Ducati ST2, ST3, or ST4

[jgreen]

Hey all,

My name is Jon and I have been riding on the street and Dirt for most of my life.  I have been riding street bikes for about 15 years now, and it has been mostly "around town" and track riding.  I currently have a 2000 Ducati Monster 900 Sie, which I absolutely love.

That being said, I have found that the type of rides that I crave has changed.  I want to get out on the road and see things.  I want to take off for a 3 day cruise and just get lost on some back roads somewhere.  I want to tour.  Although the Monster is comfortable to ride, it doesn't offer much in the way of touring amenities.

I have developed a fondness for the Duc's over the years and was wondering what the consensus is on Ducati's line of Sport Touring Bikes.  Mainly the ST2, ST3, and ST4.  I have heard that the Multistrada is also a great touring bike, but I really don't care for the way it looks.

Does anyone own one of these bikes, or has anyone owned one in the past?  Please share any pro's and Con's as I will be looking to pick up a sport touring bike fairly soon

Thanks,

Jon

[atadaskew]

I have the Ducati St4s, which was their top line model.
It's different from the regular St4 by having a 996cc motor vs the 916 motor, alloy vs steel swingarm, lighter wheels, carbon fiber rear hugger vs plastic.
The St4s model visually changed in 2004 (mine is a 2003) when it adopted the St3 styling.  A more protective fairing, digital gauges.  I think the rest was the same bar plastic rear hugger.  It was later dropped for the St3s to consolidate motors.

The 4s motor makes more power and torque everywhere compared to the St3 motor, but mags have claimed the St3  motor had more pick up because they were unaware of stock gearing differences.  The St4s comes with 15/38 while the St3 comes with 15/42, so the St4s is geared way taller.  First mod most peeps do (I did) is change the sprockets.  I went 14/40 from the get go so I could still use the original (and new) chain.  Before this I could not use 6th gear unless I was going over 100mph.

The St2 and St4 are great bikes, but the 4s just offers more.  Of note, the motor on the St3 is much more fiddly to work on than the 2/4/4s whether you do it yourself, or pay someone else.

[falconati]

I have an ST3 and love it.  I did a write up of it in the Ducati section.  Feel free to PM me any questions you have.

[Kraz]

I had a ST2 for a short while and LOVED it.

ST2 is the only air cooled bike out of the 3, and it has a 2 valve motor, which means less maintenance and less cost.

The 2 valve motor gives you lower weight, more midrange, and less top end, and lower initial cost.

I always thought 2 valve would be an underpowered waste of my time, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I liked the usable power, the sound (I had Staintune pipes), the handling, comfort, and the big hardbags.  Cons are maintenance not being easy to do yourself, so cost, and valve intervals being closer together than most touring bikes.  The only reason I don't still have her is it was totalled (not by me).

[ZED]

So far it looks like you have a vote for each of the three Ducati ST streams.

I'll add my opinion by stating that I think the ST3s is the pinnacle of the sport touring world.  I researched many different STs including the ST2 and ST4 (regular and 's').  I am very happy with the ST3s.  The 's' adds improved suspension (and ABS if you care).  I think the three valve engine is better than either of the other two.  It has a very smooth, flat, torque curve which allows for acceleration whenever you want it and no spikes.

Now, that being said, I doubt you can go wrong with any Ducati ST that's been well cared for.  There have been some issues with each model that are well known.  Do the research and know what you're getting into.
This link has some good info if you haven't already found it:
http://www.perryr.com/DucatiSTFAQ.html

It doesn't really say much about the ST3 though as the ST3 is newer than most of the info.
More details on the ST3 can be obtained from those of us who have them.

[Kramer]

I am still sad that I sold my 2003 ST4s.  What a wonderful bike that was.  While I love my current steed, I believe that the ST4s will be a contender for the best of all time (for me).

[ZED]

It's been a while since I perused the Ducati ST FAQ.  There's some useful info there, but there's some really good stuff too such as these sections:
14.8.1 Parts Pricing
14.10 What’s the fastest color?
 

[bikerfish1100]

owned a 2 valve 900SS, and have demo ridden the 3 valver and the 4, in a variety of configurations (monster, ST, etc). I much prefer the power delivery of the 3, as its something of a cross between the low end torque grunt of the 2, and the upper end HP kick of the 4. if i were to look for an ST model from Ducati, it would be the 3, for sure.

[volleykinginnc]

It's good that you already have a monster and know what you get with a Ducati.  I've had mine over a year now and there has not been a single week that I haven't had something wrong with it and in fact I now have about 3 things that aren't perfect.  Not catastrophic mind you that I can't ride it but irritating none the less.  I still hold my breath each and every time I hit the starter button.

The stealer in my area are a bunch of buffoons so I suggest you make sure that you have access to someone who can work on them.

That being said, I spent about 12 hours on the blue ride parkway this weekend and the bike performed flawlessly.  Hard to describe but the handling is best described as telepathic and the power band and torque delivery was just about perfect.  Did very little shifting, it just pulled out of the corners.

They look awesome and have more character than any other bike I can think of with the sound of the exhaust the exotic look and the clanking rattling clutch.  At anything under 3000 rpm it shakes like a top fueler on Mexcian gas and bucks like it wants to throw you off and go find chicks.  Nothing like it.

[Liquidsilver]

You're pretty well back into the used bike market with these, so I would assume your decision will alse be about the condition in which you find one.   There should be a lot more ST3s out there, as I think it was the biggest seller for the last few years.  
 
There are good points to all three.  
 
The niggles finally made me throw in the towel on my ST4S.   It ran great, and was the spiciest bagger on the market, IMHO.   But 'character' was too high a price for me, having to do valve services three times a year because I 'ride too much.'   Idle problems, CPU problems, display problems, odd corrosion issues, etc... it really was like having an Italian mistress, (I assume) but what a ride!  
 
Since, I turned an FZ1 into sport-tourer, put some suspension on it, and 25,000 miles later, just add gas.   I do miss the Duc sound though... I'm looking for an old Duc to mess around town for just about that reason only... but it won't be an ST.

[Frankienuckles]

A couple years back I traded bikes with a friend for a couple of weeks. He has an ST2 I have a gsxr 1000. I put about 500 or 600 miles on the ducati and I liked it quite abit. Pros- big bags, good handling, good brakes, ok engine (as you already have a duck you know what to expect). Cons - the stock seat kinda sucks, the bars are a bit of a reach for long days, suicide kick stand ( all of these things could be easily taken care of by the aftermarket ). All in all a really nice bike and while I wouldn't buy one (I just don't want a duck) I am happy to borrow one from time to time.

[Sarchi]

ST2 would be my pick, but it was only here for 2-3 years so it may be tougher to find a nice copy.

[Oilhed]

I had a ST2 for a short while and LOVED it.

ST2 is the only air cooled bike out of the 3, and it has a 2 valve motor, which means less maintenance and less cost.

The 2 valve motor gives you lower weight, more midrange, and less top end, and lower initial cost.

I always thought 2 valve would be an underpowered waste of my time, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I liked the usable power, the sound (I had Staintune pipes), the handling, comfort, and the big hardbags.  Cons are maintenance not being easy to do yourself, so cost, and valve intervals being closer together than most touring bikes.  The only reason I don't still have her is it was totalled (not by me).

I thought it was liquid cooled but had fins on the cylinders also.

[jgreen]

Great info everyone, and thanks so much for posting so much feedback so quickly.  I will use it wisely.  Along with the Duc's, I am also looking at the Triumph Sprint ST and maybe the Kawasaki Concourse.

Jon

[wvrider]

I put over 25k miles on an ST2. First of all they are ALL water cooled , ST2,3,4,4s. Secondly the valves on the ST2 are supposedly easy to do (I've watched it done) but I had the shop do mine. They never actually NEEDED adjustment as they were always within tolerance but I did have them brought down to min spec clearance and the bike ran neater that way. The ST2 gets a little breathless at top end. The sweet zone is from about 3600 rpm or a little more to about 6500. No real redline on the tach and it will just continue to try to run up there to 9 but after 7k the forward motion is slower in advancing. I loved it for the two lane backroad type touring I like to do. The bag setup on these bikes are nice and ergos pretty good if a little on the aggressive side but bar risers are available. I did a 650 mile day on it coming back from Americade one year without much effort all on backroads. Only real problem I had in the 25k miles were the fuel tank (the ST's have a tank made of two halves with the seam that runs up the middle and mine gave way at the seam right where the seat met it...I think due to my Sargeant seat I used). I had the tank re-welded and coated/painted as a new once cost something like $900. Fuel mileage was in the 45 range, tire mileage was in the 12k mile range. Sound from the bike with SIL pipes was WONDERFUL. I swapped the dry clutch plates myself in about 25 minutes at about 12k miles just because teh stock plates felt grabby. They re high geared for in town so I put a different sprocket on the rear to drop the gearing and it all just worked great. Nice bike if you dont have to have the biggest HP. The ST3 and 4 and 4s are all nice bikes with the same basic frame layout with hotter motors in it and just al little more maintenance cost.

[atadaskew]

Bottom line, as long as you get a nicely kept/loved example of any of them, you can't go wrong.

[ZED]

Great info everyone, and thanks so much for posting so much feedback so quickly.  I will use it wisely.  Along with the Duc's, I am also looking at the Triumph Sprint ST and maybe the Kawasaki Concourse.

Jon

Well, if you're considering others, you may be interested in this link as it points to some of my reasoning behind getting the Ducati rather than the other options in hopes that it may be of assistance to others.  
http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,13284.0.html

Just got back from a 1700km weekend trip.  ST3s ran great, handles great, and offered good protection from two days of rain.

[MilleRrrr]

got an st2 for sale (daughter started driving so I need to get ride of a few toys, western PA $4000 OBO)

15k miles - the valve job is relatively easy to do. Get a buddy that has done it to help you the first time but good to go from there.

Like the others said if you not into really big HP the ST2 is good.  It got good torque so it is a bottom end type of bike.

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,54866.msg1264408.html#msg1264408

[Blondebaerde]

Questioning the original question, so to speak, if you can "get over" the Multi's looks, perhaps your decision may need to first consider new vs. used.  Nor did you mention new vs. older Multi, given that they all look a little strange.

Of-late, I'm guessing Ducati consolidated all the ST's into the Multi for a good reason, marketing and manufacturing aside: it seems to do most (all?) of what the older bikes offered, plus competes with the BMW GS, albeit at prodigious cost.

If you're looking at Concours and Sprint ST, again it's sort of a new vs. used question.  I'm too lazy to look up if the Sprint ST still exists as a new model.  The Concours14 was a finalist in my personal quest for a new bike, only about three months ago.  But then again, some guys aren't into new bikes due to the cost.

Remembering back to early '01, my two finalists were a used Honda Blackbird and used ST4.  The ST4 had a lot more character and general sex-appeal, in yellow.  The 'Bird was Honda-smooth and evil-fast.  I went with the latter, and no regrets, since it was a smarter move at the time.  Always wondered "what-if," though.  

Complicating the matter still further, if you want more sport than tour, a ZX-14 or Hayabusa with hard bags (and older Blackbirds) make fantastic GT bikes, with prodigious omph.  I've done Iron Butt rides on my 'Bird; anything is possible with sufficient willpower and ingenuity.

You'll find what you want between all of them, this is an informative thread thus far.

[ST3Andy]

27000 miles and the bike still puts a big ol' grin on my face everytime I fire it up. Yes it's a little pricey to maintain, but so worth it , for me anyway.