Well Guys,
I sold my Kawasaki Versys to Frank and I bought the Thai made Monster 795 in BKK... I guess with 3 Monsters in the Garage the Kawasaki, akthough a great bike, was out of place.... Speaking to the Ducati guys, they confirmed that Ducati will NOT manufacture any superbikes in Thailand.... and to my direct question... Will you manufacture a Multistrada... the answer was, the MS is not in the Suprbike range ...
I got the very same political answer from Kawasaki when I offered a deposit for the Versys 1000 a day earlier.... "We cannot confirm when we will l import the Versys 1000, but the price will be 650,000 Baht !!!!!!!
Of course between the MS and the Versys 1000, I would buy the Ducati, but truly speaking, the reviews and the test drive I had on the Versys 1000, was very good for a 120+bhp range of adventure cruiser... Being the owner of an MS and having travelled for 16K km's by now, I will find it difficult to ever choose a different sports cruiser..
Back to the Monster... got a few bits to add to it and have sent them already to Ducati for fitting... Exhaust, Mirrors, Steering stabiliser, a Corbin 2 piece Seat, Side frames and bags (from my 1100s), Givi windscreen... so lets see wht the 795 will look like...
The good news that the delivery on the Monster was 4-DAYS !!!!! on cash payment... which is Great... Ducati charged me an extra 3500K for the plate and 14K for the insurance on top of the price...
I also had a look at the Diavel, and actually I had tried one in Dubai... an absolute beauty even if its not my style of riding... there again... from various freinds that made the choice between the Kawasaki ZX14R and the Diavel, they chose the Ducati... riding position and of course the looks...
Overall, we as bikers should be greatful that Kawasaki and Ducati both assemble in Thailand as we get the opprtunity to ride great bikes without the "silly" tax markup.. I hope VW/Audi does not impact the Ducati decisions and frankly speaking the work that Ducati has done in the last 10 years is truly remarkable...
Once I have driven the 795 round, will let you know... this will be the 3rd Monster in my bikehold...and we are all looking to welcome her home.
Safe riding..
Nikolas