800ss, Good first Bike???

B

Bon-bon

New member
Hello,
Thanks for taking the time to offer your assistance.
I am in the market for my first bike, I have my license & took the safety course. I found a 2007 800ss locally. I love Ducati's, but need to know if this would be a good option for a first bike, or if I should go with something else, from a different manufactuer at first. I know this is an entry level bike (according to my dealer), but how expensive is the maintenance? other costs involved? What is a 2007 800 ss with 3k miles worth in good shape? Most importantly, would this be a good candidate for a first bike? The dealer is saying that it does not have a ton of power, so it is solid choice, but he is trying to sell it too. Any real advice, would be greatly appreciated.
 
where are you?. price will depend on region.maintenance should be relatively cheap for a duc as its only 2 valve ,air cooled engine.think monster/multistrada/supersport family of engines.as a novice can you place your feet flat when sitting on it?.power wise will be plenty for you/average newbie/novice.not savage enough to bite and not slow enough for your riding mates to lose you.and it still looks like a full size bike.hj
 
I'd say go for it, an SS was my first sport bike. You'll only really notice the lack of power at really high speeds. Don't forget the 800 SS probably has ten to twenty foot pounds more torque than this years best Japanese 600's. I also find it a lot more roomy than a lot of other sport bikes, which at 6'3" you should really consider. Get some nice loud pipes for it and you'll love it even more.
 
800SS is a nice bike.
It has a very good torque at low RPM, so be careful as a novice.
The bike doesn't have a lot of power, but enough to get you in trouble as a beginner.
It really depends on you. If you can't control yourself and try to follow your fast friends or if you are more of the careful type, then you'll be fine.
 
What are the exhaust options? Only termi?

What should I expect to pay for the exhaust?Installation?

Are there any other brands or exhaust options? What is the loudest? Best sounding?

The guy at the Ducati shop said "you are buying the ferrari of bikes, so be prepared for high cost maintenance"

Outside of something breaking, what should I expect to pay for general maintenance?

Do you take your bike to the dealer for oil changes? Are they easy to do yourself?

What brand oil & filter is recommended?

Thanks to all for your reply!!

Sincerely!!!
 
The late model air cooled Ducatis would have to be one of the cheapest to maintain so don't pay too much attention to the scary dealer talk.

Self oil changes are one of the simplest maintenance procedures as well. OEM filters are just as good as any, K&N are also good I believe.

You could do the exhaust yourself and take it to the dealer for a check up just to make sure.

I'm a Termi man but there are probably oodles of other options out here - it's a personal preference thing.
 
Oil changes are dead easy, and the filters are cheaper than most japanese bikes. The valve adjust is expensive but if you get the MBP collets done at the same time it more than doubles the distance between adjustments.

I went with the Remus Carbon fiber high pipes on mine, I really like the sound and it definitely responds quicker. It's getting harder to find accessories for the SS's so keep your eye on Ebay. Mine didn't ECU changes but I've heard good things about adding a power commander.

Shell oil was recommended but hard to find in US, I think it was Motul V-twin something or other I was using instead.

It took me a while to find spark plugs, after a careful cross reference I got it in the lawn tractor section of my local hardware store, the plug packaging had a picture of a garden on it LOL. I find every 15 or 20 thousand km it's due.
 
Go for it, you will love it. By the way are you going thru a dealer?? If so which one AMS, eurosport, ect.....

You are smart for wanting to start on something like the 800ss, most people ask about the 1098 as a first bike. Its good for .9% of people but in most cases the other 99.9% cant speak for them selfs anymore.
 
I am going to go out on a limb and be the only person on a Ducati board to say a Ducati isn't a good first bike.

I prefer one of the UJMs for a first bike recommendation. In the big scheme of things, the less you have to worry about managing torque, fiddling with suspension adjustments, keeping track of maintenance, or worrying about relatively expensive dealer parts and service the better off you are.

My first bike was a Kawi Ninja ZX-6E (ZZR-600) and I could feather the clutch and roll from a stop with idle power alone. It never needed a lick of maintenance (tires, batteries and a chain were enough) in the 18K miles I owned it, had more than enough power at higher RPMS and looked sharp. It was no Ducati, but instead of watching things I rode the snot out of it and learned a lot about riding.

Once I swung my leg over a Duc there was no turning back but I was more than ready.
 
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