Why Are Ducati Motorcycles So Expensive, And Are They Worth It?

The motorcycle world has many notable nameplates, including Harley-Davidson, Triumph, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and BMW. At the high end sits the Italian maker Ducati, which was founded in 1926 as a maker of radio components and didn't manufacture its first motorcycle until more than two decades later in 1949.

Ducati's bikes are among the most expensive in the world, with the limited edition 2019 Desmosedici carrying a price tag of more than $200,000 due in large part to its carbon-fiber and titanium construction. It's not just the small-batch Desmo that's priced higher than ordinary bikes, however.  The SuperSport line starts at a little more than $15,000 and getting on a Panigale V4SP2 will cost you more than $40,000. Compare that to a Yamaha YZ450F, which starts at $10,199 or a hand-built Janus Halcyon 250, which has a base price of $8,800. 

Setting aside the small-batch Desmosedici and its expensive core components, what is it that makes Ducati motorcycles so expensive, and are they worth the premium price you will pay to ride one home?

While Harley-Davidson produces its motorcycles on a robotic assembly line in York, Penn., all of Ducati's bikes are hand-built in Bologna, Italy, with the exception of some of the ones headed for markets in Brazil and Thailand, which are put together in facilities in those countries.

Another reason Ducati's bikes go for a premium is the racing pedigree the brand has earned over the years. Last year, Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP rider's championship aboard a Ducati Desmosedici ,15 years after Casey Stoner won Ducati's first world title. Bagnaia's title was Ducati's 15th rider's championship and Ducati's 18th constructor's title. The Desmosedici's success on the track is certainly a large part of the reason Ducati is able to ask six-figure prices for its bikes.

Ducati bikes have a level of hipster appeal that adds to their value on the used market as well.

In a thread on the r/motorcycles subreddit, u/Swoody11 offered their explanation as so why Ducati motorcycles were so pricey. "They're expensive for the same reasons Lamborghinis and Ferraris are: they're exotic, they are styled in a very attention-grabbing manner, they bring with their badge a pedigree of performance proven on a racetrack and a badge that illustrates that you can afford a high dollar toy," they wrote.

While Ducati's bikes are undoubtedly fast and carefully built, they can be expensive to maintain and are not necessarily as reliable in the long run as other popular brands.

In Consumer Reports' 2015 study of Motorcycle reliability over four years of ownership, Ducati had the third highest failure rate of all brands at 33% (Only Can-Am and BMW fared worse; Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda topped the list at 11%, 12%, and 12%, respectively.)