Has anyone had any exerience with this bike, or its engine? It uses the same engine as the S2R as well as the old Monster 800. I can't seem to get this bike out of my mind, and I figured asking here first would be a pretty good idea.

I love the bike. Looks fantastic, much better than damn near any sportbike on the market. It's got two-valves per cylinder, which means I can do them myself, as well as being air cooled. Te air-cooled Ducs are WAY more reliable, from what I've gathered.

As I posted in the Ducati monster thread, Ducati's are fine.
They have a interesting valve system but all is well. The 800 motor is pretty strong.  You'll love the sound, and SS's drive really nice too. Suspension should be adjustable. Ducati stuff is more expensive than jap stuff to replace in the event of a tip over. Any other specific concerns give me a ring. I have a 4v ducati as well and its been pretty good.

Patrick

Have you found the adage to be true that the liquid cooled Ducs have more problems?

I was reading on the SS board and the only problems that seemed to arise were pinched vacuum lines and some minor electrical bits. I don't like the prospect of shelling out $500-$750 for adjustments every 6000 miles, which is why I want to be able to do the adjustments myself. Two-valves per is plenty for me, thankyouverymuch.

Are valve adjustments on Ducs and the desmo systems just like valve adjustments on the GS an other bikes?

Also, I've heard that Brembo doesn't sell a master cylinder rebuild kit for their brake systems and that you've got to buy a whole new system. Is this true? I didn't read about that problem on the SS board, but I've seen it on the Monster board as well as heard it from a few Duc owners in my area.

Yes sometimes the liquid cooled ducs have more problems. Mainly this was due to the 748,916,996 generation motor (all the same just different bore sizes). They had faulty rocker arms but were replaced due to recalls.

Here is a good maintenance guide. This is about as anal as it gets.
http://www.ducatisuite.com/maintcharts.html

You can definetely learn to adjust the valves on them. They do use a different valve system than other motorcycles, but its not that bad. You just have to know how to measure, and thats about it. Ducati valves don't use spring closers, instead they have a rocker arm close the valve until the cam moves it.  Here is a great way to learn ducati valve adjustments. They really aren't bad.  Also the quote you have in your head for services is for a 4v 12000 mile service, a 2v costs about half, usually because it has half the valves. Also you can buy a sheet of shims, and get it done in a couple of hours. The valves can be adjusted on the bike just like the GS.

http://www.ducatisuite.com/valves

Also I have no idea about the brembo replacement stuff, but I've never seen ducati's have master cylinder or caliper problems. The brembo's on there are really nice, (much much better than teh GS), and if you need new stuff, e bay has a really fair price on them. Good working master cylinders can be found for about 20-50 bucks. The brakes are the last thing I would think could go wrong on these bikes.

I know how the desmodromic system works, but I'll take a look at how to adjust Duc valves. I seem to be more and more drawn into them every chance I see them.