Watch a lad who lives round the corner go out on his R1 in his best shorts , T shirt & trainers , and no gloves
Managed to take my mind off my sore arse. Decided to check the tyre pressures on Carole’s Diavel before she goes out for a run tomorrow and managed to drag the side stand across my slippered toe Slippers are history having soaked up the blood that poured from my toe. It’s been a nice warm day though Andy
In contrast I had a coffee in town today and watched loads of bikes go by with lots of riders in heavy textile clothing. Looked really hunched up and uncomfortable. Another thing that occurred to me was how few bikes appeal to me these days. Non of the GS range or run of the mill bandit type bikes that seem so popular in fact very few jap bikes at all. Maybe an MT10 ? I’m sure they are all very good but I remember years ago the press called them UJM or universal Japanese motorcycle. It’s no wonder Ducati have such a strong following when I look at the range and styles of the bikes although I recon another Sport Classic range would go down well.
Well I decided to nick off this afternoon and went out on my new Scrambler 1100 Sport. It’s a beaut! Love it! It’s as good handling wise as my old Classic but a lot bigger all over and definitely more butch. And it sounds great.......it burbles, pops and farts on run over and that brings a smile to my face As the weather was gorgeous I’ve managed to do 183 miles this afternoon covering twisties, A roads, B roads, motorways. Counties covered included West Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire I also called in to Ducati Manchester for 15 mins to get my pic taken for FB and whilst I was there I asked Mark the service manager to tweak a couple of things for me. Took all of about 30 seconds. Thanks Mark Whilst I was there a guy came in with a Vyrus. Beautiful machine despite having the Honda CBR600 and not a Ducati motor. I’m now home, bike is put away, and I’m chilling. Later I will read the owners manual again to see if it makes any more sense tonight.
Had a little bimble over Weardale on the 1098. Initial, previous 1st ride out I thought it was MEGA slow steering. However today, increasing rear tyre pressure from 27psi to 35 and front from 20psi to 33 has had a dramatic effect!! Always a good starting point.... Even had a nice surprise on a private section of road with the front coming up on a crest in 6th gear This bike belongs on track tbh, only starts to work and make sense at shall we say, 'higher speeds'.
Wished I'd worn my new mesh jacket (bought for this year's WDW trip) instead of my normal Goretex commuter kit for my ride to work today. It is now "hit kill switch at traffic lights" season (to avoid having to perform the Ducati leg jiggle, holding my legs alternately out of the way of the heat pumping through the exhaust pipes). Took my long overdue Ducati plus bin photo for the connoisseurs on the forum. Hopefully the presence of FIVE bins alongside my bike will make up for the delay in maintaining the forum tradition.
I went to Blackpool Pleasure Beach today and took a ride on the Pepsi Max rollercoaster. Just after it set off on that feckin' long climb, I took some nuts and bolts out of my pocket and showed 'em to the two girls in the car in front of me. It must have made their day 'cos they screamed with excitement all the way round.
