LEGO Technic 42238 Ducati Desmo450 MX Factory Motorcycle official images!

The front part looks terrible, from the angle of the front fork to the front fender. Don't understand how Ducati accepted that.

Wonder if you could rebuild this into a Slizer/Throwbot.

Looks like a nice set. Worst case is that the price is very high. But as a Technic set, it seems very good.

It looks like the fork can be removed by pulling up the top pin, and pushing the 3L axle out from the bottom. I wonder if this was intentional?

This is a good piece of collection

I like the smaller size of the bike. 50 bucks is not bad, but I wonder how much would it be without the licensing.

So, no gearbox this time. That's a step back for this scale of bikes. But it looks decent and it keeps the price down, compared to the last ones of this size. Also nice with a dirt-bike again for a change. It will go on my maybe-list.

Think bike.

A dressed-up 42007 without the B-model. Not my thing, but at least it breaks up the unending car onslaught a bit.

So now we get a bike where you can actually see the piston moving, but no gearbox......kinda ironic...

I'd say it looks okay, and even when te lack of a gearbox is kinda disappointing, at least the price went down with it. Not exactly a mustb buy, but I can totally see myself picking one up whenever I encounter it at like €30-35.

Though probably get the CaDa Hayabusa first....

Also, considering the name: Next Ducati set shouldn't be a bike, but a big scale engine......obviously with desmodromic valves!

They should rename the Technic line to Licensed.

Looks really cool!

However that steering head angle is very... ambitious.

Inflation at work again - you don’t even get a sidecar now like you did with 857-1.

@Rare_White_Ape said:
"Looks really cool!

However that steering head angle is very... ambitious."

It's a downhill variant. ;)

@Rare_White_Ape said:
"Looks really cool!

However that steering head angle is very... ambitious."

Now that you mention that, I cannot unsee it. Damn, I liked that bike, it's motocross , it has a real piston, it is not too expensive for a licensed model and it looks the part. I will get it when I see it on sale but damn that fork...

It’s amazing! It’s beautiful!!I love it!
I can’t explain how long I’ve been wanting one of these! Now to just remake it into a redbull Ktm!
The fact that Ducattti did Antonio Carrillos’ number on it makes it even better!
My family alone is going to buy like five of these! :)

@darthnorman said:
"It's not a car, it looks decent, it costs only 50 bucks. This is a good technic set."
This is how far we've come, when LEGO has conditioned customers so much that they think something like this could be considered a good Technic set, when in fact it's hardly even a Technic set at all.
The only thing it's got going for it is the fact that it's not another car.

@AustinPowers said:
" @darthnorman said:
"It's not a car, it looks decent, it costs only 50 bucks. This is a good technic set."
This is how far we've come, when LEGO has conditioned customers so much that they think something like this could be considered a good Technic set, when in fact it's hardly even a Technic set at all.
The only thing it's got going for it is the fact that it's not another car. "

I don't see a significant difference in functionality or philosophy (apart from the license and lack of a B-model) between this and, for example:
42155 (2022)
42036 (2015)
42007 (2013)
8051 (2010)
8291 (2008)
8420 (2005)
8417 (1998)
8422 (1995)
8829 (1994)
8838 (1991)
Just because it doesn't break any new ground doesn't mean it's not a "real" Technic set.

@iwybs said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @darthnorman said:
"It's not a car, it looks decent, it costs only 50 bucks. This is a good technic set."
This is how far we've come, when LEGO has conditioned customers so much that they think something like this could be considered a good Technic set, when in fact it's hardly even a Technic set at all.
The only thing it's got going for it is the fact that it's not another car. "

I don't see a significant difference in functionality or philosophy (apart from the license and lack of a B-model) between this and, for example:
42155 (2022)
42036 (2015)
42007 (2013)
8051 (2010)
8291 (2008)
8420 (2005)
8417 (1998)
8422 (1995)
8829 (1994)
8838 (1991)
Just because it doesn't break any new ground doesn't mean it's not a "real" Technic set."
Granted, there are way worse Technic sets, but for example, why the unnecessary costs of the license? Would this be any worse as a generic bike?
Also, why so much emphasis on body panels for looks? Jacks up the price and does nothing for a Technic set. Remember this is not a Creator or Icons set. Technic, hence the name, is about the technical features, not about the looks. If it wasn't it wouldn't need to be labeled Technic.
And again, why no B-models anymore? The sets are still priced as if they were included, yet we are supposed to accept the laziness.

If you are happy with all that, and like to pay through the nose for the privilege, go ahead and be happy.

I am definitely not going to buy any of those wannabe Technic sets anymore.
So glad I have awesome sets from a time when Technic was still worthy of the name.
By the way, Technic has always had better and worse sets, and none of the ones you mentioned are what could be called standout. Some good ones, some rather mediocre.

Are there stats on things like ratio of licensed to unlicensed Technic sets? How big is the Technic customer base (I'm assuming a tiny fraction compared to City, Creator, Friends)? How much bigger does the customer base grow when you add in the licenses, for no other reason than some people like the brands involved?

I know that I would still not have bought a single modern Technic set if it wasn't for the licenses. I'm slightly embarrassed by that, but it's true. It must be true for others, otherwise Lego would keep more of the profits to themselves, and make a model which is almost identical to the license, but not quite.

@AustinPowers said:
"Granted, there are way worse Technic sets, but for example, why the unnecessary costs of the license? Would this be any worse as a generic bike?
Also, why so much emphasis on body panels for looks? Jacks up the price and does nothing for a Technic set. Remember this is not a Creator or Icons set. Technic, hence the name, is about the technical features, not about the looks. If it wasn't it wouldn't need to be labeled Technic.
And again, why no B-models anymore? The sets are still priced as if they were included, yet we are supposed to accept the laziness.

If you are happy with all that, and like to pay through the nose for the privilege, go ahead and be happy.

I am definitely not going to buy any of those wannabe Technic sets anymore.
So glad I have awesome sets from a time when Technic was still worthy of the name.
By the way, Technic has always had better and worse sets, and none of the ones you mentioned are what could be called standout. Some good ones, some rather mediocre. "

I didn't say the older Technic motorcycles were standout Technic sets, just that this exact size and functionality of motorcycle is very typical for Technic through the years.

As for paying through the nose for the license, the $50 price of this new Technic motorcycle is right in line with the $50-$70 inflation-adjusted prices of just about every Technic motorcycle in this category since the beginning.

Apart from the lack of a B model, this has just as much technical functionality as any Technic motorcycle in this size class has ever had. Despite the license, the cosmetic bodywork on this one is really no more extensive than on other Technic motorcycles going all the way back to 8838 , 8422 , and 8417 .

Despite your doom and gloom, this really isn't any worse than a generic bike. You can see just as much of the guts as you could if it were a generic bike. It doesn't cost any more than if it were a generic bike. Granted, it really isn't any better than a generic bike, but the license really isn't a problem here. You can rant and rave all you like about licenses and modern Technic, but there isn't really any reason to call this a "wannabe" Technic set when you compare it to any of the older Technic motorcycles going all the way back to 1991.

Reasonably sized so at least there's that.

Remember the times when technic pins were effectively omitted in forming the ppp?

@maffyd said:
"Are there stats on things like ratio of licensed to unlicensed Technic sets? How big is the Technic customer base (I'm assuming a tiny fraction compared to City, Creator, Friends)?"
One of the problems these days is that there are so many different themes that none get the attention they deserve anymore.
Back in day there wasn't such an array of "we'll try anything to find out if it sticks". Things were way more focused on a couple of core themes, and Technic was a core theme, with the appropriate attention (and customer base, particularly here in Germany). The others were Duplo, BASIC, LEGOLAND Town, Trains, Space and Castle (plus later Pirates).
That's it. Needless to say, there were no licences. Zero.

These days Technic, or what's left of it, is one theme among several dozen, with new ones every other month.
Only consolation is that other evergreen themes like Star Wars, Harry Potter and even Friends are showing the same decline in quality, execution (and customer demand), while prices are skyrocketing, way beyond what the reduced quality would justify.

@maffyd said:
"Are there stats on things like ratio of licensed to unlicensed Technic sets? How big is the Technic customer base (I'm assuming a tiny fraction compared to City, Creator, Friends)? How much bigger does the customer base grow when you add in the licenses, for no other reason than some people like the brands involved?

I know that I would still not have bought a single modern Technic set if it wasn't for the licenses. I'm slightly embarrassed by that, but it's true. It must be true for others, otherwise Lego would keep more of the profits to themselves, and make a model which is almost identical to the license, but not quite."

At some point, Lego decided to double or triple the amount of sets released on any given year. So I decided, for the Technic line, to buy only the licensed sets to put some sort of limit to my purchases. The following year, more than half the sets were licensed so that pretty much scraped my plans and now I buy only a set here and there when the mechanisms are interesting. I recently got 42207 as a gift (would have preferred 42206) but the last one I bought with my own money was 42181 but only because it was 50% off and (Space!). Prior to that I bought 42182 (because of Space! of course - it is a good set but it could easily be classified as Icons). Technic is not what it once was, it is now very hard to get by a really good set (roughly every 5 years). By 'good Technic' set, I mean something that teaches mechanics and somehow looks the part rather than looks good and the mechanisms are embedded and hidden inside.

@Lordmoral said:
"This is a good piece of collection"

It's also a collection of pieces, at least until you build it.

@WizardOfOss said:"Also, considering the name: Next Ducati set shouldn't be a bike, but a big scale engine......obviously with desmodromic valves! "

I'd *love* to see them do a modern version of 858/8858-2.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @WizardOfOss said:"Also, considering the name: Next Ducati set shouldn't be a bike, but a big scale engine......obviously with desmodromic valves! "

I'd *love* to see them do a modern version of 858/8858-2."

Yeah, exactly! A set like that would be awesome!