[meloman]

The good news is that my Icon arrived. The bad news is right after it arrived and before I even had a chance to see it or ride it, my dealer lost the Ducati franchise so I had to cancel my order.
It's ironic in that I sold my Triumph Scrambler to get the Ducati and right after I sold it my dealer lost the Triumph franchise. No big deal as I was now part of the Ducatistas. But nooooooo....that was not to happen either. This isn't a slight on my dealer, as they have been wonderful. It's the big bike corporations that make it impossible for the little, yet devoted, dealer to survive. They want all their dealers to have matching million dollar showrooms and stock every model, size and color.
I still have my BMW R1200GS and my dealer still has the BMW franchise but I'm floundering, as I was so excited to be part of the Ducati gang again, having owned 3 previously. But driving 3 hours each way to my next nearest dealer just doesn't cut it for me.
So now I'm lost. I've been mainly a European twin guy. I've had several Triumph triples but they just don't have the character of a twin and I don't like Japanese bikes. The only good twin left (and I do have a local dealer) is the KTM 1290 Super Duke R. But it's $18K or twice the cost of my dear departed Scrambler.
So what do I do now ? I've never been in this position before. There's always been another new bike on the horizon that I aimed for, having owned 50 bikes. But now there is just a void.
I love my GS but always liked having 2 bikes with some diversity. BMW is coming out with its own Scrambler but having 2 Beemers is no fun.

Sad and lonely in Oregon with a half empty garage.

 

[NickJ]

That is the saddest thing that I have read all day. Sorry to hear that the little dealer lost the franchise. The little guy gets edged out again.

 

[silverluxe]

I'm going to attempt to mostly take care of mine on my own. There's one dealer in the state and it's a mom and pop shop, not a boutique. This is the same problem with wanting to own a Moto Guzzi or Aprilia that I have. Awesome bikes and no dealers. Our BMW dealer sells farm equipment primarily, so it's a huge joke. Thus, I just gotta figure these things out on my own, which is why I'm trying to learn about the ECUs and how to hook a computer up to them. The Scrambler seems like it'll be easier to keep alive than a Tuono.

 

[64vette]

Hate to hear about that. I bought my BMW at a low volume dealer that had really good guys working for them. When I broke down on our way to a MotoGP with a bad high pressure fuel line that I could not repair one of the guys volunteered to drive the dealer truck to pick us up (1 hour drive each way) and the bike late evening and the mechanic stayed late also to fix our bike. No charge for any of that (warranty work). You can believe I gave the mechanic and driver major tips $$. A year later they shut down for reasons similar to your description. Not much BMW loyalty on my part after that.

 

[El Toro]

So where has "your" bike ended up? Can't you go there for it?

 

[ELVISTO]

What a bummer Melo, Why not get in touch with Ducati direct, tell them the situation and see what they say ,got to be worth a call
My local bmw dealer, cars and bikes, I'd had about 6 bikes off them, decided to stop doing bikes after BMW told them they had to have seperate dedicated bike showrooms, My dealer told them to forget it , closed down the bike operation, two years later they asked if he would consider doing the bikes again, I can't repeat what he told me, Similar thing happened when the New Mini came out, but he was quite happy to set up for that at a new site, more volume
It's a shame we lose these dealers, because they'll never return, The small dealer is being forced out here in the UK ,

ps, We don't want to lose you either

 

[littleowl]

I'm really sorry to hear that meloman - hope you manage to get one somehow

 

[Chris75]

Melo, if you want the scrambler you should go and get it! Who cares if the dealer is 3 hours away, make it a nice trip if u visit him.
Probably your dealer (the one that lost the franchise) can help u too if something would be wrong with the bike, no?

U live only once, go and get ur bike you diserve it!

 

[meloman]

El Toro, one of the employees bought it. So it's no longer available. Chris, my dealer can certainly work on them as they have all the experience and tools but they can't do warranty. I may have to re-think my feelings about working with a dealer 3 hours away. Elvisto, I'm not sure what you are suggesting I say to Ducati. Am I begging them to give the franchise back ?

 

[TC3]

Meloman that is very unfortunate but as has been said if you really want a scrambler make it happen ... 3 hours is not so bad.

 

[silverluxe]

I get it though. To me 3 hours is a wasted day off from work. I'm hoping the Scrambler doesn't require a lot of work though. Oil changes, a couple of valve adjustments in its lifetime, and some timing belts? Especially, I hope it requires no warranty work. I'm waiting for the people smarter than me to come up with a simple at-home ECU reader/writer and the ability to hook our bikes up to our computer so we can do the same stuff the dealers are capable of doing. The reason I had a Speed Triple over an Aprilia Tuono a few years ago boiled down to the fact I had software to talk to my Triumph and I didn't have software to talk to an Aprilia.

 

[ELVISTO]

Meloman, I just thought giving them a call would put you back on top of the ladder for the bike you wanted and ordered , they may just look sympathetically on your course and work something out to your satisfaction,

That's what I would do in their position,

 

[bill stuart]

What a bummer Melo, Why not get in touch with Ducati direct, tell them the situation and see what they say ,got to be worth a call
My local bmw dealer, cars and bikes, I'd had about 6 bikes off them, decided to stop doing bikes after BMW told them they had to have seperate dedicated bike showrooms, My dealer told them to forget it , closed down the bike operation, two years later they asked if he would consider doing the bikes again, I can't repeat what he told me, Similar thing happened when the New Mini came out, but he was quite happy to set up for that at a new site, more volume
It's a shame we lose these dealers, because they'll never return, The small dealer is being forced out here in the UK ,

ps, We don't want to lose you either

Can only speculate the timing of that, but I'm sure After Audi bought Ducati, they would have forced that issue.

 

[The Duchess of Desmo]

Meloman you have had Ducatis before. Reflect .... All those lovely comments from people who stop and stare, ohhh the smile you wear from that sweet sounding engine. Those bikes brought you to life gave you joy.
You are part of the Ducati family again and we are looking out for you!
Three hours of carefully chosen roads the scenic route to the new dealer and only for servicing cause this easy simple bike ain't going to give any trouble!
So, stay aboard with your new buddies and have a great deal of fun.
Or..... Buy anon and have short boring rides to the local dealer and wonder what that purdy scrambler would have been like!
Kindest Regards

 

[Hui]

Meloman you have had Ducatis before. Reflect .... All those lovely comments from people who stop and stare, ohhh the smile you wear from that sweet sounding engine. Those bikes brought you to life gave you joy.
You are part of the Ducati family again and we are looking out for you!
Three hours of carefully chosen roads the scenic route to the new dealer and only for servicing cause this easy simple bike ain't going to give any trouble!
So, stay aboard with your new buddies and have a great deal of fun.
Or..... Buy anon and have short boring rides to the local dealer and wonder what that purdy scrambler would have been like!
Kindest Regards

You don't half talk some...................................................................................................................................................................................................
Truth.

 

[meloman]

Dutchess, cut it out !! You're making me cry. BTW, the only road to the dealer is 3 hrs. of freeway. No fun.

 

[The Duchess of Desmo]

I'll take any road on a bike versus a night at work!
Now get to and buy that bike your Scrambler site needs you!

 

[silverluxe]

The problem for me is that if my bike is going to a dealer for work it's probably because it needs to be hauled there. At the moment I don't have a running truck. It's a huge burden to live in the middle of nowhere and have weird taste if you don't know how to fix your stuff yourself.

 

[fastwoman]

Sorry, meloman, terrible story. I don't have a Ducati dealer nearby either. My plan is hit the interstate at first service (to turn off the service warning light), and again when it needs a valve adjustment. Otherwise, I do it myself or take it to my friendly and excellent local Honda mechanic.

 

[littleowl]

Dutchess, cut it out !! You're making me cry. BTW, the only road to the dealer is 3 hrs. of freeway. No fun.

Agree it's not the bike you want to do hours of freeway riding on, I know it might be a pain, but could you trailer the bike if it needed work (hopefully not?). I bought mine back on a trailer as the weather was awful when I picked it up, and same when it had it's first service (my dealer isn't close by either). We put it on my sheep trailer

Just a thought .. would hate for you not to get the bike you really want!