"Would a Ducati be a Ducati without the name?" thread in "Motorbike Chat"
Prompted by Weeksy's comment that "Ducati's are emotional bikes to own (sic)". If Ducati made a bike, but it wasn't called a Ducati and no-body ...

Prompted by Weeksy's comment that "Ducati's are emotional bikes to own (sic)".

If Ducati made a bike, but it wasn't called a Ducati and no-body knew it was made by them, would it still be an 'emotional' bike to own? My guess is 'no'.

Are Ducatis Ducatis because they have some intrinsic Ducatiness, or is it merely 'cause of the badge on the tank?

how could it be made by ducati and not be a ducati? you could swap the names of any jap bike around and nobody would know the difference.

kinda durrr there dazzle.

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Yes. They would.

If someone told me 'it's a prank, KTM's are actually Italian and made in Bologna' i would be that suprised. Ducati and the KTM twins share the same 'emotional' thing.

The share character, weird issues, dealers who are confused at times, and bikes that make you smile every time you sit on them

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950 SMR, for men who know the difference

Yup there is something about them. You can tell they are built by individuals in an old workshop, they are not clinical like new Japanese stuff. It's not just Ducati as KTM have that same feel as well, it's pointless trying to explain it tho as bikes mean different things to different people

If you have to ask you'll never understand.

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Amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, aMonsta.

'cause they could design a bike (using the same engineers and tools etc.), build it in the same factory using the same workers, but just not stick a 'Ducati' label on the tank. Kinda like Ferrari did with the Dino...or indeed many car companies do these days.

Second Q...would it have to be a V-twin to have Ducatiness?

I've owned an old KTM (1986 pre orange) and I've ridden one Ducati so hardly a comprehensive knowledge but I felt their characters were very different, the KTM was like a perfectly made Teutonic tank and the Ducati felt like it'd be lucky to go 100 miles without something falling off.

If it was an box frame, wet clutch, multi coloured (or green!) il4 I wouldn't be interested and it wouldn't say ducati to me.... I'm sure it would be fine though, just as their current bikes are.

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Nah, their singles were very "Ducati" and I'm sure if they had a normal road going V4 it would be very Ducati too

The brand is very powerful though. Without doing any scientific research, I'd say its by far the most popular brand in peoples sigs on here.

They may need to look out for KTM though.

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GP

personally I find branding of all kinds a bit ..naff, however what they have built there is one of the best brands on the planet, which is no mean feat.

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I'd like to think that I was above all the branding nonsense. My 'lifestyle' does need to be 'expressed' etc However I did buy a Ducati t shirt so maybe I'm more vunerable to branding than I think.
I feel more emotional about my Ducati than any other bike I've had. I'm thinking of changing it (for a KTM of all things...) and I'm finding it hard to let the Monster go. The engine characteristics is a big part of why I feel this way so I might feel the same about a Bimota DB or a Cagiva Elefant, who knows. I don't think the opinions of others (which I take to be what you mean by ''merely 'cause of the badge on the tank") matter that much in how attached I feel to the bike.
However I'm not immune to the being a bit smug about the benefits of owning a marque that is recognised by people who know so little about motorcycles that they ask me ''what bike do you drive?... oh a Ducati. Is it red?''.
Shallow I can be at times, but not so shallow as to let their approval guide my choice of toys.
The clattering, booming thing from Italy was purchased by my heart, not my head and it has claimed some portion of it. However my old KTM Duke 1 appealed to both so I may do the unthinkable soon...

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Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation

I'm not imune to the effect myself either. I have an 80's BMW (car) and I like it because it feels like an old 80's BMW...people say 'why do you own that old shit heap' etc. I own it because I like to feel of it.

However, I can't put my finger on what it is that makes it feel like an old BMW. All I know it when I drive new cars they don't feel like a car to me, they feel like a comfortable chair that moves. My BM actually feels like the old german 'ultimate driving machine' that it is...

Was just wondering if Ducatis are the same, and if anyone can tell me why.

FOr me, the Twin config over the IL4 does play a massive part. It could simply be co-incidence both of the bike i've 'loved' LOL are Twins... but i think the Twin of it is deffo an important factor.

Saying that, i also rode a Firestorm and it was fucking garbage. I rode Doccas TLS and it was 'OK' at best.

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950 SMR, for men who know the difference

Perhaps the BM appeals to some ideal you have about cars. More modern, more sensible options may be closer to engineering perfection, but further from the emotional ideal. Face it cars and bikes appeal to our senses, we are supposed to be subjective about them at least some of the time.
A modern litre bike has bage of torque so Weeksy's feelings about twins are related directly to newton metres, it is something else, something subjective.
It seems that less than optimal engineering solutions can provide a better user experience*.









* sometimes...

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Everything in Moderation, Including Moderation

I think you are asking the wrong question. I'd ask 'Where does the emotion come from with Ducati ownership?'

I think a 'Ducati' without a Ducati badge would be as 'emotional' to own - as the 'emotion' comes from within the experiences you have with the bike and is not directly from not the tubes, castings, pressings, nuts and bolts that you are sitting on, polishing and fixing. It is the relationship with the inanimate object that makes it emotional - not the other way round.