Happiness...is a warm Duc. Bang bang, shoot shoot.
A truly happy person...so rare these days!
I've scaled back to a Speed Four for my high-mileage commuting but I know what you mean. How nice that a motorcycle has brought you happiness. Sure it's temporary but so is all happiness. Ride on.
Ahhh...your quest for eternal happiness is now over! Or were you just as happy with the other bikes initially? The other owner rode a whopping 5K miles in 3 years (overt Gabe Manifesto reference) and was probably just as happy initially. How long till all that "character" becomes irritating?
Oh well, enjoy the bike, but you already know that your happiness will most likely be fleeting. The greatest happiness of all is to be content with what you have. I struggle with it every day....
Our local track here in the Phoenix area has a test ride day and brought several Ducs to test ride.
I rode the 999 and ST3 and was very impressed with both actually to the point of planning my next purchase to be a 999. The bike just flat went like stink around the track without any drama what so ever. The ST3 as well although I dragged the center stand hard on the ST3 in the very first corner after coming off of the 999.
My only concerns about this trade were just what you mentioned. COST!!!! Not just in what the extra price of the bike would be but what about insurance costs on a 999 and what kind of mileage and reliability does it have?
>>The good folks at Ducati of Oceanside are organizing Track Days at Willow springs ...
Beware of track days!!!
After taking my 996 to the track a few times the street wasn't fun anymore. I needed more and more track time. Soon I was selling my 996 just to get my fix. I resorted to the crack house of motorcycles... the Kawi EX500 racer.
Racing had its hold on me as I spent all my time, energy and money on getting my next track time fix. Soon Visa was calling me about that trip to Daytona. The landlord called about late rent and my buddy wanted me to clean up the mess in his garage. (I could swap an EX motor in less than 45 minutes)
Now I'm going through therapy and being introduced to two wheels slowly. Starting with a bicycle. They say if I can handle that I can move up one notch to a Harley.
Great write up! I enjoy hearing other people's experiences. I am actually thinking of performing the opposite trade- I have a Ducati SuperSport now, and am looking to sell or trade for a Buell or Speed Triple. The handling and braking on my duc is great, and the power is plenty to get me into trouble. Only downside is the riding position, it's not the position itself, it's the lack of airflow. On those hot days, I get hotter quicker than on unfaired bikes.
Thanks for validating my next purchase a 06 ZX-6R Kawasaki 636. I love how the BuellerMuellers get on MO saying how their 1940's vintage engined Buells can spank everything in site. Now we have a first hand account how a Ducati spanked a Buell. Since it is common knowledge Ducati 748s and 9s are inferior to Japanese 600 inline 4s. Common knowledge meaning racing results and every motorcycle comparo known to man. By extrapolation one must conclude that the ZX-6R and it's Japanese brethren are indeed superior to Buells.. Thanks signit98.
By the way I suspect those who think 600s are not the best value in motorcycles have either never ridden one or rode a 600 10 years ago...By the way my 01 ZX-6R has 98 hp
It is true that track day addiction (or TDA as my therapist calls it) will melt all but the sturdiest of credit cards, and generally turn ordinary people into raving lunatics.
You're absolutly right, K. A new Kawi is your only real option. Don't even look at other bikes with differant riding positions or engine types, you've found the best right from the git-go.
Actually, I really enjoyed the write up as well, and it was useful as I am thinking about making the opposite transition, that is going from sportbikes to naked bikes, specifically an s2r.
Your insecurity astounds me. Are you really so weak minded and unsure of yourself that you have to validate your decision to ride a 600cc Kawasaki by deriding anything different than what you ride?
I used to think you were stupid. I have figured out that you have prevalent insecurity issues. You're only able to validate your decisions by viewing all other choices as inferior. A secure person makes a decision for a particular situation, and moves on. Your insecurity prevents you from simply accepting your decision; you have to rationalize your decision by
convincing yourself all others are wrong.
If you were secure, you wouldn't care what decisions other people made. You'd be glad that they're happy.
Track day addiction is probably a real chemical addiction to whatever adrenaline, endorphins, or whatever else your body generates during track time. Watch the movie Riding Giants and note how Laird Hamilton, a big wave surfer, gets truly depressed when there are no waves.
Nope. I have 8 motorcycles. 4 dirt bikes, 4 street bikes. Some air cooled, some water cooled. Singles, twins, Hondas, Yamahas, BMWs. None of my bikes have been back in a shop after I've purchased them. I do all maintenance/repair/modification myself. Even have built my own CDI boxes.
Since I was twelve, I've probably owned 20 motorcycles. I worked as a mechanic at a Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki shop. Back in the late 1970s/early 1980's, hopped up a TON of Kz900/KZ100s. I like I-4's as much as anyone. I used to demo EVERYTHING.
My favorite ride of all time was the 1979 Honda CBX. I-6. The most technologically advanced motorcycle of its day, and it is STILL beautiful. Too bad i was only 18 when it came out, and I was saving for engineering school.
The whole point is that I've ridden everything, and can see benefits and disadvantages to everything I've ridden. Engineers make choices, designers make choices, and CONSUMERS make choices.
To disavow someone's decision is childish and illustrates your security problems. How many different motorcycles have you ridden? Have you ridden a Buell? I have. I liked it. I decided not to buy one, and moved on. My brother has a Buell (one of only a few in Switzerland), and he loves it. Good for him. He's happy.
Didn't get it yet, any day now. I had to make some changes so the Dyna fell through. I am getting a Thruxton though, that should still work out.
'Far as kickin' me out, you'll have to catch me first....I don't have a GPT anyway but my grey chin beard is almost long enough to braid, does that count?
Balony, he's from Colorado, only thing blue on him is mug from ranting about republicrates so much instead of riding.
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