Bike purchase advice? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Bike purchase advice?

micelli.i

Well-known member
I've been eyeing this bike, for some time. It's a 2016 Ducati Panigale R, for sale in Cambridge, for approx. $35K plus tax. While it's within my budget, I actually haven't owned a super bike before. Any advice on:

1. Would you recommend this to a relative newbie rider?
2. Due to the recent negative news, how likely am I to be a police target - assume I don't ride like a maniac?
3. Tested, I found the Panigale R to be very VERY loud (leaving aside how fast it is). Noob question, can you do something aftermarket so that it is not soo loud?
4. Regular bikes don't get the attention this bike gets, when riding it. Why so much stare, even while riding properly? Is it the sound? I find it discomforting with so many ppl staring.
5. What are some good tracks in the Kitchener-Waterloo and/or GTA (i.e. not public roads) areas to race?
6. What are my chances of surviving a crash on it?

I really like it and maybe getting it for Christmas as a gift, but I don't want it to be the end of me. Thanks for your help!
 
1) 35g for a new bike is a lot, even for an experienced rider.
2) Meh, don't give them a reason to stop you
3) Switch out exhaust. Take it to a bike fab shop and tell them your goal. Sneaker bike.
4)Expensive bike? Great ***? No gear? Dunno, why do people stare is like asking how long a piece of rope is
5)Race or track? Big difference. Mosport is n of Bowmanville, TMP by Cayuga, Shannonville by Belleville and Grand Bend is in Grand Bend.
6)again with the rope! What are your skills and what is the crash? Too many variables
 
totally buy the bike, you'll grow into it.
Its not too loud, when Canadas only Lancaster bomber flies over people point, its loud but its also awesome
Go be awesome.
 
I've been eyeing this bike, for some time. It's a 2016 Ducati Panigale R, for sale in Cambridge, for approx. $35K plus tax. While it's within my budget, I actually haven't owned a super bike before. Any advice on:

1. Would you recommend this to a relative newbie rider?

No. No, no, no; no. No - no.
 
My only suggestion to you is buy a touno 1100 factory instead,saw one today at gpbikes and had a short chat with the owner ,killer bikes
 
My only suggestion to you is buy a touno 1100 factory instead,saw one today at gpbikes and had a short chat with the owner ,killer bikes


Thanks for the suggestion. I just looked up a 2016 Aprilia Tuono factory 1100, and found one in Guelph for under $20K. That's almost 50% less than my budget for the Ducati R. Is the Tuono as good as the Ducati in terms of performance/power/etc.?
 
Yes, it's exactly as good. Paging Shaman, he could save a life here
 
+1 on the tuono

What's your riding experience?

What are your insurance costs?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I just looked up a 2016 Aprilia Tuono factory 1100, and found one in Guelph for under $20K. That's almost 50% less than my budget for the Ducati R. Is the Tuono as good as the Ducati in terms of performance/power/etc.?

Both bikes are way better than you'll ever be able to ride them.

totally buy the bike, you'll grow into it.
Its not too loud, when Canadas only Lancaster bomber flies over people point, its loud but its also awesome
Go be awesome.

haha.
 
...
 
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Have you called for an insurance quote yet? If you can even find someone willing to insure you on it (seriously), I think you're going to find it's going to cost you north of $1000/month to do so.

Not a beginner bike. Not suitable whatsoever. Probably not even insurable unless by "newbie" you aren't talking "just got my M1"?

Whatever you do...don't make the mistake that many others have made and buy a bike before you understand how much insurance is going to be, and if you can even obtain it without paying something in the range of a mortgage payment every month of the year for the privilege.
 
Uhm. Pick the Tuono if you're riding on the street. Can't think of a more track-focused bike than a Pani R. They are not only track-focused but focused at the highest levels - the cases are uber-expensive, maintenance is uber-expensive, things like brake pads are track-focused and uber-expensive. I think it's a great bike but even at 35K (a good price!) it's just about the least streetable sportbike there is.

And uh... yes the Tuono Factory will turn MORE heads than a Pani except amongst Ducatista but it is equally a poor first sportbike. A Pani R will wipe the floor with a Tuono 1100F over 250kph, below that whoever has the guts and is most comfortable can go for the brass ring. But since this is your first sportbike and you seem to want to go right at the top end of the curve, be aware that both these bikes will wheelie over a cigarette butt at half throttle in a middle gear and will break every speed limit in Canada in first gear.

OK, all that said... I have two RSV4s, three GSX-Rs, a Tuono and a Burgman. Discounting the (wife's) Burgman, the most fun street bike I own is my 9 year old Tuono and it's also the slowest. It gets a lot of looks, it wheelies whenever I feel like it but rarely when I don't, and it is far faster than most people think - ask the DOCC riders at Calabogie last year about it. Let me tell you why: it offers me multiple riding positions, it's easier to ride, offers a better field of vision than a hunched-down sportbike, it feels fast at reasonable speeds due to lack of fairing, it's still ferociously fast and it doesn't feel as focused as the sportbikes.

So if you're asking me what I'd do given the choice, Tuono Factory all the way. If the RSV4 wasn't my dream bike, I would have traded in my old-ish Tuono for a new one instead. The Tuono's a far more rational choice and for 95% of what I do on the street it's got higher performance than the Pani R or its RSV4 sibling. The Tuono also has some very junior-rider capabilities - softer throttle map, many levels of traction control (the good kind), 3-level wheelie control, and 3-level ABS.

And for that matter, I'd be hard pressed not to buy one for a sportbike, period. Ari Henning @ Motorcycle.com is one of the few journalists I respect, and he's said the same thing...
 
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Uhm. Pick the Tuono if you're riding on the street. Can't think of a more track-focused bike than a Pani R. They are not only track-focused but focused at the highest levels - the cases are uber-expensive, maintenance is uber-expensive, things like brake pads are track-focused and uber-expensive. I think it's a great bike but even at 35K (a good price!) it's just about the least streetable sportbike there is.

And uh... yes the Tuono Factory will turn MORE heads than a Pani except amongst Ducatista but it is equally a poor first sportbike. A Pani R will wipe the floor with a Tuono 1100F over 250kph, below that whoever has the guts and is most comfortable can go for the brass ring. But since this is your first sportbike and you seem to want to go right at the top end of the curve, be aware that both these bikes will wheelie over a cigarette butt at half throttle in a middle gear and will break every speed limit in Canada in first gear.

OK, all that said... I have two RSV4s, three GSX-Rs, a Tuono and a Burgman. Discounting the (wife's) Burgman, the most fun street bike I own is my 9 year old Tuono and it's also the slowest. It gets a lot of looks, it wheelies whenever I feel like it but rarely when I don't, and it is far faster than most people think - ask the DOCC riders at Calabogie last year about it. Let me tell you why: it offers me multiple riding positions, it's easier to ride, offers a better field of vision than a hunched-down sportbike, it feels fast at reasonable speeds due to lack of fairing, it's still ferociously fast and it doesn't feel as focused as the sportbikes.

So if you're asking me what I'd do given the choice, Tuono Factory all the way. If the RSV4 wasn't my dream bike, I would have traded in my old-ish Tuono for a new one instead. The Tuono's a far more rational choice and for 95% of what I do on the street it's got higher performance than the Pani R or its RSV4 sibling. The Tuono also has some very junior-rider capabilities - softer throttle map, many levels of traction control (the good kind), 3-level wheelie control, and 3-level ABS.

And for that matter, I'd be hard pressed not to buy one for a sportbike, period. Ari Henning @ Motorcycle.com is one of the few journalists I respect, and he's said the same thing...

Makes sense all-round.
 
Troll?
Humblebrag?

Either way, a couple of dumb questions in there.

I'm neither. Just a newbie. I now read the Sportsbikes are Not beginner bikes thread in the New Riders - Star here forum, on this site. Crap. Should've done that before I posted. I guess a Ninja 250 it is, then. A pittance too, found one for under $5K!
 
Buy it. Put it in garage (if it's a deal too good to pass up). Buy a cheap beater bike. See how you fare on that for a while.

If you're disciplined with the clutch and are used to handling a bike, the Duc should not be much of an issue.

Then again, if you're erring on the side of caution by questioning if you're too new for this level of bike, maybe that's a good sign too?
 
I'm neither. Just a newbie. I now read the Sportsbikes are Not beginner bikes thread in the New Riders - Star here forum, on this site. Crap. Should've done that before I posted. I guess a Ninja 250 it is, then. A pittance too, found one for under $5K!

I don't think you need to start on a 250, but your original post translated in car terms would sound like "Hi guys, I'm new to driving sports cars, should I get a Pagani Huayra?". Very few bikes are faster or more expensive than a Panigale R.

A popular way to enter the sportbike world is to pick up the aging CBR600F4i. It's now roughly the price of a 250.
 
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I don't think you need to start on a 250, but your original post translated in car terms would sound like "Hi guys, I'm new to driving sports cars, should I get a Pagani Zonda?". Very few bikes are faster or more expensive than a Panigale R.

A popular way to enter the sportbike world is to pick up the aging CBR600F4i. It's now roughly the price of a 250.

That's fair.

And seriously a high-end bike only costs one $35K-$40K? The audi I drove costs more than that. Wow...
 

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