This “crated” Desmosedici RR is on Facebook Marketplace for $250,000
A still-crated Ducati Desmosedici RR has landed on Facebook Marketplace, but is it worth the $250,000 the seller is asking?
You have, at some point, probably bought a motorcycle from Facebook Marketplace, or some other similar online selling and trading platform. You may have also, once or twice, spent a large sum of money on said bike. I highly doubt, though, that anyone reading this has dropped $250,000 (around £185,000) on a Ducati Desmosedici RR that is ‘still’ in its crate - like this one, that just cropped up on Facebook Marketplace, of all places.
First up, a bit of housekeeping. This bike has, according to the seller, been removed from its crate, although that wasn’t for some swansong, sunset ride, or to thrash it around a track. Instead, this bike’s de-robing from its flimsy steel sarcophagus was so it could have a service.
According to the listing, in 2023 the Desmo was professionally removed from its crate for what is described as ‘preservation servicing’. That involved all fluids being replaced and any outstanding factory recalls being rectified. The engine was started and run through a full heat cycle before the coolant was drained for storage. Then it was carefully returned to its original crate, and according to the listing, “the bike has never been ridden”.
I’m being overly honest here, but if that final point is true, that mechanic has got a lot more self-control than I have!
The bike is described as being a “collector-grade” example of the legendary Ducati Desmosedici D16RR, and adding to the allure is its paint, which is the all-red option - not the red with white decals configuration. Adding a little more allure to the equation is its edition number, being bike 150 of just 1,500 produced worldwide - that fact just makes my OCD feel all warm and fuzzy!
Yes, it’s a lovely bike, but here’s the kicker, and for me, it’s a big one…
The elephant in the room with this bike is the fact that it has been out of its crate. Quite why you would do that to a machine of this type is completely befuddling to me. Yes, it’s still a zero-mile Desmo. Yes, it has barely seen the light of day. Yes, it has never been thrashed on the road or track. But it has been taken out of its box. It has had a mechanic work on it, and it has been put back into its box. It’s not crate-fresh. Crate-fresh bikes, the ones that make the BIG money, are put in their crate at the factory by official factory workers, and then left there. Because of that, should the owner ever want to remove them, doing so would be like being the first person to glimpse into a tomb in the pyramids.
And I bet there are many more zero-mile Desmosedicis out in the world that live outside of their transport crates that would change hands for significantly less than this.
Look at it like this. Your mate is buying you a pint but takes a big swig before handing it to you. It’s not a pint anymore. It’ll still taste the same (probably), but you sure as heck aren’t going to enjoy it quite as much as if it had arrived with its frothy top intact!
Fancy taking a quarter of a million dollar punt on a new bike?
Check out the listing over on Facebook.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
