Ducati doing dirt.

[grado]

Thought provoking……….

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tABO-wVSKOg&pp=ygURRHVjYXRpLiBNb3RvY3Jvc3M%3D

[oldironnow]

https://www.ducati.com/us/en/news/a-new-historic-chapter-opens-for-ducati-the-red-from-borgo-panigale-enters-motocross

I hope this means we’ll see another player in the Moto3 class.


.

[grado]

Kinda found it interesting, Italy seemingly
coming on strong as a major player on the global scene.  

Will they be able to sell at that price is the big question.
I mean, a brand new Yamaha 450f I think goes for just under 10k.  The KTM, around 12.  The Zookie 450, even tho you gotta kick it, $8,999.

$15 to $20k, rumor has it for a desmo.

That’s a lot of tacos for a dirt bike.

[oldironnow]

There’s now way more 1%ers than ever.
I think that’s Ducati’s market.
Way beyond the comfortable dentists and lawyers that fueled Harley’s ‘90s boom.

I met this couple a few months ago at a beach party. They said they just bought a Bay Area house because their house was getting some repairs.
Another party attendee asked “Did you sell one of your other houses?”
“No. Now we have four, and this one was great staged. But after we moved in, we could see it was a little worn. Oh well!” ….. SMH
Interest rates don’t even mean anything negative to this level.
I can’t believe Ducati is doing all their racing on just 60K units/year, unless Audi is shoveling in Euros.
It seems like they can’t out-price their customers.

[oldironnow]

New street single.

https://www.motorcycle.com/bikes/new-model-preview/ducati-reveals-659cc-superquadro-mono-engine-44595958

[hacksaw]

I read this , but it isn’t anything more than a sport bike looking single. Let’s see a traditional roadster 400 with
A tip of the hat to old Ducati scramblers of yore.

[motogrady]

2 strokes, 4 strokes, electric.
 
Heady times to be a motorcyclist.

[hacksaw]

Remains to be seen if any new 2 strokes will become anything more than curiosities out of touch of common riders.
I have no interest in electric bikes . I believe there is no ecology advantage to them and they very possibly coukd be worse for the environment than standard combustion machines.
But that’s not my issue with them . I like the feel and sound of internal combustion . Riding is dangerous so the thrill has to exceed the risk to interest me. I want brappppt shift , brappt shift , not bzzzzzzzz.

[motogrady]

hacksaw wrote

Remains to be seen if any new 2 strokes will become anything more than curiosities out of touch of common riders.
I have no interest in electric bikes . I believe there is no ecology advantage to them and they very possibly coukd be worse for the environment than standard combustion machines.
But that’s not my issue with them . I like the feel and sound of internal combustion . Riding is dangerous so the thrill has to exceed the risk to interest me. I want brappppt shift , brappt shift , not bzzzzzzzz.

Ya, I’m with you on that.

The 2 vs 4 is a never ending thing on a few other sites.  
My take…….It was Hondas wish to get rid of the dirty little 2 strokes. And they finally won out in the mid to late 90s.
I don’t give a crap what anyone says.
I was active as a racer back then and watched it happen.

Anyway……..they make what they want and the lemmings follow. They ain’t going back.  

Now, the electric thing.
The only place one sees that really working, electric,
and it might be a real good thing, is dirt bikes.
Believe it, the biggest thing that hurts the dirt guys is the noise.  Trail riders, closed course events, your neighbor who s kid does laps on his brand new pw50 in his back yard, for, like, hours, it’s the noise that pisses off the masses.

Electric, if I can’t hear the kid next door I don’t care if he rides in circles all night.

Ya, for the dirt guys, electric might help a lot.

There a clip out there of a guy running one of the new
electric bikes.  A go pro thing.  I’ll find it and put it up.  
It’s kind of interesting.  

[motogrady]

Here it is.

One of the maybe half a dozen electric dirt bikes out there is the Stark.  
They’ve been taking deposits for, well, a long time while they created this bike.
Guys are just now taking delivery, they are shipped right to your house from the factory.

I think they call it a Varg.  
Like a Harley Sportster,
this is a Stark Varg.

The Future?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfaCK-b0Zt0

[hacksaw]

You know more than me on this one.
Imho those bikes are all throw aways. What fans are going to pay to watch super cross with just buzzing electric bikes?
Kids will get sick of them. There is no sound or smells to entice a life long need to feed .
Lots of people live in the sticks where nobody hears them .
But I digress. They are going to need the atv crowd to make electrics work for the green people .
They would just as soon ban all off road stuff. Electrics would just be a half measure to get rid of them all.
I myself hope to be able to get a dual purpose bike to ride some trails before I am done. I do not see it being electric. I really don’t.
So you may very well be right. But chances are I will be long gone b4 it’s common place .

[motogrady]

The only thing I see as a positive is the lack of noise.
Yes, out here in the sticks, people are much more “live and let live”.

It’s those Effin Karen’s that foam at the mouth, getting riding areas and tracks closed down.

75% of them never leave their air conditioned McMansions,
with them, out of sight, out of mind.  

Them and insurance, a bane to the off roaders.


Talk about a rambling thread…….

[hacksaw]

Not rambling at all. Even as I add to it . It’s an important discussion .

[motogrady]

Heck Hack……in one thread we went from ones personal preference to a certain bike, to what constitutes a roadster,
cafe’ or bobber, to the rise and fall of the 2vs4, and who was behind it, took a ride thru the woods on one of the latest juicers, then addressed the state of moto dirtissues and their causes

Great thread imho.  

[hacksaw]

Well that’s what forums are for. The ones that are left anyway. I hope other members here will read and respond. Unfortunately other media forms have taken over much of the internet. I wish there was a way to expand membership here .

[oldironnow]

Maybe it was an artifact of the microphone qualities or placement, but i found the Varg noise to be disturbing.


It sounds like a frenetic hyena jacked up on speed.

But it’s always about the act of riding.
The guy seems to like it.
Might not even hear the motor while focused in piloting it.

[m143]

The awswer is two stroke and electric.
My grandkid is riding a TY80.
His younger brother is still on batteries, but ready for a gas bike.
They learned on OSET's and the jump to kick start and clutches wasn't too bad.
The older one even rips around on my GasGas.
Trials bikes are kind of quiet and the electric is silent. Our neighbors have been very cool so far...

[motogrady]

oldironnow wrote

Maybe it was an artifact of the microphone qualities or placement, but i found the Varg noise to be disturbing.


It sounds like a frenetic hyena jacked up on speed.

But it’s always about the act of riding.
The guy seems to like it.
Might not even hear the motor while focused in piloting it.

Ya, the sound was different for sure.
That’s kinda why I put it up.  
And for some reason, to me anyway,
the whole deal seemed……I dunno…….
plastic?  Toy like?

Until he mentioned he’s dialed in 72 hp or something.

I dunno.  Seems things kind of get set in a guys mind somewhere in his teens to me.
If everyone was racing refrigerators around a guy at 14,
there’s a good chance that’s what he’d do and follow.

[whatarush]

I just can’t get onboard with any EV’s. Just not for me I guess.



https://youtube.com/shorts/DmNDDr8fUTY?si=gR1qp2CFIu4Z0AbA

[hacksaw]

I am with you Rush.

“ Might not even hear the motor while focused in piloting it.”
Exactly why I have no use for it.

And fuck my neighbors . All my long term neighbors are dead . Half the new ones don’t speak English and the other half have tick farms for lawns.

I broke down and bought battery powered lawn mower and I will slowly move toward other battery tools as well. But themz is convenience. Batteries cost huge.
Can anybody guess how much batteries will cost if internal combustion goes away ?

Ride what you like. Electric bikes may have their place , but not in my garage . Electric pedal assisted bicycles I can understand since bicycles are quiet anyway and if these type of bikes are allowed on trails for bicycles then great.
Otherwise I just don’t get the whole EV thing.