Ducati HD merger??

It certainly would be a very interesting proposition and I am all for change. However, is it a merger or a takeover by HD? As I would think the HD brand is huge in comparison to Ducati worldwide.
 
In Glasgow, we have the only Scottish Ducati dealership and one of only two Scottish Massey Ferguson, oops, sorry, Harley Davidson dealerships within about half a mile of each other. Would they both survive in their present forms?
 
DKM said:
In Glasgow, we have the only Scottish Ducati dealership and one of only two Scottish Massey Ferguson, oops, sorry, Harley Davidson dealerships within about half a mile of each other. Would they both survive in their present forms?
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I hope so. Cost Most HD in Glasgow charge for their @@@@ coffee. DG have a cup ready for you when you dismount, and not only is it free but sometimes the lovely Kerrie makes it for you too.

Any merger would have to take this into consideration.:)
 
I can see the headlines now -

Ducati/HD merger talks collapse over coffee franchise negotiations! Kerrie leaves to become Sir Alan Sugar's (Sugar - geddit?) new Apprentice!
 
Now this IS a story!!!

I shall have to find more about this one - haven't heard a peep through the official channels, I assume Nige hasn't either but he may be along soon.

Very, VERY interesting!:)

Oh and worry not, of course we would survive :) I'm touched!!!:D

But seriously, I assume that all HD dealers in the UK are privately owned (like the one in Glasgow) in exactly the same way as we (and all other UK Ducati dealers ) are.

If the story has merit (who knows :dunno: ) and the dealers were owned by the manufacturers then it may be different but even in that scenario i'm sure there would only be subtle change, any more would be too much!

Mart:D
 
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Martin Ducati Glasgow said:
I shall have to find more about this one - haven't heard a peep through the official channels, I assume Nige hasn't either but he may be along soon.

Very, VERY interesting!:)

Mart:D
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it certainly is :) i'd think its a tester to see how the markets react if both companies share prices increase they'll continue talking....


Can't see it being a merger as such, II will probably just sell a chunk of what they just bought at a nice profit, retain a percentage and HD being the bigger company would take control.

As i posted on a similar DSC i can see may operational reasons why, both companies have been slow to react to off shore sourcing and are struggling with the same problems of distribution and manufacturing , combining the 2 businesses would make a lot of sense. Its also worth noting that in the leaked 2006 strategic plan capital increase document a lot of Ducati's comparisons are with Harley.
 
Does this mean that those leather handlebar tassle thingys will be in next years Dp (HDP?) catalogue? Jeez freak will be digging his leather chaps back out the wardrobe.
 
What do you mean digging them out!

I always wear them to a Johnny Rooster gig just like the guitarist does
 
I've heard nothing about this, but I would not expect to. If a deal is to be done it would've been "done" by the time the Commercial staff get to hear about it.

Regarding likely channels of distribution: how many VW dealers do you know that sell Bentley, or Ford dealers that sell Aston Martin??

Testastretta powered Fat Boy anyone?? :confused:
 
Does anyone else think all this rumour benefits a HD brand that last year had one of the worst financial performances of the last 20 years or so. Industrial action hit profit figures hard, delays on deliverys of bikes and spares etc severely dented even the American market place. Plus no real break-thru for Buell, still.....

"Lets link ourselves with the ying to our yang...... Bit of Italian glamour and sport success won't do any harm." You can hear the Harley brothers chatting as the chug their buds.....:rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Not convinced anything will happen on this one.
 
Mixed Dealers

Ducati Bristol and Riders of Bridgewater both mix Ducati with H-D. (Riders also do Truimph.)

I'd be interested to know what high quality parts, other than the tassles, H-Ds buying power can source that Ducati would use! :eek:

Also like the quote in the second article about WSB being the F1 of motorbikes...
 
Dougie748 said:
I'd be interested to know what high quality parts, other than the tassles, H-Ds buying power can source that Ducati would use! :eek:
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both Ducati and HD have been slow moving production off shore HD invested in a new factory for the V rod and ican't see how that can be working for tthem, the US car makers struggle, HD are no different.

Most of the parts used in bike manufacture are out sourced, so take a bike like the next generation Monster, an urban/city bike that really should on belt drive, Ducati have no experience of that HD do, share knowledge and producer and it'll save money. Ducati are leading the world with fuel injection system, utilise those systems on HD and theres a big saving in development costs. the car makers already do a lot of this VW/Audi/Skoda models share the same floor plan and engine parts but look different and the development and tooling is spread over bigger quantities.

Add in that both companies now need to look to Asia to assemble bikes and probably don't have the numbers individually to do this but as 1 company they probably do.

We've seen this happening in the cycle industry where bigger brands buy up smaller companies and succesfully keep the brand identity but also make the product more competitive.
 
Gizmo said:
Add in that both companies now need to look to Asia to assemble bikes and probably don't have the numbers individually to do this but as 1 company they probably do.
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.... I can see the label on your new Ducati/HD in two years time....

Beautiful piece of Italian engineering...

...Made in China!!!! :(
 
Gizmo

My point is I can see Ducati's knowledge being useful to H-D but I don't see the reverse being true. Other than the v-rod H-Ds bikes are at least 50 years old. :) :)

Is belt drive really a direction Ducati would go in?

I know what you mean with the cycle industry. I was very disappointed to find out my new Orange Clockwork frame was made in Taiwan and only painted in the UK. I had a Cougar aluminium road bike back in 1996 that was also only painted in the UK.

Dougie
 
Dougie748 said:
My point is I can see Ducati's knowledge being useful to H-D but I don't see the reverse being true. Other than the v-rod H-Ds bikes are at least 50 years old. :) :)

Is belt drive really a direction Ducati would go in?

I know what you mean with the cycle industry. I was very disappointed to find out my new Orange Clockwork frame was made in Taiwan and only painted in the UK. I had a Cougar aluminium road bike back in 1996 that was also only painted in the UK.

Dougie
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HD have invested heavily in some neat manufacturing, the new bent tube hydroforming technique could easily be adapted to Ducati frames and I'm sure there will be a lot of other areas where HD lead Ducati. Remember Ducati are owned by an investment company who make money from buying and sellign companies, if they were to get an offer which produced a good return ( possibly what they'ed planned to achieve on a 3 or 5 year term) it would be stupid not to take it especially if part of the holding was retained. Ultimately this isn't about bikes, its about banks and corporate returning on investment and brand values!

For certain bikes belt is a possibility, Ducati are already testing a belt on a Monster for example hence the reason i used that reference. If you look at models like the multistrada one of the downsides is the chain, the competition - GS12 or Buell Ulysses have shaft and belt both better for touring and high mileage. Why design that yourself if technology already exists? just adapt and have lower tooling costs, benefit from bigger volumes better purchasing, on cheaper models where they struggle to make margin that might be attractive.

There is no way we could have produced the Clockwork in the UK but it was designed it here, then we find a manufacturer who can make it how we want and we manage the QC. we manufacture about 60% of the models here but need a balance of off shore sourced and UK made to survive, without either you wouldn't be able to buy any Orange product :( We're the last remaining Uk producer of mountain bikes, one of few left in Europe, very, very similar to Ducati !!

Almost all parts are made in Asia now and more companies are moving there its inevitable that your Italian made motorbike will very soon be made from a high percentage of asian parts ( as it probably is already) Marzocchi moved all MTB production this year, I'd think the motorbike side is doing the same, brembo, hmm 2 years ago i found a store in Taipei with rather a large selection of Brembo discs which seemed weird given import duties and a market with few high performance bikes :)
 
ducati owned by tractor manufacturer!!!!!! i shudder at the thought!! I personally cant stand harleys, due to the fact they have been developing the bikes for nearly 100 years and still use technology from over 60 years ago. Oh and the ride like a bag of spanners. i just think they are too much noise and chrome a definate willy extension imo
 
velocity raptor said:
ducati owned by tractor manufacturer!!!!!!
, due to the fact they have been developing the bikes for nearly 100 years and still use technology from over 60 years ago.
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LOL you prefer a jewelery store, helicopter , theme park, satellite owning investment group financed by the same people who helped finance the Benetton empire? take a look at the portfolio of companies they buy and sell, oops sorry "realise" :)

the bit about old technology is probably the other way round, Harley have invested heavily in new plant and manufacturing, the V rod plant they built uses state of the art machinery to produce components Ducati can't get close to making. i was trying to wok out how they managed the complicated bends in the frame without creasing it, then found out they use a hydro form technique to remove creases after bending, never seen that used in any frame maker elsewhere, even the biggest mountain bike frame makers who make milions of units a year don't have it. I'm not a fan of their bikes but can see that its a company who aren't scared to invest and move manufacturing forward, compare that with an investment group who's goal is purely to see a return on capital and don't care about a long term future.....
 
Two companies with a staggering amount of heritage and probably the biggest followings in the motorcycle world - awesome, bring it on !
 
Wasn't this bounded around a few years ago?

I'm not a HD fan, but you do have to think they will make way more £££ than Ducati I am guessing, and as Michael says they are investing heavily in technology so it's not all bad.

The good thing is both brands appeal to completely different people, I've already said I'm not a HD fan and more than likely most HD fans don't like sportsbikes (bit of a generalisation) so I cannot see it being a merger of brands if it were to happen more of a means of expanding their presence in other countries
 
Ducati - America

Hi,
Recently read a book looking at Ducati from an American perspective. The distributor in America - The Berliner Motor Company (I Think!) linked up with HD and presented a case to the American President to curb Japanese imports which were affecting both HD and Ducati sales. Their main objection - it was costing the Japanese more money to manufacture the bikes than they were selling them - unfair competition. So they had links way back to the seventies and eighties.
I also noticed Ducati haven't changed much - They had a saying then "it will be late but worth the wait". I'm still waiting on my Tricolor which I ordered way back in December 2006. To be fair I initially ordered the 1098s in red but changed my mind at the Scottish bike show. Stuart at DG already has his Tricolor and informs it's a great bike and guess what "worth the wait".

Geoff
 
Yes, MV made helicopters. Morbidelli made woodworking machinery and Ducati made radios, electronics and a camera.
 
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