I wonder how many layers of dead bugs I need to scrape off my touring gear before cleaning it?
I actually washed my Stealth Suit for the first time in a year last week. Of course, I got rained on returning from the Ducati Demo rides :lol:
Speaking of which... I rode the 899 Panigale, Hypermotard 821, Multistrada, and lastly, the Diavel. All were fun and my favorites were the Hyper and Diavel. If I had funds for a track bike, the 899 would be it. I wasn't planning to take the Diavel out, but boy am I glad I did. What a riot 162 hp is
The 899 Panigale was the first supersport bike I ever rode, and I was prepared to be uncomfortable, however, I was not prepared for the heat this thing puts off. The route we did was 35 minutes of primarily urban stuff, so that meant 35mph speed limits. That was horribly boring. It was waaaay hotter than my VFR (which is brutal at those low speeds/stop and go traffic) and the heat comes up through the seat and on to both legs, whereas my VFR just roasts my right leg and heat just starts to come up through the seat only after a 35 or 45 minutes. Once I mastered the seating position (pinch tank with legs, sit back a little, and use your core to hold yourself up--normal procedure, but far more important on a supersport), the bike was comfortable. The suspension soaked up the bumps just as well as my VFR and handling was precise, as you'd expect. Naturally, we only had about 2-3 good turns for me to explore the handling, but overall an enjoyable ride. It's a very refined machine and will fart around town just fine. No finicky clutch or gearbox. Can't say as I was a fan of the display; too much going on on a black and white LCD, it ended up looking like word vomit. I'm also not a fan of the Ducati ride mode change (I rode in Sport mode) as I like to spam the turn signal cancel button. When we got to the highway and I could open it up for 5 seconds, unnnnnnfff. The sound it makes over 5k RPM is
Having said that, I was happy to climb on to the Multi after that :lol:
The Multi was the best bike I rode Sunday. I rode in touring mode and could have smoked anyone there on it. Very capable machine, very refined. The ride was the best I've ever experienced, incredibly composed, yet soft, but not wallowy. Everything about it was great. Blind- I now share your love for this machine.
I did not like the Hyper I rode as the engine surged heavily under 4k and the transmission was vague. I wish they had the larger 1100 available as the handling of the Hyper was the most fun. Definitely a hooligan bike--exactly what I expected/wanted it to be. I'll have one someday for sure.
The Diavel was goddamn awesome. I felt like the coolest motherfucker, despite wearing my spacesuit/full body condom
I've never ridden anything with a 240 rear tire, so handling was interesting at first, but once I got the hang of it, no problems, even at low speeds. It was hardly a corner carver, but I knew I wouldn't care. It's a muscle bike! Everyone who rode yet said it was fucking awesome, so I had to try it. I have to say, I agree and now know why they are selling so well.
AMS Ducati is awesome. Very cool shop, here's some of the neat stuff they had inside.
Panigale R
Superbikes
In other news, I've bought a Roadcrafter off eBay, black with hiviz ballistics which should arrive later this week or early next week. With all the rain we've been getting, I'm keen to try it out.
CrazyJeeper says I am now a suburban dentist who's car is a gold package Camry XLE :lol: