First ride of 2011

So even though it was freezing outside, the sun was out and I just had a get a ride in. The 848 has been neglected (plus the monster has one fork wrapped), so decided to take it out. Average air temp freezing at 32F. I guess, it'll take me a week or two to thaw out but it was still nice to get a short run in.

Road conditions-

Forks

Happy new year!! - January is living up to its reputation, with highs of 35F and ice/ gravel on the road, riding is not particularly fun, so decided to take a bit of time and wrap the forks black. I'm not sure if I like them, so holding of wrapping the other one. We'll see how it goes.

Here is what is looks like.





Oh, and here is a better shot of the sprocket cover.

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.

Oil drip?!?

I thought I was done with riding for the season, but yep, I got to ride the monster this weekend.

For the winter I basically end up putting the bikes on a battery tender, but even so, I still like to go out and start them up, hear the rumble - try running a 848 with Termi's (no baffels) and a 796 at the same time in a garage (with the door open), neighbors hate you, but they sound awesome and its fun ;). Anyway, was running the 796 and after about 5 min or so, saw a little puddle form at the bottom....hmm.., looked a little closer and it was oil - crap! Dug a bit more and looked like it was coming from the oil filter, not a whole bunch, but a steady drip. Turned it off and as the bike cooled down, the drip stopped.

Called up the dealer and he said to bring it in so yep, in the 15 mins where it stopped raining on Sat, rode it out to the dealer to have them check it out. I was concerned that the 796 may have inherited the "oil leak from the engine block" issue that the 696 had. So the guys at the shop call me up in the afternoon and tell me it was just a bad seal on the oil filter- whew! - so a minor thing, something I probably could have fixed myself, but did not want to mess with it if it was something else. Regardless, a WTF moment, courtesy of Ducati.

Now I need to find another 15 mins of dry weather to go get the bike back from the shop. :)

And here are the pics.

The "drip".


And the Monster 696 oil leak. I got this pic of a bike I was looking to get early this year.

And its snowing!

Snow in November. Last year I went out for a ride out to Crown Point in the Columbia river gorge in November. This year, as with the sucky summer, it is snowing! so yet another gear entry. This time around the jackets. I have 3 that I wear regularly .



First and my favorite is the Dainese Vintage jacket. This is a full leather jacket with armor built into the shoulders and elbows. Zips up to Dainese pants. It does not have any back protection (not even a foam insert). That said, there is a pocket built in if you want to get the Dainese G2 protector. I usually end up wearing my regular back protector underneath and it fits just fine.

Fit- when it is all zipped up, armor hardly moves*, which is super important if you go down. It was a bit tight at first but as it has broken in, now it just feels right, even with a thin fleece under it for those cold days.

Breathability - very little. This is a jacket for the cooler days. It has a couple of air vents under the arms, but that is about it. No liner in this one either. So a very basic jacket, but great build and quality.





The 2nd one, the Dianese Portland jacket, is my summer jacket. This is constructed with Dainese d-skin fabric with a mesh back. Armor in shoulders/ elbows. The cool thing about this jacket is that it comes with a removable back protector, which is super convenient as I don’t have to wear another piece of riding gear and it keeps the jacket in place. The bad, no zipper to attach to pants and the back protector does not fit in my other jackets - I tried :(.



This jacket has been road tested and worked flawlessly. It took brunt of the impact on the shoulder. Armor stayed in place and did its job. If it had moved or not been there I likely would have ended up with some broken parts.



And when I really want to pimp it up, out comes the Tattoo. This was more of an impulse buy while at the Dainese store in Italy (first stop after checking into the hotel ;), but I do like the detailed work that went into it. This is more of a summer jacket and has a combination of leather (perforated) and d-skin material, so is breathable. Armor in shoulders/ elbow, nothing in the back. Includes a zipper for pants. I was a bit disappointed in the build quality on this one as a month into owning it, some of the stitching at the edge of the jacket started coming apart!!! Called Dainese, and they did fix it, but left a bad taste. Other than that, this too has worked well and it definitely gets some attention.





*I recall my first jacket. I had no clue what I was doing, the sales people were unhelpful and I ended up getting a jacket which was super comfortable to wear while walking around, but 3 sizes to large.

Back to rain

I like Indian summers, too bad that in the pacific northwest it decided to come about in the middle of the week for three days (with near 70 degree weather) and the on schedule the rain returns on the weekend. So what is one to do, but take off early from work, even if it is just to ride the bike out to a coffee shop and work from there. Given the timing of the weather, I was not able to get a long ride in, but did get in a couple of short rides, which included detours on to bike lanes and some pics among the leaves.



No new mods on the bike. I'm thinking about powder coating the exhaust as a winter project, but need to find someone local who can do a decent job and does not cost an arm and a leg. Also want to get new levers. Ducati put on adjustable levers, but only if they could have made them black.

Also looking for some winter gloves. Riding in 45-50 degree weather is not kind on hands. Rev-it seems to have some good options, so need to go down to the bike shop and see what I can find out - I have ridden with glove liners which works for short distances but not the most effective, so think it is time for proper gloves.

Riding in the leaves does tend to make the bike a bit dirty, so washed the bikes yesterday and then, of course had to take a couple of shots. :) My perferred washing materials: Honda Brite for washing/ taking the grime off, Plexus for polishing (awesome stuff), followed by a quick 10 min ride to blow off any remaining water; warm up the chain a bit and then finish off cleaning/ waxing the chain with Chain Wax.

Gear- Back/ Knee protection

When it comes to gear, often overlooked are a back protector and some sort of protection for the knees/ shins, when one is not wearing riding pants. When it comes to jackets/ pants and overall protective gear- I love the stuff put out by Dainese. It is well made (most of the time), provides great protection and just fits well, at least for me/ my medium build.

For back protection, I have the Wave Air protector. It fits nicely underneath jackets, covers the full length of the spine and is built in pieces so it moves with you, so as not to restrict your movement. Luckily (knock on wood), I have not road tested it, but seems like it would do the job. One issue I'm having with it after owning it for a couple of years is that the velcro is starting to wear out. So either I need to lose* or gain weight so I can close it at a different spot.

For knees/ shins, when I'm not wearing riding pants, I usually wear the Dainese Knee - V Protector underneath jeans (and I know, people say it's overkill, but hey, I kinda like my knees, no matter how knobby). These are made of hard plastic with padding underneath and three straps, one above the knee and two around the calf. Compared to what other manufacturers (Icon/ AlpineStars) offer, these are pretty streamlined, cover top of the knee and the shin and fit very nicely under jeans- inside boots without sticking out or being overly bulky.

*Really not gonna happen

And here are the pics

Fall riding

Have not had much of a chance to ride in the few weeks - gotta work as well to pay for the toys. We got a couple of dry, sunny days last week to took the 796 out as riding days in the NW are now numbered. Went west of Portland to one of the well know motorcycling roads and had a blast. Roads were still clear(can't say that after this weekend), weather in the 70's and hardly any traffic. Went down a side road into a camp ground and took some pics.





What roads looked like today.

Gear- Helmets

Pouring outside, so no riding today, instead some more gear reviews. This time it’s the helmets. I have two that I end up wearing most of the time - an Arai Vector and a Scorpion EXO 400. I bought the Scorpion about three years ago and have had the Arai for a little over a year now. The Scorpion, cost me about $160 and has been a great lid. It fits well, the lining can be taken out - so when I sweat and stink it up, I can just take it out and throw it in the washer (cold water and air dry). It is also not very heavy, hardly ever any fogging on the shield and most of all, it is really stable at high speeds, i.e. no bobbing of the head due to the wind. The other really positive thing about this is how easy it is to change the shield - just twist the shield holder on the side and it pops out. That said, I usually just have the tinted shield on this one and use it when it's sunny/ when I'm not expecting to ride in the dark, etc. In the three years I have had it, I have had no issues with it, other than the snap on the strap that melted because I hung it from my foot peg and it touched the hot exhaust - so completely my fault. Now the Arai. Cost about $400. The positives - great fit; a little more comfortable than the Scorpion, but I don't know I that is good or bad - helmets are supposed to be super snug. It is very "pretty" :), paint job on it is amazing, colors just pop. Venting is good so you get good airflow, however, it can get cold when the temps drop. The negatives (or as we say in the biz world, "areas of improvement"). It would be nice if I could take the liner out; even though the shield has air vents, it does not prevent it from fogging; noticeable headshake at speed and worst of all, changing the shield is a pain (that is why I only have a clear shield on it and wear it in the evening/ cloudy days, etc.). Also, in the year and a half, the side-pods that go over the shield have broken twice, for no reason whatsoever, i.e. I was not changing shields, taking it off or anything- it just broke off - the strap also frayed bad enough that I could not snap it shut. Now that said, Arai's customer service has been amazing. They have replaced the side pod twice and fixed the strap as well (although I had to send in the helmet for that to be done), but it was all very easy, I contacted them via email, they replied within a day and fixed the problem. But should the helmet really have had these issues in the first place?!? oh well. Needless to say, of the two, I would say I end up wearing the Scorpion about 70% of the time.

weekend rides..

Weather in the Pacific Northwest is unpredictable, especially in the fall and spring seasons, one day it can be beautiful, sunny, temps in the 80's and the next day it is raining (sometimes, snowing/ hailing) with a high of 50. And I am not fond of riding in the rain - I mean, what is the point of riding, when you are slipping and sliding around on the street.

Well, that is what the last week has been like- great during the week and cloudy and somewhat on the cooler side on the weekends. I did, however, get out for a ride or two. Took the 848 out, better wind protection, plus I have been neglecting it a bit since I got the 796 and was missing it. Great ride out in wine country and the bike just felt great, focused, power on demand and it just felt very connected.

I also continue to notice the differences . The seat, the 848 just has a plank after spending a few hours on it, the 796 feels plush- I would also say the same for the suspension, monster is akin to a grand tourer, it just soaks up the imperfections in the road and is much, much more forgiving on the family jewels. Both bikes have their pluses and minuses but again both are super fun machines.







Can't be a post without a Monster photo :)

signals...

After replacing the OEM signals in the rear, the front seemed d out of place, so decided to replace them with the Ducati LED's as well. Well, they look good, very visible but of course, nothing with Ducati is that simple. The blinking frequency is off (and yes, these have resistors built-in) i.e. when the bike is running, they blink at a normal rate (most of the time), but at a standstill, blink fast- like one of the bulbs is out.

The dealership noted that is normal as the circuit is off when the bike is not running, but I don't know.

Separate note, I also got the Rizoma sport grips today. Installed them and they left a gap of about half an inch on one side of the controls- kinda sucks and ruins the look/ feel. Controls can't be moved since there is a pin and the bars would need to be drilled. Ended up taking them off and just returning them. Next up- thinking of CRG shorty levers.