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Of course my experience is anecdotal. There were other issues with my 848 apart from the tank problem. I had a head gasket failure, bad clutch master, immobilzer antenna ring malfunction, burned out LED on the right turn signal/mirror assembly, and I think one or two other minor issues. Those that know me, know I take care of my bikes.
My 04 ZX-10R has only had two issues. The front wheel was replaced as a factory recall. And the engine has developed a valve cover gasket oil leak which is common for this engine. Other than that, the bike has been rock solid.
With the S1000RR, I only have to go by my limited experience with using them at the California Superbike School. The S1000RRs get beat on quite a bit but granted, are constantly maintained by the school's mechanic team. But based on what I've seen which is 28+ S1000RRs being run HARD for 4 days at any given track school location, I've never seen one fail due to a mechanical break down.
Do I fault Ducati with all the mechanical problems I've had? No. Do I fault Ducati for the tank issue? An unequivocal, YES. This is an engineering problem pure and simple which Ducati has not addressed in a satisfactory way. For a brand which has such a history and pedigree, it is unacceptable for a company to get away with what they have. But they can because for some reason, many Ducati owners/enthusiasts act like cult members and have given Ducati a pass on this issue even blindly defending Ducati.
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