If you're buying a particular make or model for the first time it'll inevitably have some condition and reliability quirks. And if it's a Ducati, while riding feel-good reasons are many, despair can surface in a heartbeat.
Ducati engines are the heartbeat of the machines, providing them with a life-like character. But certain models can have heart-attacks, resulting in a need for major surgery.
Heart and head can be influenced by the perfect bike-buying storm: crisp, clear, still Autumn day, an economy that's provoking consumer spending on needs rather than wants, and mid-range classic bikes loitering for weeks in the classifieds or on eBay before prices on listings start to reduce, or are amended to include "or best offer".
And then by accident of circumstance somebody rides past on a Ducati V-twin.
Nothing sounds like a 1990s-early 2000s Ducati 900. Especially if it has Termignoni exhaust cans. The perception is classic Ducatis are expensive to buy - and some are - and that they're maintenance liabilities, which some most definitely are.
So you go online and find there's some surprisingly affordable 900s out there. But there's also myriad versions of the 900 - 900 a figure associated with some of the most desirable and historic Ducatis. We'll look at 1989-2002 900s, which currently sit in an acquisition affordability sweet spot.
Ducatis are generally pretty resilient machines - known issues of dodgy electrics and corrosion not withstanding - even if some, when warm and idling, sound like they're about to explode given the cacophony of noises they're emitting, especially dry-clutch versions.
The thing is, there's a chance they might well be about to grenade themselves - and it'd be down to the quietest component in the engine: the toothed rubber timing belt, responsible for making the intake and exhaust valves open and close at the right time.
Ducati says to change the belt every 12,000 miles or 24 months - whichever is sooner. If it fails, pistons will meet valves and it'll mean a costly repair.
Pre-1989 900SS machines had mechanically-driven timing set-ups. But such bikes with "Super Sport" written on the airbox cover are also proper collectors' items, with £20,000-plus price tags.
But between 1989 and 2002, with Ducati moving heavily into its road-bike/race-bike commercialisation with the 900SS, both carburettor and fuel-injected motors were rubber belt driven. And that Ducati noise and image is rather more affordable - broadly from around £4,200.
And unless there's a recent belt change in the history file, it's well worth assuming it's overdue, particularly so if the bike has only been doing a few hundred miles a year for several years - so invest in a belt replacement.
One of the beauties of that era of Ducati ownership is that the engines are relatively simple, and with even a small degree of mechanical maintenance confidence, is that the belts are relatively straightforward to DIY replace - the belts, of which you'll need a pair, costing between around £55 and £95.
If you prefer to leave it to experts, then an independent Ducati specialist will charge you around £200-£300 for parts and labour, a Ducati dealer £350-£450. But they'll each also tell you to get the valve shims checked and adjusted, which is included in that price.
It's all part of the belts and braces of affordable classic Ducati ownership.
