Seasonal shopping officially kicks off this week, and here’s a suggestion for your wish list – the 409th Desmosedici, built in 2008 with just 93 original miles !
2008 Ducati 16RR Desmosedici for sale on eBay
It’s a bit of a stretch to call the 16RR a street machine, though you could ride it to the racetrack to exercise it. The V4 uses desmosdromic valve actuators, and has a near-diesel compression ratio of 13.5-to-1. Car-like power ( and sound ) of 200 hp peaks at 13,800 rpm. Components are naturally the best that Öhlins, Brembo, and Marchesini could dream up, and the data analyzing dash can download your track day for later review. The silhouette echoes the GP6 of the day, with lights at the corners and quick-release rearview mirrors.
No history to speak of, with 93 miles it looks surprisingly fresh. Reporting from a suburb north of Buffalo, so close to the Can-Am border it might actually be from across the Niagara. Not sure what exhaust part is pictured, maybe the un-muffled race kit exhaust is installed. The limited comments from the eBay auction:
93 Miles!!!! The Ducati Demosedici RR is a limited production road-legal version of the Desmosedici MotoGP racebike. In 2004, Ducati announced at the Misano circuit at the World Ducati Week that a low volume road replica of the Desmosedici would be available for Reservations beginning in June 2006. With Ducati only making 1,500 models for public purchase. This bike will go down in history as the first ever true road replica of a MotoGP racing bike!!!!
Neat bike but I think prices are going to keep taking a hit as high power V4’s keep coming from Ducati and Aprilia (and maybe Honda again…hello Honda are you listening?).
prices on these have remained steady over the last 5 years but most people want later bikes to avoid any early model issues.
OVerall I think the Desmo represents the end of the “passion” phase of ducati ownership. A lot of their bikes now seem to be like the other major manufacturers – a combination of focus group feedback and technology. Sure this has allowed them to grow and maintain financial stability but to me and a lot of people I know a motorcycle should be more than utilitarian transport, it needs to evoke an emotional reaction and the new Ducati’s just don’t do that. Also the Desmo is a direct descendant of the bike that Stoner rode to bring Ducati back to MotoGP prominance
Martin, you nailed it!
When Ducati went down the road of, “Trying to Out-Japanese, the Japanese,” they lost their way, their loyal base, and turned their backs on the Ducatsti.
At a Bike Show, a couple of years back, I was in the Ducati display, when a Rep. asked me what I thought of the new bikes. I told her they do absolutely nothing, for me. I asked why Duc was trying to mimic Japanese Styling, with Go-Bot looking bikes, over-the-top electronics, and no trellis frames. She exclaimed , Duc was indeed trying to go head-to-head with the Japanese, and capture their rider demographics.
Ducati have really lost the appeal they had in the 80’s 90’s and 2000’s.
The modern stuff just doesn’t compare ,
I remember seeing a 916 in the flesh for the first time and it was just mind blowing!!
Like no other bike that was available at the time, whereas now no doubt they are special but are lacking the magic of the earlier bikes
May as well stick a VW badge on them,
Actually, that’s an Audi badge.
@Canada72 – Steve is going to the source. Plenty of Adi models that you can stick a VW badge on as well… )))))
@Tirefriar – I know, the VW or Audi comment is just getting tiresome, no need to clarify and didn’t mean to offend Steve. The purchase by the auto manufacturer probably saved them cash-wise. Audi does like to make the distinction that they own Ducati. Going forward I guess they should put VW badges on Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley vehicles as well.
These look great with the ‘team’ version fairing, but if you plan on doing anything other than holding it as a collectible for display, it would make sense to proceed with caution on this one. The combination of low VIN and low miles is not what you want if you ever plan on running it, unless you take into account the eventual costs of setting the valvetrain right and taking care of items that were recalls and service campaign updates. The opening bid is about as far as I’d go on this one, even though it looks perfect cosmetically.
@Steve lynam – I personally agree that older Ducatis (going back further than the 80s actually) were more special and had more personality, but I also think their modern bikes are awesome with a combination of performance, tech and style that is really appealing and unique in the market. I don’t think those two ideas are incompatible. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I currently have both a modern Duc and a 70s bevel twin among the bikes in my garage, for different reasons. As for the VW/Audi/Lamborghini tie up, I don’t really care if they get their funding from a car company as long as it allows them to stay in business and keep developing new products. I’d say they’ve done quite well in the past 8 years under their current ownership.
I will take my 20 year old, rideable, go-bot Japanese motorcycle SEVEN days of the week versus any Italian, unique in the market, showpiece like this.
I was at a track day and lined up behind Doug Polen on one of these. I was behind him for a couple of laps before he took off and, say what you will, that was a pretty special motorcycle! The sound was amazing, and it spun up very quickly. I never so thoroughly enjoyed getting blown away.
I always laugh a little when people get upset that a company is moving in a direction that they do not like. It is even more funny when people make claims that the new direction some how effects them.
Is the DD16 epic? You bet…..but so is the new V4R. Sure they are different, but time marches on.
For those that think this is bad, I ask “when was the last time you bought a new Ducati”? Most of the vocal owners are those that bought machines used at a discount. The people ponying up for new models seem perfectly happy with the direction….Ducati is selling more bikes now then ever before.
The days of unique manufacturers producing bespoke kit are sadly almost completely gone. I worked on a Lambo Gallardo once, when they were a current model, and found much of the switchgear to be from the VW parts bin.
Not sure what you are talking about. The market is awash with super exotic and one off type bikes. Heck they are across a wide range of prices too.
-Ducati themselves make the superleggera.
-Aprilia does some fairly crazy stuff every year.
-Bimota is back!
-Honda has SP versions of the 1000 aimed straight at race teams.
-Triumph is marketing hard on the Moto2
-IF track only there are plenty of washed up Moto3 bikes to lust after.
-MV Agusta exists.
-Some random Brit is making two stroke street bikes again.
-Check out what you can get on the electric market, finely crafted items.
Where do you get 16” tires so you can actually ride the dang thing?
Um, I was talking about cages, not bikes.
@ WhyzeeF – I totally respect that opinion, but if practical, affordable 20 year old Japanese bikes are your jam, I must say that RSBFS is an odd place to hang out. Maybe Dan and crew need to establish a companion site: Ubiquitous and Sensible Bikes For Sale…
@ Vincent Ochs – You miss the point here. Sharing economies of scale where it makes sense can help small volume makers like Lamborghini stay in business and focus on what is most important to them. People don’t buy a Gallardo (or any of their other modern cars) because of the switch gear, the electrical connectors, or any other unseen details, they buy them for the V10 engine, the styling, and the other things that only they can do. If someone really wants a pure bred Lamborghini with no shared parts, there is nothing (but their bank account balance) stopping them from buying an old Miura, Gen 1 Countach, etc.
@ Michael J – Most that actually ride these bikes put a 17″ rear wheel on them to solve that problem.
@Ducman
I have visited this website and have enjoyed the motorcycles that are showcased here for more than a decade. While I do not particularly like Ducati’s (owned one and rode it=overpriced junk was my verdict), I do like motorcycles of all manufacture.
I also enjoy when motorcycles other than Ducati appear here.
The last Duc that blew my skirt up was the Supermono, but meh, i’m old and just don’t get around much anymore…
I understand pretty well how economics work. I just think it’s sad that a few monolith companies now dominate the landscape, and target market their products to particular populations, who may not share the same passion for history and build quality. When Porsche started building liquid-cooled 911’s and SUV’s, I lost a lot of respect for the company, although the cheerleaders point to products like the GT3 and say one is contingent upon the other.
Vincent, you’ve clearly never spent any amount of time in a modern 911 then. There is no rational argument that last several generations of the 911 are not great cars (not just GT3s; I’m talking about the base spec 991 or 992), and I’ve owned and loved several air cooled 911s of various vintages over the years. Were you to actually drive one for any period of time, I’m pretty certain you’d regain whatever respect for Porsche that you think you lost 22 years ago when the last 993 rolled off the line…
Anyway, whatever kind of motorcycles or cars anyone is into, there has never been a better time to be an enthusiast. From the variety of reliable, readily available, and unbelievably high performance models available on the new market, to the constant stream of compelling used and vintage bikes/cars that turn up for sale here and elsewhere (BAT, CL, eBay, auction houses, forums, etc.), there really is no shortage of choice. That’s something worth being thankful for today. Think I’ll go out for a ride this afternoon to celebrate Thanksgiving!
No one thinks it’s weird that on a bike with 93 miles, the number badge is corroded and the steering stem nut has a huge gouge?
@Dobbs – That is odd, though if you look at other photos, particularly the one showing the instrument display, it looks like it may have spent some time outdoors or getting wet at some point. Biggest issue for me is the lack of documentation. Seller was initially responsive to questions posed via eBay, but did not provide any further details when pressed for explanation of what warranty or recall work was done. The absence of bids at that opening price is understandable.
Someone liked it enough to bid the asking $40k
The number on the plaque says nothing about the order in which they were built. Just in case anyone is put off by the comment made about low numbered bikes more likely to have faults