I am afraid there is no hope for me. As all of my last bikes and cars have been Ducati's and Alfas, but to me there is nothing like the feel, the flair, Italian style, pride of ownership that you with them. I just like being that bit different to the usual Jap bike/German car mentality.
I keep thinking about getting ride of one of mine for a modern (ish) adventure /hyper tourer style bike. But it's kind of like flogging your favourite nan to a sex trafficking ring... Just plain wrong
I loved the look of the 916 when it came out, and read everything I could about them and the 748 at the time. I also remember an article in Performance Bikes where they bought 3 or 4 used bikes for a couple of grand to compare, one was a M600 (another was an RG500!) and that got me interested in the Monster - I can still picture them wheelying it.... I had a bike experience day around Cadwell on a 748, my 'first' Ducati, where I learnt how to ride one properly, I won't say fast, but it was certainly different to the IL4s I had to that point. For some reason I continued to buy IL4s afterwards as well. When I eventually bought my first Monster (M750), I can remember how it felt when I discovered the extra 1/4 turn of the throttle for the first time, how it dropped into slower corners, how it could worry bigger, flasher stuff down some well known B roads accompanied with a glorious soundtrack. There was a little hump backed bridge, just after a right hander and if it was clear, I could get the front end up while cranked over. Even after experiencing some of a Ducati's 'character' with my second Monster that got replaced with a CBR600, I missed the way Ducatis go and feel so now I'm on my third (S2R 800) and I don't know of anything that I could replace it with. I'm currently aware of a sheddy 600SS that's been standing for some time and we're just gently exploring the possibilities of that for the teenager as it seems we can restrict them for an A2 licence. He currently rides a Mito Evolution so that's almost a Ducati anyway
Hi Tony, It's a Brera Spider 2.4 20V jtdm 2009 - I've had it for 5 years, 4th Alfa in a row I have owned. Steve
The sight and sound of Mike Hailwood in 1978, thundering past me as I sat on the wall at Quarter Bridge. I felt the vibes through my body, and was hooked.
another memory i have is one of Raymond Roche thundering round Donnington, i think one Mick Doohan was there commenting on the race, he happened to mention that the 4 strokes would never be as quick as the GP bikes, just as Roche beat his lap record,
It's because they are Italian, they know a thingy or twa about emotive design, form over function, an awful lot of the most beautiful things ever dreamt up by man, woman or non specific gender identifier are Italian; they just do cool very well from bikes, cars, planes, grub, cities, clothes, boats, art, ships, trains, coffee makers, wine etc ad infinitum. And of course there are the women; dark, luscious, mercurial and and just like a Ducati.... a fucking great ride. However, when they age they get sluggish, temperamental and are a pain in the arse to live with but we have committed to them and love them dearly!
A mate got a 250 Mach1 in 1968 and couldn’t get on with it so I took over the hp payments and was smitten. Not Japanese and faster than any Brit 250 plus it went round corners on rails. Blew big end in 6 months though, nobody told you to check and change oil in those days since you just kept pouring oil into British bikes to cover for the loss. Then started repairing and selling bikes myself in 1974 and a coburn and hughs guy came in one day and asked if I wanted to sell Ducati’s from my little place so I took them. 250, 350 & 450 at first and sold a couple. Then saw the 750 Sport and got one delivered, cost about a grand then, and fell in love. Didn’t go for sale, I registered it in my name and ran it for a year or so, probably the best 750 around then. A local lad got a Z1 kwaka but I could beat him on the roads round the Lake District because of the handling, just so good. A lad working with me got one next and we went out every weekend with the objective of passing anyone we could find. Later years I was racing bikes and got an old 900SS with knackered cams and big end gone and rebuilt it to race in Manx. Sadly never got a finish on it, only bike I fell off on the IOM, twice. Not down to the bike though, just daft mistakes. You can’t get them out of your blood once you’ve been infected, I’m 70 this year and will probably go on DRE event at Mugello next year if this damned covid has gone. Better than sex.
For me it's the feel-good factor, they just feel special. I love everything: the clutch rattle, thumping termis and the iconic 916/996/998 looks. Non-bikers stare in awe at these bikes as much as fellow bikers! Even stationary they are a work of art. Italian vehicles somejow define the word exotic...
... agree with the Gotta say though that the Porsche 911 (up to the 993) deserves its reputation as a driver's car and design classic, and presses all the same emotional buttons as Alfas, for similar reasons... and it didn't rust quite as fast (my dad had an 80s Alfasud that was just bliss mechanically but was eventually scrapped due to rust...). Not as everyman though as an Alfasud: shame they all rusted away!
Yeah but it is a thing isn’t it? Ferrari, Lambo, Alfa, Lancia, Maserati, Ducati, MV, Aprilia, Riva boats, these are stand out beautiful vehicles throughout the years. Always form above all else
finally got my old st2 fired up the other day after much fiddling about, in my workshop, with the doors just open, thunderous is an apt desctiption of the noise, especialy with the ART cans, me mate heard it , in his shed, 100 tards away
Depends on the price really. £30 was a lot of money in my youth. She seemed quite happy at the time. Often wonder where she ended up.
When I was approaching seventeen and in the market for a 250 I saw a picture of the 250 Desmo and fell in love. Then all my mates started turning up on their shiny new Yamakawasuki's and somehow I got side tracked and joined the jap masses. Fast forward forty years after numerous jap and British bikes, and having secretly admired Ducati's from afar, I finally got one, and all i can say is that it was worth the wait. I can't define what it is about Ducati's, but I can confirm it is a thing!
had the first ride on my old st today after a good service and a bit of faffing about, only on a private road, but it made me feel like that teenager again, watching the 900ss thump round the track, its a feeling i will certainly get used too
For me it was the dry clutch sound as a kid. I used to know exactly when a Ducati was coming passed. The looks - when I passed my test it was within a aim to have a Ducati. Bought an 848 absolutely loved it, wheelie machine. have a 899 and the looks and sound on this thing are incredible. The looks I get from most people. im lucky enough to have a 999S in the garage as well. Opening up the garage and seeing them both there makes a childhood dream come true with the 999 after having a poster of it on my wall. would never go back from a Ducati!
