800 vs 1000 SuperSport 2005

My local Duc-Shop has a yellow 800 on the floor and it's killing me! I've been by to see it a few time over the past several weeks and I think " She's " the one for me, But...

I've read several posts, articles, and so on, and most seem to think that after a few rides I will be wanting more HP.

I'm not a total speed / HP freak. I intend to use it for the weekend twisties and the occasional work commute, etc.

Is there that much difference between the two? Other than HP & and a few $$$. The Duc-Shop is asking Sugg. Retail + Tax, shipping, etc...

What do you think I should do, spend the extra and go for the 1000 or would I be totally satisfied with the 800?

More power true, but also it has better suspension with a nice aluminum swing arm. It also has a dry clutch where the 800 has the wet clutch. The 800 comes with standard 3 spoke Brembo wheels, where the 1000 comes with lighter 5 spoke Marchesini wheels. Both excellent bikes, just different price points.

1000 my friend, if you are considering it, you shouldn't even be asking this question

I have an 04 800, I love it. Course, it's the only street bike I've owned, so I don't know any different. Handles well for me, only thing I'm changing is the stock seat, for comfort reasons. You'll find out....

The bike is fast, but not THAT fast. Do the 1000, I have it and love it. What a change from my '99 900SS. For these reasons it is a better ride.<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by redduck &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">More power true, but also it has better suspension with a nice aluminum swing arm. It also has a dry clutch where the 800 has the wet clutch. The 800 comes with standard 3 spoke Brembo wheels, where the 1000 comes with lighter 5 spoke Marchesini wheels. Both excellent bikes, just different price points.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The 1000SS was a more solid ride than my 900 and I loved it. Do the 1000

I have an 03 800ss and this was the year they gave it better parts: aluminum swing arm, marchesinis, adjustable front suspension. I don't know why ducati cheaped out of including these bits on the 04+. May be it was too good a deal for the price. Without this stuff I think the 800 loses its value in $$$ and performance. Go with the 1000 which still has all the goodies.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pcugno749 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have an 03 800ss and this was the year they gave it better parts: aluminum swing arm, marchesinis, adjustable front suspension. I don't know why ducati cheaped out of including these bits on the 04+. May be it was too good a deal for the price. Without this stuff I think the 800 loses its value in $$$ and performance. Go with the 1000 which still has all the goodies.</TD></TR></TABLE>

In '03, they had both an 800 Sport and an 800 Supersport. In '04, they dropped the Supersport and renamed the other one the SS800. So they didn't de-content the bike for the same price. They simply renamed it, and the price is the same as the '03 Sport, which is quite a bit lower than the Supersport was.

I guess they figured the 800 is - and should be - an entry-level Ducati, therefore it should just be a basic bike for a decent price. Which it is. But when you start adding a few goodies to it, all of a sudden it costs more than a Japanese 600, and if you're going to spend that kind of cash, you may as well go for the 1000.

The other day I saw an ad on TV for that little Scion xA econobox, and they were showing guys putting 20" wheels and carbon fiber hoods and stuff on them, and I thought, "If you're going to spend that kind of money on your car, why not start with a much better car with a little bit higher base price, instead of spending more on accessories than the car's even worth?"

We bought Jessica the '04 800 as her first Ducati. At first, we thought about doing a bunch of stuff to it, but we realized it would be better just to leave it stock - maybe a set of pipes so it sounds like a real Ducati - and then eventually she'll probably move up to a 749 or something.

Just enjoy the bike for what it is, and you can always move up. So for the original poster, it sounds like you may not have a need for the 1000, and you'll save a few thousand dollars by going for the 800. If you wanted to do track days on it, or do some serious peg-scraping in the twisties, then maybe you'll want the better suspension and power of the 1000, but it sounds to me like you just want a bike you can have some fun on. And the 800 will be plenty for that...

Thank you for the in-put. As I see it, Its been a while since I have been on a bike, so that kinda makes me a novice.

All good points, price point, starter bike, etc... I could all-ways start w/ the 800 and eventually move up to the 1000, or even add a sportbike or maybe the Multistrad... decisions, decisions.

I also think you'll be able to find plenty of bikes out there less than MSRP. There's a lot of inventory out there. If you can find a well cared for 900ss used, you may even get the best of both worlds in a bike that has already depreciated. I'd go that route if you are ever think about trading to a different bike in the future. When I bought my second duc, I found a leftover 900ss with zero miles at a dealer and paid nearly $3k less than original sticker.

My local dealer is not too flex-able in regards to price - all new bikes on the floor are marked at MSRP + all of the extras, shipping, assembly, and Tax. From Here they may drop a buck or two.

As far as the 800 that my dealer has in stock - they are pretty FIRM. They do have a '02 900 Dark w/ 16,000 miles and they are asking 6,500 - my dealer keeps telling me that this would be a great " Track Bike " seems a tad high.

He does have a New '04 749 yellow @ $12,400 otd, but I still would prefer the ss style of bike.

I'll have to keep looking.

Rick,
Not for nothing but you should find a different dealer. If they can't do you justice on the price of the bike, what are they going to do to you for parts, service, etc. Even if you had to pay $500 or so for shipping - you can do better as market is currently lower. When you go to get it serviced, just say you bought it off a friend who couldn't afford it anymore so they don't get ruffled that you went elsewhere. This is a good example:

http://www.getamotorcycle.com/...id=95

Hey, that's far below MSRP and for that price, who could blame you. FWIW - they also have a used '01 900ss with just a few thousand miles on it (yellow) for about what your dealer wanted for the 900 dark.

Kennedy - thank-you!

Thats an excellent price - It looks like my local dealer is about 1/4 of the size, store front and inventory.

I'll give them a call today!

I bought my 2005 800SS from Bill Keros at Section 8 Superbike http://www.section8superbike.com , including tax and shipping from Michigan to Texas for a few hundred over the MSRP. You can find a deal, just look around and be willing to wait. Section 8 had awesome customer service and were very easy to deal with --- they even answered their phones when i called in during non-business hours a few times. I couldn't be more pleased - and it was way better than the local shop that told me, "oh, those are poular we start the pricing a few hundred over MSRP and then you have a 600 dollar set up fee, and tax and stuff" - whatever.

No problem mon. Doesn't hurt that they slapped a set of Arrows on it as well!!! Also check BCM and others like Section8. They're out there you just have to be patient and find them...even though you may want the bike yesterday. I can also vouch for the service dept. at Naults. Kyle there used to work for BCM and I think a lot of their work/customer ethic rubbed off. I noticed a huge difference in handling after Kyle set my bike up - as well as the fact that he let me watch him work on it, gave me tips, and spent a lot of time with me. I think that some dealers have realized that its not worth scraping a few $$ from customers on the front in exchange for gaining a customer for life and all the mods, service and other $$ that follow.