Whether you're buying a car or a motorcycle, there's going to be no shortage of options to choose from, especially here in the States. As far as motorcycles are concerned, choosing the right one (for your own personal desires) is virtually the same as picking an automobile: to determine if it's reliable, fast, good-looking, or affordable enough to go through with the purchase.
For the purpose of today's discussion, we've set our sights on two motorcycle manufacturers in particular: Kawasaki and Ducati. These brands can be very similar, yet, also very different at the same time. It all depends on what you're judging it on, as well as how much of a budget you've got. Still, these two are ripe for comparison, regardless of the inherent contrast between them.
With that in mind, we've gone in-depth with both Kawasaki and Ducati; aiming to find out (of the two) which one is worth your hard-earned cash...
Variety Is The Spice Of Life
Now, even with just these two motorcycle manufacturers, you'll still have plenty of categories to select from. Notably: there's sports bikes, cruisers, supermoto's, specialist bikes, and so on. Kawasaki has a much more diverse set of bikes when compared to Ducati.
Kawasaki has dirt-bikes and other off-road variants, while Ducati is more (or less) focused on on-road performance. As a result, Kawasaki has some of the most reliable off-road vehicles of the lot! However, if on-track speed is what you want, it'll have a hard time keeping up with the likes of Ducati.
To illustrate this, lets go over these manufacturer's registry. Ducati's fastest bike (as of 2020) is the Superleggera V4: a 234-hp, 998 cc V4 superbike with a total power-to-weight ratio of 1.54-hp per kilogram.
Kawasaki has something similar, specifically the Ninja H2R: a supercharged sport bike that makes 326-hp with a power-to-weight ratio of 1.66-hp per kilogram (1509.25-hp per ton). If you ask us, it's they're not too far off one another.
Aside from just their two fastest, Kawasaki and Ducati are pretty evenly matched - in terms of performance - throughout their selection of bikes. Unfortunately, we don't get to see the two compete against each other professionally, since Kawasaki has been out of MotoGP for ages...
Are Your Pockets Deep Enough?
In the photo above, you can see two of the most expensive motorcycles to date: the Kawasaki Ninja H2/H2R and the Ducati 1198 Panigale R. These are exquisite bikes, no question about it. Though, like awesome cars, awesome bikes are also subject to ludicrously high M.S.R.P.s.
However, the real situation is much more nuanced than such a simple simile. Kawasaki is full of bikes ranging from all types of price-ranges, whilst Ducati is known for being a high-end brand. The best way to look at a Ducati is as "the Ferrari of motorcycles," for better or for worse (more later).
A Kawasaki (excluding non street-legal bikes) that'll run the cheapest is a Z125 Pro, a $2,000 Kawasaki version of the Honda Grom. For Ducati, their most 'affordable' is the Ducati Scrambler Sixty Two; averaging $8,000 brand new. That is a very stark difference in both price and class.
Therefore, a Kawasaki is the bike you should go for if you're on a budget. You simply can't beat the value and bang-for-your-buck that Kawasaki's offer when compared to Ducati alone. As someone who's personally owned a Kawasaki (2006 Ninja ZX-6R 636), we can attest to their build quality, usability, and reliability present in their bikes.
Yet, the discussion doesn't just end after talking about price and speed. No, there's one more criteria to meet...
The Final Nail In The Coffin
That criteria, dear readers, is reliability! Kawasaki has this (almost) perfected, particularly with their 'Ninja' series. Ducati, sadly, isn't as well of in this category. Other than their speed, price, and stunning looks, there's one more thing that Ducati's are known for: a terrible build-quality.
Similar to European carmakers, Ducati, too, likes to over-complicate their design and repair processes. The electronics frequently act up, making minor fixes requires special tools or a paid mechanic, etc (and that's only naming a couple). The worst - and most joked about- issue Ducatis have can be seen above. Yep, fires...
What is it with Italy and making flammable vehicles? First the Ferrari 458, next the Lamborghini Aventador, now Ducati, too? All joking aside, Ducati's catching on fire is a serious problem. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, they said "a fuel leak may occur from the filler plug when opening it or from the area under the rider seat both when riding the bike or when it is parked, due to a problem with the fuel tank seal and ventilation system."
TL;DR? Fuel filler plugs were poorly designed, leading to the random chance of a spark and subsequent fire.
All in all, if we were to choose between the two, we'd take Kawasaki every time. Although we're experienced 'Kawi' riders/owners, there's no bias in play. After looking over the data (concerning everything from price to accessibility), it's hard to say that Ducati is better. We will concede that they're fast, though, but not fast enough to outrun their own shortcomings...