Spring 2022

Hitting 12 years  I think I’m going to get a new exhaust for it. I think it totally deserves something new. 😊 

Highway 20

No rain usually means getting a ride in or two. The Monster got to stretch its legs a bit this season - and got an oil change at 26,499 miles ($201). Even with the Streetfighter in the garage, somehow, this is the one that I still want to take out for the longer rides. :)

Also, looking at this blog, just realized that it is almost 10 years to the day that I picked up the Monster.  Amazing how time flies.

25,404

25,404 miles as of Oct 2018.  I have had some decent rides this season. A long trip out to the Redwoods, up and down the Oregon/ Washington coast line a couple of times, the Mountain Loop highway that included 12 miles of unpaved dirt road - a big deal for an Italian that likes nothing but smooth asphalt. I may still have a few more riding days, so not packing it in yet, but wanted to get this "yearly" post up with some photos. No maintenance/ random costs this season, so far. :)

Ducati maintenence costs!!!

You always hear people complaining about the costs of owning a Ducati - and then someone ostensibly comes by and says that it costs just as much as any bike.... well if you don't ride your bike, then its true, it does not cost much, a service or two every couple of years and you are good.

Well, I just did one of the major services on a Monster 796, with a comparatively smaller engine, a twin with a total of 4 valves.  The service itself mainly consisted of checking a bunch of stuff and when there was work to be done, i.e. three valves adjusted/ shims/ fork oil changes, you get charged a solid amount, so this little visit to the shop cost a little over $1,600 - to be fair, this also included a little exploratory surgery to figure out some electrically issues, which ended up being a bad headlight connector that was blowing fuses, every time it shorted.

So in all, in the last couple of months, a new tire, battery, brakes and a full service ended up being a little over $2,200, but who's keeping count ;).  It is running soooooooo much smoother now and all the lights work - so worth it, I guess.

Red Vespa

I don't think the Red Vespa has been introduced. This is a 2006 150LX.  It's a perfect bike for city riding, given its basically a twist and go.  Fast enough for the side streets and manuerable, so I can really mess with the cars in town :). 

Took a short ride out yesterday around town.  Took my camera with me so here are some shots. Some great back roads around here that are super fun on a scooter.