Hello everyone a quick gidday and a bit about my bike.I've been reading all the posts here and find them very informative. As a lifelong bike rider you go through a lot of motorcycles,just wanted to say i've found one i don't feel like changing,much it's just got a pair of staintunes and man that sound...life changing experience.I can ride this thing at nearly legal speeds and have a ball,yummy. cheers everyone peter
Greetings from one old fart enjoying a GT1000 to another old fart enjoying a GT1000. Mine's not quite standard, but each to their own/vive la difference etc.
Hello guys thanks for the replies and a nice pic of your bike.Will post some of mine when i get that part figured out.Off on a two day poker run down thru the southwest to pemberton in an hour or two.Looks like i'll get to see how good the new michelin pilot threes are in the rain.Cheers.
Nice pics of your bike. Sky looks rather strange though, doesn't often look like that over here! Where in Australia are you based?
I don't know how you guys can bear to winterize a bike and not ride it for that long,although i understand. I live in safety bay which is about 25kms south of fremantle and 50kms south of perth western australia.It's a temperate climate pretty much fine skies year round.The pix were taken on a rare cloudy summers day.Forgive the occasional childish outburst of enthusiasm,riding this bike makes you feel like a 14 year old with his first hard on,apologies for the grammar but still true.The michelins are very good in the wet. cheers everyone
I ride my bike through winter, but only at weekends as I can't use it for work. We didn't actually have any snow during the last winter where I live, the first time that's happened for years. The bike is cleaned after every ride & I also have heated riding gear for when the temperature is low. The main challenge is the salt used by the Highways Agency over here, hence the post-ride wash & liberal use of protective sprays. The weather was very nice yesterday, so I cleared off on the bike for a couple of hours whilst Her Indoors went to see her mother. I couldn't join her in visiting the mother in law as I had misplaced my garlic neck chain... :Happy:
Looking good there even with a few clouds. Got to agree with you on the addition of some fruity exhausts, completely sold on that when just pottering around. Quick question, is that a standard seat on your GT?
Err no i cheated and bought the ducati comfort seat,does what it says it will plus a set of racetech fork springs,a huge improvement over the stock jobbies.
Rudolf i've seen lots of cars imported to here from the uk.I'm in the smash repair industry here(spraypainter)and it brings a whole new meaning to the word rust
In the winters of 2012 & 2013 it was reported that the Highways Agency round here had put down so much salt that plants normally associated with coastal regions were found growing on roadside verges. The nearest coast is at least 80 miles away.... ACF-50 is my bike's winter friend...
Thanks mate.Just finished reading another thread here and someone was saying that the gt1000's had a bit of a grandad look about them.If he meant the bike looks a bit outdated and simple,like myself,i feel flattered.It's what first attracted me to the gt.Back in the day i spent years racing motorcycles and did some silly things on the street as well,survived it but my licence was'nt so lucky.Told you motorcycles will keep you fit by occasionally making you walk for a while.So nowadays it's fun to putter around listening to that gentle boom and knowing that on any sunday up in the hills east of me i can sneak up on the young fellas and their more modern bikes to have some fun.If we all stop at the same cafe you get some funny looks when they see a wrinkled grey haired bloke after helmets off. Rudolph how do the chrome wheels stand up to all that salt over a long period of time? ps meant to add that i realize you don't run standard rims.Apart from stopping bugs committing hari kari on the back of the instruments are there any other benefits to running a bug smasher like yours?
My bike was 2 years old when I bought it & the previous owner (another oldie) had managed to wangle the replacement of the original chrome-plated steel wheels with alloy rims from a Sport 1000 as a warranty claim. The spokes on the replacement wheels were showing signs of corrosion so I looked at many different options: Have the wheels re-laced with better/different spokes by a decent wheel builder Change to Alpina or Kineo (spoked) wheels to also run tubeless tyres (pricey) Change to Carozzeria cast wheels to ditch the spokes & also run tubeless (very pricey) Change to Oz or similar wheels to achieve same as Carozzeria but with less weight (v.v. pricey) Trawl t'interweb & find wheels from another Ducati that might fit the GT1000 As I'm as tight as a duck's arse (and they don't let in water) and with university beckoning for 2 daughters, I decided to use the last option. With much assistance from the ever helpful Phil at Italia Moto (Lincoln), I ended up buying a new pair of 5-spoke Marchesinis (intended for the ST4S) from a guy in Holland. The rear was a straight fit, but the front needed a bit of jiggery-pokery (a highly technical process that follows much consideration over pints of cask ale) to compensate for a 10mm offset in order to fit the GT1000. The chosen solution was found in Phil's parts bin. A second hand front axle from a Monster S2R and the front disc rotors from a 749R mated nicely with the Marchesini & the GT forks. I also took the opportunity to ditch the OEM Michelin Pilot Classics & the associated inner tubes. Dunlop had recently introduced the RoadSmart tyres & Phil had heard good reports, so the 5-spoke rims were dressed in the new Dunlop rubber. The overall effect seems to be slightly quicker steering (as judged by the seat of my pants), though perhaps not quite as quick as that on the Monster I used to ride. I prefer to run tubeless tyres as a safety thing (just my opinion), as tubeless tyres can deflate slower in the event of a puncture & they may be easier to repair - subject to the location & type of puncture. The 5-spokes are definitely easier to clean than the traditional spokes & they are not corroding in any way. I'm still running RoadSmarts, I get good mileage from them & I'm happy with their performance on both dry & wet roads. The fork springs were changed a couple of years ago for HyperPro progressive springs. I'm sure the OEM springs are good on the lovely smooth roads of Italy, however British roads differ significantly. Our taxes go to providing gravy train-riding politicians with nice second houses, butlers, nannies & new duck houses in the moats of their mansions. Our taxes don't seem to contribute to the road surfaces. The HyperPros give me a much smoother ride over a variety of roads, this was important because I spend most of my riding time on country A or B roads that are rarely re-surfaced. The feeling on some roads that I was holding a jack hammer, has gone away. The flyscreen was on the bike when I bought it, and it's the original Ducati Performance accessory. As you say, it reduces the suicidal tendancies of bugs to end their life on the GT's instruments. It doesn't really do much to reduce wind blast unless I adopt a crouched riding position, but I'd feel rather silly doing that on the GT. I have pondered switching to something slightly larger such as a Dart screen, but by my 2nd pint have come to the realisation that I can't really be bothered & I quite like the DP screen. The zorsts were on the bike when I bought it. They are Termignonis with the matching DP ECU & modded airbox lid. The bike has been serviced/set up sans baffles by Nelly at Cornerspeed & it is beautifully smooth. It is quite loud, our dogs can hear me before I turn on to our road. But at least Her Indoors knows when to put the kettle on & an added bonus is the ability to set off the car alarm on the Jaguar X-type of the people opposite. Gives them something to consider after they have had a noisy party into the wee small hours.... I also have a Ventura rack/grab rail on the back of the bike. This is used purely as a grab rail for Her Indoors. I looked at the Ducati accessory rack, but the chrome plating didn't look thick enough to withstand our winters with Saxo thrown all over the place. Hope my lengthy ramblings are of some help. You may have guessed that I'm really attached to my GT1000. The Sport Classics have appreciated in used value over here, but I have no plans to sell. I would like a second bike, but that may have to wait until we see how the finances look when I retire. Cheers RH
