| Author | Message | ||
     Mikef5000 |
I meant to post a reminder yesterday... Tonight! 6:00 - 9:00 Grandview Ave, between 1st and 3rd Ave's, in Grandview Heights Columbus OH, 43212 Euro Bike night with free Ducati Hypermoto Demo's! I am stuck at work till 8:00, but I will be there by 8:10 for sure! | ||
| Badlionsfan |
I didn't know you were still alive?? | ||
| Mikef5000 |
LOL! Everytime I post now I get this same responce! That could be because I'm only posting about every other week, as opposed to the 57 times a day that I used to do. I'm rebuilding a car, working to damn much, and preparing for a Euro trip. I haven't had time to deal with the parts falling off, and oil spewing out of my Cyclone. I'm also trying to get into cheaper hobbies.... like fishing! Nothing like waisting away 3 hours of an afternoon with friends at a total cost of $3 for worms. But for some reason I'm just not getting the same rush from fishing as I get from motorcycing. I'll get cracking on the motorcycle later in the summer (after the Euro Trip) and get it all sorted out and prepared for Mid-Ohio... and hopefully the WV Buell Rally. Homecoming is not going to work out though.  | ||
| Badlionsfan |
sounds like time to upgrade to an xb to me!  | ||
| Thumper74 |
Mike, I know you're not enthused about buying a new bike, but... My new local dealer on the west side of Cleveland has an 04 or 05 demo with 600 miles, factory warranty still remains for like $6500... I've got 11,000 on mine since December and it's a tank. No issues other than a side stand (Message edited by Thumper74 on June 25, 2008) | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Believe me, I would LOVE to buy a new bike (can you say XT?!) but it's just not in the cards. The Ducati demo's were impressive as hell! It was an 18 mile loop, that took over half an hour! Right on! My Take on the Ducati Hypermotard 1100: The bike is light as hell! Very Nice! Engine: Powerful, but extremely twitchy. It was jerking me around just trying to cruise at a constant speed. I'm told that 1) the demo bikes with the Term@#$ exhaust were not like this, and 2)after they break in they smooth out (mine had 300 miles on it). It was very smooth and powerful from 3 grand on, no waiting for the power to hit at all. The front brakes were good, but I didn't think they were great, and from all the hype they were getting, I was definitely expecting them to be better. They were powerful, but the feel was pretty crappy. If you squeezed the lever while it was stopped, it felt mushy. I tested a handful of them to make sure mine was 'normal'. Rear brake was useless. Hopefully it is adjustable, and was just adjusted terribly, because I couldn't hit it if I tried it was so much lower then the foot peg. Tranny was perfect. I loved the seating position. 100% perfectly upright, and not cramped at all. Many of the sportbike guys hated that, they like being 'in' the bike rather than 'on' it, but I definitely could get used to it. There is one part about the bike that is HUGELY important, and in this bikes case is absolutely terrible! I CANNOT believe Ducati let this bike out of their factory with this seat. I absolutely COULD NOT believe how terribly uncomfortable the seat is. It's like a board, which I can understand... dirt bike / motard style... but it's thin and slanted forward at the same time. So as soon as you sit down, you're using muscles to hold your ass in place, AND if you slip up for one second... instant wedgy. I spent the first 15 minutes moving all around, from the very front to the very back, just trying to find WHERE I'm supposed to sit so it's halfway comfortable. About half way through the ride I gave up searching, and I noticed riders around me began standing up! THE SEAT WAS SO UNCOMFORTABLE, RIDERS WERE STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A HALF HOUR DEMO! What in the HELL were they thinking when they made this thing? Did they demo it on the track, and forget about the street??? Did they forget that some people want to ride more than a 20 minute session? (OBVIOUSLY not built from the rider down) I had a chance to sit on the Ducati gel seat after my ride, and it was much better. It was not completely flat, so it actually had a seat shape in it where I was 'supposed' to sit. My conclusion.... Nice as hell bike, not perfect, and most definitely not for me, but I'm damn glad I got a chance to ride one... and I'd play with one on a track or in the mountains in a heartbeat. | ||
| Thumper74 |
I heard Italians had smaller butts than their North American bretheren. If you liked that, try to catch a demo of a new Triumph Tiger. Wicked! (Message edited by Thumper74 on June 26, 2008) | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I'm still waiting to demo an XT and TT. Those are the two bikes I think I'd be actually interested in.... whenever I can fit a new bike into the plans. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Here's some shots from the night:         |
