Ducati comes to India

Ducati has landed in India. So should we, really, be celebrating?

This is a question I've faced in the recent days from a number of people. And why not. A product range, spanning the stratospheric Rs 15-50 lakh price range, is nothing to be scoffed at. Even as a motorcycle enthusiast, you have to wonder if you should be investing Rs 50 lakh in a depreciating, if gorgeous asset or in property/stocks or something. More to the point still, is a Ducati 1098R, arguably the fastest, trickest Ducati money can buy right now (Desmosedici RR is formally out of production and all of that sort of thing), is a Ducati 1098R really worth, um, let's see, three R1s? Or for the that matter, two 848s and change?

But we'll come back to that in a bit. First of all, have a beer on me. That Ducati is here, with a full range, with plans for showrooms in all major cities and with the full intention of staying on is a good thing. Ducati, you have to remember is no doddering, floundering Italian company any more. Their last year was their best year so far, so on the face of it, they are in a position where they could relax, sit back, knock back some classy Chianti and congratulate themselves. They also happened to knock the entire Japanese clique off their MotoGP feet in 2007 and the tiny company (one way or another) has made it a habit of keeping everyone else embarrased in the World Superbikes paddock.

So what we have here is a significant event. Now, you could argue that Bentley/Lamborghini launching in India is insignificant. After all, how many people can really afford Rs 2 Crore cars. And I'd have to agree. Ducati is a pretty similar company in profile, actually. Not only are they a specialist manufacturer - despite the Multistrada and other oddities, they are firmly a sportsbike maker, they are also certified exotica. If the Yamaha R1 was the two-wheeled equivalent of a Nissan GT-R, the Ducati 1098, would actually be the Ferrari F430. That's sexy, exotic, powerful and not completely devoid of quirks.

But the heart of the matter is that while Lamborghini, Bentley etc are already here, Ducati is the first exotic bike maker that thinks 110 per cent duties, all manner of bureaucratic hurdles etc are all worth tackling to enter our market. They might only sell 50 bikes this year, but they are confident that those numbers will rise. Slowly, maybe, but steadily. And if Ducati thinks so, believe me, they are hardly likely to be alone in the room. You can bet your hard-earned rupee that everyone else in the room is paying attention as well. More of the same will follow, especially if Ducati pull of a coup by selling off all of their bikes before the year is out. I believe that may not be impossible. Every single exotic brand you can think of is running well ahead of their targets and I cannot see why Ducati should be any different. And yes, it is a luxury good. So just like you don't expect to use a Bentley or Patek Phillipe in daily use, Ducati owners will also use their bikes sparingly.

Again, I must remind you that when you look at the prices and shake your head, remember that Ducati is actually simply charging you government duties. If you consider the US prices for Ducati and add 114 per cent plus the dollar-rupee conversion, you'll pretty much land on Ducati's Indian price list. Which is about as fair as it can be, until duties come down, right?

Update: Since I wrote the above paragraph I found out that the Ducati 1098 (biposto) is US$14,999, which works out to about Rs 6.5 Lakh, so 114 per cent duties still pegs it at roughly Rs 15 lakh. Ducati's official tag is about Rs 25 lakh (ex-showroom, but includes VAT) for the bike... so that paragraph is not valid. Ducati is obviously aiming for the only business model that can sustain itself in the absence of bidg sales volumes – big margins. Hold on, more confusion. This site has the 1098 pegged at £11,250, which, still, is about Rs 9.5 lakh, and that's about Rs 20 lakh.... Oh dear.

Obviously, most of you, and that includes me, will not be able to afford these prices, but look at it this way. If you use a needle to make a hole in the wall, only a little of anything can cross the wall. But if you take a 70mm howitzer to the wall, many other things can also cross over. As in, if you have bikes between Rs 15-50 lakh on sale, someone is sure to realise that a gap in product offerings between Rs 95,000 to Rs 15,00,000 is an unusually large hole in a booming market. A gap like that cannot remain ignored for long.

And finally, is a Ducati 1098R really worth three R1s. Maybe if you lived right next to Monza and were dating the circuit security chief's daughter. You couldn't drive a Ferrari to work everyday even if you wanted to. A GT-R on the other hand, is very useable, if a little harder to live with than a Corolla. Which is what the R1 would turn out to be. So, if you have the cash for the 1098R, I suggest you buy an 848 (sporty, fast but not really a prima donna) or a hypermotard (fun, fast-ish, up for it, real) instead. Not only will you save a bunch of cash, you'll be far happier with them.

If there's any ambiguity left, I'll tell you this. I've looked up my family tree and there ain't no uncles lolling about in the branches, waiting to drop into graves, leaving me tons of cash to buy the 1098R with. Despite which, I'm off to buy a Bud to celebrate... Exorbitant, exotic and all of that, but atleast I can exercise my freedom to buy a Ducati when/if I had the money...