Thursday, February 9, 2023

Ducati 500 parallel twin


 Maybe the worst bike ever? I never owned one but a friend bought one used with low, low miles and never once completed a ride. I've heard that that bike made its way to the Ottawa area, where it apparently still exists..

4 comments:

stroker crazy said...

the 500's insurmountable problem was that it wasn't a V-twin.
I had one for a couple of years and didn't have anything other than issues with the switchgear.
I also owned a V-twin which had major, and extremely expensive, crankshaft problems.
And the less said about the twin's mag wheels the better ...
Ducati Owners Club people can be extremely narrow-minded

rats said...

Those are the first positive words I ever heard (uh: read) about the 500. Nice to hear, but boy that's a minority view. ... What were the mag wheel issues?

Knew a rich girl whose imperious snob of a boyfriend made her buy one for her first bike. Perhaps he meant well, i.e., to keep her from getting hurt. I don't believe she ever completed a ride on hers, either.

MARSHALL OVERCLOTH said...

paint the motor red. paint the frame red. sew red seat cover. red assed period correct Italian grips and paint the bars red too. paint fenders and side covers red. DUCATI tank decals black outlined in white, very important. taller bars and raised white letter Pirelli tires. then park it permanent safe storage display in my living room on a red carpet rug.

Mister G said...

I knew a couple that he did the same thing for his wife with a V-50, slightly better choice, but...