How Expensive Are Ducati Motorcycles?
Motorcycles are great vehicles, not only for long trips, but for regular commutes (and a must if you live somewhere with a lot of car traffic). While there is a bike out there for every user and every occasion, there are bikes and brands that elicit instant responses at their mere mention — like Ducati. The Italian company has been around since 1926, with its first engine, the Cucciolo, coming out in 1945. Since then, Ducati motorcycles have been a big part of road driving and track racing culture, primarily due to their European origin, relative scarcity, and hefty price tags.
Indeed, given that Ducati's parent company is Lamborghini (itself owned by Audi today), it's no surprise that Ducati would have a status as a premium brand, one strictly in the high-end, expensive side of the market, but are they really that expensive? Sure, the Superleggera V4 and its $100,000 price tag are so absurdly high that it is easy to think the whole company is exclusively for rich people like Tom Cruise, but the truth is not so simple. Ducati has experimented with cheaper models in addition to very expensive ones.
So how expensive are they?
Like many high-end brands, whether motorcycle or any other product, prices for Ducati motorcycles vary greatly. On the higher end, the aforementioned Superleggera V4, or the Desmosedici and its $232,500 price tag, might as well buy you a house. But there are many models for less than $20,000, like the Streetfighter V2, which is one of the best commuter bikes around and costs $18,000.
For a truly cheap (at least for Ducati) motorcycle, there are options, like the Ducati Monster, the company's foray into stripped-down bikes that are cheaper (but also may look like an H.R. Giger illustration). The Monster 797 retails at $9,000 and has one of the lowest maintenance costs and one of the most dependable engines.
Ducatis are not produced en masse; they're built hand-made in Italy with high-end parts to meet the expectations the company has built for decades. This is to say, Ducatis are still pretty expensive, but there are options. For those who want to feel like a proper adventurer of the road or to have a taste of what it feels like to be Brad Pitt, then there are ways to get a Ducati without breaking the bank.