Farkle

Latest addition to the bike. Was at the dealership where they had a sale going and there was this cool looking black and red sprocket cover, that matched my new levers, just staring at me saying, buy me, buy me - so I just had to get it.

It was late in the day, so thought I would install the cover over the weekend, but Thursday night or should I say, Friday morning, suffering from jet lag after the recent trip to Dubai, I was up at 2:00 AM, so decided to install it then. It's a small piece, but I think it looks good on the bike and really like it.

Details: This is a speedy moto sprocket cover. It comes with two silver bolts, but I decided to use the stock black ones that blend in with the black frame.

Pics.

Levers

Since the bike was in the shop for the oil drip issue, I also decided to get the levers. I like CRG's but the problem was that the levers I liked came with a silver pivot and I wanted it to be all black. So went and spoke with the guys at Motocorsa to see if they could get CRG folks to switch out the pivot with one of their all black ones. Well, they were able to work their magic and got me what I wanted. First impressions, in the short ride home, I like them. I got the shorties, so on the brake side, no issues as I'm a one finger braker. On the clutch side, however, my pinkie kinda hangs out there, really not knowing what to do :)so need to get used to that.

As always nothing is without its quirks - just realized that on the clutch side, the switch that lets you start the bike in gear does not engage in the first and second setting. Not a big deal, but as I said, just quirky. :)

UPDATE: Fixed the issue with the clutch by sticking a small piece of tape to the lever, the kind with the foam to depress the switch when the clutch is pulled in. :)

Ducati Dubai

In Dubai for the last week or so and had recently read that they opened up a new Duc dealership here, so decided to go check it out. Nice shop, but nothing to write home about. It was like any other bike dealership out there, actually really small compared to some of the shops that I have been to in the U.S. In stock there, a couple of monsters, Hypers, one Multi and an 848. It also had a beautiful 1198R Corsa edition on display and that was about it. Prices for the bikes are higher here. A monster 796 came out to be around $14K.

Other than that it is really nice to be in 80 degree weather with clear skies and sunny days, while it is cold and rainy in the Pacific NW. Not many bikes out here (other than the Sub-way, Pizza Hut and Burger King, delivery guys on 150cc Hondas) in the street- have only seen one Duc, a red Monster S2R 1000, a few BMW's and a couple of Harley cruisers.

The pics.