Hello all. I am about to embark on a mid life crisis, going to do my direct access having not been on a motorbike since a 50cc aged 17. I confess to knowing little about the world of motorbikes. Couple of questions - Anyone done their bike training with a Ducati dealer ? Ducati Rider Training - learn to ride on a Monster 696 thinking of Aylesbury and keen to do the Ducati course so I can learn on a Ducati as that's the bike I will get. Also as I get a discount on Ducati bikes through work I wanted to ask advice on which would be a good first bike. Head says stick with Scrambler, heart says Monster 821 Stripe or what I really want is an XDiavel but not keen on a) the weight and b) the power and c) if I drop it I will be very p***d off. Help ! Thanks
Aylesbury are regularly training people out in the car-park. Regarding the bike, its a personal choice & depends on you're riding plans. I prefer sit up adventure bikes as I munch through the miles to see & experience places. Some stick with sports bikes to gain thrills & exceleration whilst the kids are growing up etc. I'd say go with a slightly bigger bike so that in year two or three you are able to still be shitted up by its beastly mannerisms.
Id be tempted to take recommendations of riding schools disregarding the bike you learn on. If youve got an excess of money then buying new will be fine and youll soon get shut of a few notes on insurance for the first year. Buy something you wont mind dropping. You are very likely to drop it. Better still, buy something japanese thats seen better days, it wont break down so youll spend more time developing skills. Good luck with the training.
Thanks for the reply. Will be fairweather riding only weekend outings etc. and maybe some commuting. Heard good reports about training at onyerbike (Ducati Aylesbury) Have no real excess of cash - my 2 kids take care of that ! For Deposit + ~£120/month + insurance I can get it out of my system (or not!)
Congrats on contemplating getting on a bike. Personally, I know very little about bikes, I just like them. You will either love them, or hate them. I don't think its something you would do out of necessity. People on here enjoy the scrambler and they own full on sportsbikes. Get what your wallet allows and if that means a Diavel, get it and enjoy it. Ask for opinions, but you will lots of opinions. You need to choose. I need a Ducati like a hole in the head, but ride down the road, I know why I picked them. For me, they are shit your pants fast. Bloody expensive bikes though. As I said, most bikes are quick. Just take it easy, leave your balls at home for a while and enjoy whatever your on.
Sound's familiar story to me. I had not been a bike since about 17 years of age. And had always been steadfastly into the 4 wheeled mode of transport. Now have seen the light, and to be honest only 2 wheels will hit the spot. My bike just had to be a Ducati. Nothing else would do. I went for a Hyperstrada in the end as it just ticks all the boxes for my needs. And for me it is plenty fast enough when I want it to be. Good luck with whatever you end up with. Just make sure it's red :relaxed:
Welcome to the forum! Just keep in mind, it's a Ducati! You will wonder WTF is that rattle/noise/vibration? And you might not be able to see out of the mirrors! But I wouldn't get rid of mine for love or money
Welcome to the world of addiction...I say that from experience as every time I sell a Duc on - within a year I need to have another one (I'm on my third)! While I'm pretty well in the same position as you...skint, 3 kids, big mortgage etc etc I would say get 2 bikes....get your xDiavel but, also get another older one. You could get an old monster for a couple of k. Use that one for all the donkey work, commuting in the rain (if you choose to) etc etc and keep the other one for the nice stuff. Case in point is myself. Ive got 3 bikes, 3 completely different types of bikes that I like. If I only had the one id always want the other but because ive got the 3 then I'm not pressured or needing to change and if I ever did I wouldn't sell my soul to get "the new one that I wanted". Its a bit lad logic but it works...plus if you do have say the 2 bikes that you want it stops you looking at others...ie ive got an RSV4 but in my eyes its the same as any other racer ie an r1 so ill look an r1 one day and think "nice, but I'm pretty well got the same thing..." Anyway I'm just riding round on the banks hardware I may as well enjoy it instead of some shit house banker...
