayong or Khao Yai there's nothing I'd rather be on than my Ducati. 

[guzzi850m2]

I talked to a Thai on a 500cc Royal Enfield when waiting at a red light on my PCX. I asked him if it's okay and he said he already had to spend 7k baht to keep it running as Mityon Pattyaya said that this problem was not covered by warranty (don't know what the problem was), hmm.

 

Service from Mityon Kawa, is so so, I give them a 5 out of 10.

 

Sadly Mityon sits very heavy on the Pattaya bike market, owning Kawa & Honda big bikes outlets and countless other small bike shops.

 

Ducati Pattaya is also so so in Pattaya (I don't know first hand but a good friend one mine uses them), typically 1 week waiting time for service but I think he got a new starter motor on a recall and they just called him out of the blue and that was free, not bad.

 

Many don't want a main stream motorbike brand for one reason or the other so they buy a Ducati or a R.E., see real many Thais on those brands in Pattaya now.

 

Service here in LOS on bikes/cars is a hit and miss and not so much because of the brand but more the people working in them.

 

When we had a Honda sedan car they keep calling my wife after we sold it for getting the car serviced and she each time told them that we sold the car and didn't want to tell them to who(none of their business).

 

After 1.5 years and them called again (for about the 10th time), my wife lost it and was shouting at them; stop XXXXXXX calling me or I gonna call the police and complain about harassment, LOL. That finally seems to get though with them and they stopped calling.

 

 

[BBJ]

^I hope to the lord above nothing goes wrong with mine that I require my dealer to make a repair.  Trying to get them to answer the phone, and waiting for return calls to book Africa Twin in for its first service was disgusting.  On top of selling my original AT order while in Austria, I'll never buy from this Honda dealer again.  I now service elsewhere.  Many Thai buyers have also complained about the service, or lack of from this particular dealer.

[Kwasaki]

5 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Sadly Mityon sits very heavy on the Pattaya bike market, owning Kawa & Honda big bikes outlets and countless other small bike shops.

You can report them to head office of the manufacturer in Bkk maybe many Thai people don't know that or know this, that's where problem lies.

[Nickymaster]

I talked to a Thai on a 500cc Royal Enfield when waiting at a red light on my PCX. I asked him if it's okay and he said he already had to spend 7k baht to keep it running as Mityon Pattyaya said that this problem was not covered by warranty (don't know what the problem was), hmm.
 
Service from Mityon Kawa, is so so, I give them a 5 out of 10.
 
Sadly Mityon sits very heavy on the Pattaya bike market, owning Kawa & Honda big bikes outlets and countless other small bike shops.
 
Ducati Pattaya is also so so in Pattaya (I don't know first hand but a good friend one mine uses them), typically 1 week waiting time for service but I think he got a new starter motor on a recall and they just called him out of the blue and that was free, not bad.
 
Many don't want a main stream motorbike brand for one reason or the other so they buy a Ducati or a R.E., see real many Thais on those brands in Pattaya now.
 
Service here in LOS on bikes/cars is a hit and miss and not so much because of the brand but more the people working in them.
 
When we had a Honda sedan car they keep calling my wife after we sold it for getting the car serviced and she each time told them that we sold the car and didn't want to tell them to who(none of their business).
 
After 1.5 years and them called again (for about the 10th time), my wife lost it and was shouting at them; stop XXXXXXX calling me or I gonna call the police and complain about harassment, LOL. That finally seems to get though with them and they stopped calling.
 
 

I service my Ducati in Bangkok at the main dealer. Very good service and state of the art large air-conditioned service area. Very impressive. I visited the Dealer in Pattaya and it's service area is very small stuffed with crashed bikes and a few guys hanging around and eating. Almost like a typical Thai bike repair shop.

[eisfeld]

36 minutes ago, Nickymaster said:

I service my Ducati in Bangkok at the main dealer. Very good service and state of the art large air-conditioned service area. Very impressive. I visited the Dealer in Pattaya and it's service area is very small stuffed with crashed bikes and a few guys hanging around and eating. Almost like a typical Thai bike repair shop.

That's not the only southern Ducati dealer with a rural thai open-air style service area then. I've been to the Vibhavadi branch in BKK and it was a really nice place. Something that I'd expect from a brand like Ducati. But here in Phuket the small Honda scooter shops have a vastly better service area than Ducati. It's so sad one can only take it with humor.

[Issanman]

CVC, Permira, Hero are considering offers for Italian brand >> LINK