At $3,500, Will This 1999 Ducati ST4 Get Snapped Up In the Nick of Time?
Nicolas Cage possesses two Academy Awards for his work, both in the Best Actor category. According to the seller, he also once possessed today’s Nice Price or No Dice Ducati. Let’s see if that makes its price seem award-worthy.
When it all came down to brass tacks on yesterday’s well-kitted 2005 Volvo V50 T5, quite a few of you voiced some trepidation over the seller’s toss-off assertion that the car suffered from only “low levels of rust.” Mention of any level of rust, low or otherwise, is always a red flag for any prospective buyer, and hence the Volvo’s $6,000 price wasn’t the runaway hit it might have otherwise been. In the end though, it managed to nip by with a 56 percent Nice Price win.
So, what’s your favorite Nick Cage movie? I know that almost no one is going to say Gone in 60 Seconds, even if we are all car nerds. Instead, I’m going to bet that your favorite Nick Cage flick is the same as mine — Con Air. The thing about Cage is that he has such a depth of talent across all genres of movies that he’s probably got a winner no matter what you like.
Are you feeling a little cerebral? There’s Adaptation. Want some Lovecraftian sci-fi horror? Pop Color Out of Space in the ol’ VCR. Maybe you and someone special want to cuddle up and do a romantic comedy that won’t make either of you barf. For that, you could go with Moonstruck or Peggy Sue Got Married. And don’t even get me started about the masterpiece that is Raising Arizona. You see, Nicholas Cage is truly the Swiss Army Knife of the acting world.
Cage is also an inveterate collector of all things interesting and unique, having once owned rarities like one of only six factory Lamborghini Miura SV/J models ever produced and a freaking dinosaur skull. That was all a bit ago, and Cage’s financial fortunes have flexed over the years like a Slinky down the stairs. At issue, was a series of bad investment decisions, that at the time left Cage light something around $14 million to the IRS. That caused the dexterous actor to liquidate almost all of his major assets, including a large number of cars and castles, and along the way, apparently, this 1999 Ducati ST4 Touring bike. Cage seemingly even had it painted in what the current owner calls “Maserati Orange” to make it more of a symbol of his individuality and belief in personal freedom.
Now Nick Cage’s orange Ducati could be yours. But is the basic bike worth it?
The ST line was Ducati’s first earnest attempt at a sport touring bike, offering a fully-dressed frame and available panniers for storage. The earliest 2-valve ST2 and 3-valve ST3 models lacked the horsepower to go up against the competition, but the later 4-valve ST4 and ST4S did manage to put some meat on the table.
Under the bodywork lies Ducati’s trellis frame and famous 90° desmodromic V-twin engine. This ST4 rocks the Desmoquattro, or 4-valve per cylinder heads featuring belt-driven cams. With those multi-valve heads, the 996-derived twin manages a respectable 107 horsepower, albeit at a heady 9000 rpm. That power gets routed through a six-speed gearbox by way of a multi-plate dry clutch. That can freak some people out because in some scenarios it can sound like a handful of washers thrown into a running clothes dryer.
According to the ad, the bike had a recent clutch replacement and the seller says it suffers from no annoying rattle. It also has a new chain and starter solenoid. A previous owner did a valve adjustment, but the ad makes no mention of the age of the timing belts.
As a sport tourer, these lean a bit more heavily on the sport side of things. That’s evident in the riding position and size of the front fairing. It does have the panniers and a rear trunk for a good bit of storage, the latter of which is shown in the last of the pictures. It carries 17,510 miles on the odometer and looks to be in terrific shape for its age and Nick Cage affiliation. It also comes with a clear title and enough time separating it from Cage that there’s little chance of the IRS coming to collect it just out of spite. What might such an interesting bike go for in this market?
The asking price is $3,500, and you now need to decide whether or not that’s a deal. What do you say, is $3,500 a fair price to sit where Nick sat? Or, is the potential celebrity association not enough for this old and not quite so bold Ducati?
You decide!
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Jared L. for the hookup!
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