[lowflying]

Rob here. Displaced Canuck living in Sydney, Straya mate.

Always wanted a Duck, thought about maybe a Monster over the years but never felt the pull strongly enough. The balls-out sportsbike Ducatis are awesome, but being 54 I no longer feel the need to ride around with my hair on fire all the time. I also came to the realisation that the way you ride is hugely affected by what you're sitting on. For example I always come back from riding my RZ 2 smoker thankful to still have a license, because the > lives in that motor and it's impossible to not wring that thing's neck and feel the zing when you wind it out! It makes me do things that I seem to have no control over.

So, along comes the SS, and I'm thinking this could be the Duck that finally grabs me. Read probably ALL the reviews and most of this forum. Quite an overwhelming amount of positivity about this machine, with only a few reservations.

Of course, I still haven't test ridden yet, so I will have to do something about that. I bought my XSR900 without even test riding as my research told me it's a great bike, and it's a frikkin' GREAT bike IMO.

So, my biggest quandary is RED or WHITE! S model seems like the go to me.

Cheers guys.

 

[tworedtoys]

welcome to the forum Rob. With your current stable of bikes, it looks like the SS would be a great addition. You dont really need a monster since you have a naked bike already and your classic RZ350 is going to be handle much differently than the SS. For old guys (Im one too, just not quite as crusty as you are) this seems to be the sport bike of choice. If you decide to go forward and get your first duc, I would recommend spending the extra cash for the S model. The ohlins are a terrific upgrade as is the quick shifting. IMO well worth the extra money. I had the white model and sold it to my brother. Now I own the red one. I cant decide if that was a mistake or not. I still think the white is super classy, even if the red one is faster. haha.

 

[amoslws]

Red is less maintenance, read the concerns about washing and polishing the silky white with the red rims. Mine is red and certainly don't have the cost associated with cleaning materials. So go RED. Plus it's the traditional colour and looks great. Oh and it's marginally cheaper.

 

[se7en]

Welcome to the forum. At first, I wanted the red, but then saw the white in person. White it was...had to wait 7 weeks for it, but well worth it. The S is the better choice I'd you can swing the extra money because of the suspension, but the non S is great too, if you plan on just commuting or making it an errand runner.

 

[Motomillion]

Either color you chose, you will have an ear to ear grin.

 

[MasterMind]

Welcome to the forums. Personally... I would go white

 

[willow]

Welcome!

My advice: Go and make a test ride first. If you like the bike at all, choose whatever color seems to suit you best. Either color looks great, so you can't choose the wrong color. If you really can't make up your mind: Throw a coin

There are good reasons for each color (maintanace, tradition, exclusivity, your own taste, a.s.o.). So it's not possible to recommend a color. That would be like recommend a blonde or a brunette to you - how should we know what you prefer? And even if we know and for e.g. you usually prefer brunette - chances are, that this particular blonde will drive you crazy.

 

[fishoutofh20]

For old guys (Im one too, just not quite as crusty as you are) this seems to be the sport bike of choice.

No offense to dosjuguetesrojos (partially because the quote is accurate), but I HATE the growing reputation (and Ducati probably does too) that this is a sportbike for old guys. More accurately it should be described as an incredibly good-looking bike for guys with common sense who actually want to use their bike.

Many people, including me, have always thought the Ducati racebikes were gorgeous. I dreamed of having one and finally got the 749 way back when. My experience was the same as many others: amazingly sexy bike, but virtually useless in the city, uncomfortable, and a license stealer. While I'm glad I had the experience of a Ducati racebike (going 130 mph in a righthand sweeper with no concern whatsoever about my stability was quite an experience) I'll never buy another unless it's for the track (another discussion entirely).

Anyway, my little diatribe. I just hope the bike's real reputation is the one that sticks: "Looks like a Panigale, but you can actually use it."

 

[melba]

WHITE WHITE WHITE!!! (red's ok too!) - No matter what colour it is, you're gonna love it

 

[titus.sensei]

Whites have red frame and wheels

 

[se7en]

Star White Silks are faster....

 

[lowflying]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm definitely leaning towards the white, although decision not made yet! Hoping to test ride, at last, this Friday. To me the S model is what I want, although if it didn't exist, the base model would be fine as the S seems nice to have as opposed to NEED to have, just my opinion.

One of the problems is that there are so many great bikes out there to choose from, all for different reasons! Too much choice can equal paralysis! :wink2:

 

[lowflying]

Finally went for a test ride!

http://www.ducatisupersport939.net/...ck-test-ride-report-sss-sydney.html#post78241

 

[tea2jay]

The white looks amazing in person and even better in photos. However, when I test rode a white SS at the dealer, I could already see a lot of scuffs and marks on the matte white finish. Ownership wise, I like the red, but the white definitely is sexy.

 

[htown-mell]

Go with the white. I don't get the cleaning quandary associated with it. Mild soap and water. Has anyone else in the forums spotted another supersport in the wild yet in their city yet? That question is for everyone except the guy that let his brother sucker him on his white SS-S...lol

 

[Neshotosam]

Go with the white. I don't get the cleaning quandary associated with it. Mild soap and water. Has anyone else in the forums spotted another supersport in the wild yet in their city yet? That question is for everyone except the guy that let his brother sucker him on his white SS-S...lol

I did spot another SS in the wild in my city, then it turns out it was mine...sort of.

Like many of you I put my deposit down early in the year (Feb. I think) and then test rode a red SSS on Ducati Demo day (April 15). My dealer was as frustrated as me with the non-information from Ducati about when my white SSS would arrive. After a few frustrating weeks they got permission from Ducati to sell me their demo, but since it was red and I had my heart set on the white I could not do the deal. I found a dealer about 175 miles away in another state with a white SSS willing to sell it to me. My local dealer tried to get them to swap demos for me but no go. So with my local dealer's blessing, no-hard-feelings rather, I journeyed my scrambler those 175 miles to meet my new ride.

Two months and 2,700 miles later, I am driving around town in the middle of the morning (actually at work and had to drive my truck to carry some stuff) and a white SSS goes by as I am getting on the freeway. I follow this bike for a short while trying to see what state the license is from since I don't think anyone else in TN has gotten one yet. The rider gets off the next exit and I follow him until we get to a red light. I pull up along side to chat and find out he flew in from North Carolina and just left my local dealer having picked up this new SSS and is riding it 500 miles back to his home. I mentioned my deposit and long wait and he said the dealer told me about that and confirmed that this bike was indeed the one that I ordered. I called my dealer and they agreed it was true. They didn't have the bike 24 hours before it was sold.

 

[Hugg727]

Welcome to the forum!

I too am older (54), but I am in very good shape. One of the reasons that I liked the SS from the start was that I can really ride the bike hard if I want to. I will use an analogy that I have used for my MX bike. When the 450 4 strokes came out I got one immediately and after 2 seasons on the big bike I realized that I got slower. I then had the opportunity to ride the 250 4 stroke for about a month...it was a revelation. What I came to realize with the 250 (SS) is that I ride it, it doesnt ride me like the bigger bikes. You can push it and still feel under control. You have the right idea with the SS...especially in White!

 

[se7en]

@Neshotosam - In Knoxville, our local dealer is Mountain Motorsports. They have sold 3 in total as of last week...and with a similar story to yours. The first bike that came to them was the demo, a white S. The first deposit was from a guy who wanted a white one, but they couldn't sell it to him and the wait was a long one (7 weeks as it would turn out - read on). Well, a red one came in as their first "to be sold" bike. With Ducati Corporate's blessing, they were allowed to transfer the demo to the new red S one and sell the original white one to him. Ironically, he was picking it up the day I went in for the demo ride...on the brand new and newly transfered demo bike with 2 miles on the odo. I went in to get a red one but saw his in person and switched mine to a white one...the next one to come in was supposed to be a white one, which would have made it his bike. 7 weeks from the day I demoed (and he picked up his bike) I took delivery on my bike...which would have been his, lol.

 

[hypermattard]

I have a white one, bought it without even taking a test ride even. I was wondering how a red one would look with the red wheels on it

 

[lowflying]

Ok. Almost a REAL member of this forum now. After two test rides, SS and SSS, and a test of an R1200RS, plus too much research and lurking here, today I finally did a deal for a white SSS, including passenger grips, comfort seat, heated grips, tail bag and a tank protector. I decided I would wait for the aftermarket to come up with some interesting slip ons for the exhaust.

I had placed a deposit a while back, so my bike is off the ship 31 July.

Pretty stoked.👍🏼😎