Wow, if you could run a old round case Duck everyday as trasportation my hats off to you. My heart goes out to you for selling it too. Most guys I knew sold Commandos to help buy old Ducks, not the otherway round. Tell the truth I love my Norton, I can actually fix it and it's fast enough for me. I plan to keep it for a very long time.
Would you trade your Commando for a Ducati 900ss?
- Thread starter DonOR
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Glad you decided to keep the Norton. You can find a Ducati 900ss easier than ANY other Norton. I love my 999s AND my Commando. Couldn't get rid of either. Glad I don't have to choose. I'd also never be able to boast such a pair without a classy Dad who gave me his commando. 8)
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I guess I'm too late to to mention which motorcycle fanatic crowd you'd be bantering with most w/o the Commando. I was also going to add that the trader knew who was getting the longer lasting deeper satisfaction. BUT don't just take our words for it, mere road applicance vs orgasmic flying lawn mower, don't let on your decision till you've gotten a test ride, long enough like couple hours both just highway cruise and some pushing around in tights, feeling how you feel after-wards.
Then again to own a Commando it to love/hate wrenching on em.
Then again to own a Commando it to love/hate wrenching on em.
You must consider also that on this forum, we do know what is wrong with the Commando because we have them and we bitch and whine about the faults, a Ducati on the other hand, I and many others don't know what the faults are, so we "think" they don't break, but they do and they may be a lot worse than a Norton because of their complexity or the lack of enthusiast ready to make parts to fix the faults. I am glad to have a Norton and I promise I will ride it next year :roll:
Jean
Jean
i can safely say, that dumping a ducati is extremely expensive...
dumping old british stuff, not so much...
id look at it this way, your norton is an antique, its not going to decrease (much at least if you stay on top of maintenance) in value as time goes on
dumping old british stuff, not so much...
id look at it this way, your norton is an antique, its not going to decrease (much at least if you stay on top of maintenance) in value as time goes on
I traded my 2 tear old combat for a 74 750 sport, I used both of them for every day use and found the duke was more reliable than the combat and maintenance was no worse. it took more abuse than the norton and after changing the top triple clamp and regular bars I put on a lot of miles. my last duke was a 99 851 superbike and did not find it that bad on maintenance either.
gtsun said:
speirmoor
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You made the right choice because the Norton is worth more.I know you said you cant afford 2 bikes but realistically a '99 900SS is not a terribly expensive machine these days. Many of the previous generation SS Ducati's are actually making more money.This was because the design was not well received when introduced and never became a 'Must have " Ducati. Maintenance not bad either if you pay attention.One can be picked up for $3-4K if you shop around.
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If I could only have one, I'd want my Norton. And I certainly wouldn't trade a Norton for a Terblanche SS in any case. I never liked the styling and neither did anyone else. That was probably their least successful model ever (in modern times) although it was said to be a good bike other than the aggressive riding position (much worse than the carbed SS). As noted above, if you want one you can find them cheap. Carbed Monsters are pretty cheap these days too.
Of course, the best way to go is to have a Norton AND a Ducati in the garage... 8)
Debby
Of course, the best way to go is to have a Norton AND a Ducati in the garage... 8)
Debby
A former co-worker has a late 90's duck that he rode as a daily driver, he didn't own a car, lived in an old warehouse loft on the east side. I remember many stories of the maintainance required and witnessed the cracked frame that he wanted me to fix. Aparantly the frames cracked easily and often near the headstock. He also chewed thru many timing belts, tires and clutches. Nothing lasted very long.
Ron L
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debby said:
+1 for that.
I picked up my carbie 900SS SP as an insurance total. Doesn't take much damage for a Ducati to be totaled. Repaired the damage, added a Hi-comp 944 kit and 41 mm FCR's and still have less money in it than the price of a decent Commando. Mucho fun (can you say second gear throttle wheelies!) And it really isn't bad ergo-wise. Especially compared to my bevel 900SS torture rack.
Wouldn't keep either of them over my '73 750.
rvich
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Might as well go the Ducati forum and ask the same question. You will probably get a list of reasons that you should make the trade. At the end of the day, which one will put the best smile on your face? I know which one will be easier to replace if you were starting over from scratch.
Russ
Russ
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What made me decline the trade was the 900's fuel injection. I've never done that kinda work before, and to get factory service I would have to:
1. Ship the bike via inter-island barge from our dear old Hilo town to the polynesian metropolis of Honolulu. $100
2. Hire South Seas Ducati to pick up at port, service, and return to port. $80/hr, $300 or more total
3. Ship back to Hilo. $100
4. Sell one of my kidneys, and I don't think I could get that much for it.
At the same time, my norton has been run a lot this summer, and it's gonna need work soon. I think I'll take Ms. Debbie's advice, and keep my eyes open for an older, carbed duc that I can get for $50 a month.
Cheers,
Don
1. Ship the bike via inter-island barge from our dear old Hilo town to the polynesian metropolis of Honolulu. $100
2. Hire South Seas Ducati to pick up at port, service, and return to port. $80/hr, $300 or more total
3. Ship back to Hilo. $100
4. Sell one of my kidneys, and I don't think I could get that much for it.
At the same time, my norton has been run a lot this summer, and it's gonna need work soon. I think I'll take Ms. Debbie's advice, and keep my eyes open for an older, carbed duc that I can get for $50 a month.
Cheers,
Don
bwolfie said:
as usual , this a tale heard from a friend from a friend from a friend
they go 20.000km ( i do 15.000 to play safe as mine are abused ) between a big maintanance . That is probably about 10 years what most commandos do
they do crack at the headstock , so what about it , weld it or repair it , i have ,but then i have welded on my commando frame as well ( but to be honest , that was not cracked) i also rode my 95 bike for 8.000km with a cracked frame , just kept an eye on it .They are stress cracks as the gusset is badly possisioned (bad spelling again but you 'l know what i mean
i know this is not a ducati forum but do not slay what you haven't ridden (for more than 5 miles that is )
but i do rate my commando a tiny bit above the Duke.....
to funny. I put over 30,000 miles on an 8 valve duck. ducati recommend 12,000 on cam belts but I put 24,000 on the first set with NO issues,I also NEVER had to change a valve shim in the time I had it and they were checked every 3,500 miles along with oil changes and a good look over. the only issues I had were tyres ( imagine that ) and changed out the grabby shuddering bronze clutch to a kevlar from barnett and on the second voltage regulator I found one from a mercury outboard that was more robust and cheaper.I also had several bevel twins and they were gerat bikes and NOT the mantanance hog's some make them out to be.
bwolfie said:
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