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Hey everyone. Im looking into getting a new bike. Its funny though, i cant decide between a Bonneville T100, or a Ducati S2R ( It has to be the Red w/ White Stripe version though). I think im torn between the classic styling and simplicity of the Bonneville, and the performance of a Ducati. But on to my question......Is the Ducati S2R (red, white stripe, white rims) hard to get a hold of? Ive heard that they are hard to find, or are they simply a phone call away for the local Ducati stealership?

Thanks guys, and any opinions on either bike would be greatly appreciated.

Funny you should ask..... We ordered ours in january and got it in May! But now that they have arrived there are a few kicking around in dealerships, and in the case of my dealer he has an extra that the original buyer backed out of when he got tired of waiting. The valve adjustments are expensive and the white wheels are a biyatch to keep clean, but it is a great bike. I'd take it over the Triumph.....er, I guess I already proved that....

Maybe this is a stupid question.... but you say the valve adjustments are expensive, have you already needed them adjusted? Or are you just saying that they WILL be expensive Just want to make sure.

Oh, and how does it sound? Does it have the trademark Ducati rumble?

I was looking at them too.... there were a few about a month ago, but now there are none, and the dealer says he cant get them for a while. It seems all the bikes I take a liking to and actually get ready to buy, either get discontinued or are REALLY hard to get.

Valve check intervals on an s2r should be every 6,000 miles like all 2V desmo twins and are easy to perform on your own.

You can also purchase a set of valve keepers from a tuner called martin brickwood performance which extends your valve check interval from 6,000 to 18,000 miles.

This puts you ahead of the triumph which has a valve check interval of 12,000 miles.

Also, as a certif Duc tech, I can tell you that Ducatis are pretty friggen mechanically simple. They are probably closer to a Harley in terms of technology ... The desmo valve train scares people away, but it was invented in the 1920's ... the only difference between checking Ducati valves and checking regular valves is that you have to measure clearances at two points per valve instead of one.

They checked them at the first service, which is @1000km and three needed adjusted. I asked the dealer about the valve keepers that you mentioned Tech, and the dealer went on a rant about putting a square peg in a round hole etc.(no surprise). I should learn how to set them myself though, so any time you wanna swing by and give me a course, I am ready to go....
Oh yeah, the bike does have the Ducati rumble but it is very muted at the moment. Right now my VTR sounds more Ducati, than my Ducati