Sup fellow Dookie riders. I'm here to say hi, share the story of I came to own a Ducati and the process that got it back on the road but also to pose a few questions. It all began when I bought a 96 cherry red XV 535 Virago in amazing condition. My boss at the time got super jealous and had to 1 up me, he went and got a beautiful S4 from France. In most countries that would be the end of the tale, but this is Luxembourg and nothing is easy around here. He was barred from registering the bike due to lots of bureaucracy and the fact that the bike had had the rear fender removed. (In Luxembourg it's hard to get a bike through customs and MOT without it being 100% genuine or getting your wallet raped by officially adding notes on the registration.) The bike was originally running like crap. The monstrous torque made the bike even harder to handle and after half a dozen of rides, my ex boss now friend got tired of the constant fear of riding it and put it in storage to sell it later. No one wanted the trouble. I stepped up. For the bike he wanted 3k euros, I proposed to work for him if he ever needed an extra hand at the bar for free until the debt was settled. I got the bike! The regret came creeping then... Only 1 cylinder working. 3 year old new looking belts 140€( That was a tough one to swallow ) Clogged fuel filter 25€ The bike had a repair log showing pretty much all range of oils that at one point someone decided to put in it... After unscrewing the sump, loads of metal shavings came out *facepalm*, friends told me it must've been from the screw being stripped. Looked like it but I'm only 90% sure. New oil 60€ ( 4L of Shell Advance Ultra 40w10 ) Oil filter 25€ Off brand license plate holder 20€ New NGK sparks 36€ the pair Luckily it had brand new tyres, still had the slippery coat, he gave them for free. Plus 2 sets of exhausts, 1 OEM and 1 OEM from another model with absolutely no fillings, the baffler is there but it's pretty much a pair of straight pipes, which were causing a slight malfunction due to lack of back pressure. Now the bike runs great but sounds like a crappy Honda. Will need a ECU tuning. All in all, including the paperwork... Over 800€ euros and 6 months of struggle with just minor maintenance work, imagine if it had damage... I wonder if I knew how much it would cost, would I still get it? I think so. You'll find attached the pics I sent to Ducati in Italy so that they could send me the technical sheet so I could register it in Luxembourg... 220€ for something I could've forged with my home printer Thanks for reading, Francis.
I guess iI'l be Dave now... What choice do I have? If the big Dookie boss calls you Dave, you become Dave.
It is! Damn you have sharp eyes mate! It's such a simple and amazing gadget, lets me know when it's safe to start riding a little harder, it came with the bike and I love it.
