So what have you done today..?

Work for an hour, then 2hrs of rugby 7's training. Cleaned the bike this afternoon, then spent this evening cleaning it some more and fitted some Ti sprocket nuts. Just got to put the rest of the bike together now!

 

Took 600 to get tyre fixed.
Sort of cleaned 400 .

 

Wondering who on earth put a pack of lovehearts in my bike pack????
Not me as I actually don't like munching them ...
Puzzled.

 

So far today, I have discovered that back-stabber former-matey had nicked my 36mm socket some time ago. When I was about to remove my rear wheel, I was left with nothing more useful than strong language.

Back now from Halthefts with a socket ... and some circlips, cos ... hey, shiny.

New rear tyre and new brake pads next up ... matey hadn't nicked those.

 

Rode and left bike in garage for oil change and mot in sunshine, then back home in car in black sky and rain... British weather eh!

 

I have been grocery shopping in the small local town. Couldn't figure out why the place and surrounding roads were swarming with bikes, the weather being basically damp and crap and 10°.

All has been explained. There is a motorcycle fair going on where you can rock up and try anything. All the manufacturers are there. It's also meant to be on tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be better, so tomorrow it will be on with the leathers and see if I can't have a couple of spins on something. I know the roads around here like the back of my hand, so could be fun!

 

Few chores this morning, watched all tye GP qualifying, then cleaned bike, fitted cam in a new spot to try and made bracket to fit iphone holder. Next its snooker on tv, supermarket for a few bits n bobs and a curry on me todd at home. Arrrr

 

After waking from a 14hr sleep(yes, i really was that tired!). Spent 3 hrs sorting someone else's mountain bike out. Then out on the Monster this afternoon for a casual blast, hoping i've sorted the starting problem from the other day. Originally suspected the starter button, but a strip down and clean showed it to be either a break in the wiring loom or a connector. Tweaked the connecting 'fingers' in the waterproof'd connector and at least today, its been ok. Goodwood tomorrow!

 

Been to Italia Moto today and bought a comfort seat for my Monster 1100 Evo. Can't believe the difference!

 

Been contemplating a Hyabusa........

....I can reach the ground as easy if not easier than I can on the SS even with my seat cut down.

I'm still annoyed that Maserati Gran Cabrio Coupe went away from me like a flick of a switch.

AL

Might have to widen the workshop door a bit................and do some squats to get my thigh and calf muscles back to where they ought to be.

 

Yesterday I enjoyed a pleasant stroll with g/f and 4mnth Ellen around The Courts- national trust gardens near Bradford on Avon, nice tulips!,, and a pleasant lamb burger for lunch. Bit of late chopin in Bath on the way home.
Tough day!

 

Took the ST to Carl Harrison for a belt change and service, was hoping to bring it back home but no! Previous owner(s) had not been quite as diligent as they could have been, took over an hour just to get the fairing off, and as he was alone in the shop there were loads of folk calling in, so took the decision to leave it in his capable hands till next week! Drove the replacement Saab home instead (180 bhp twin turbo diesel) and as its archery time again this weekend I wouldn't have been out on the bike anyway. If any of you are about in Essex this weekend we are at Castle Hedingham, would be pleased to see you! Chris

 

Went with a mate to pick up his new zzr1400 then on for a ride this afternoon and now the PP is filthy, poxy showers. Still it was only a matter of time before it got dirty. I 'm pretty sure my Speed Triple has become redundant ! Should I sell it ?

 

Repotted baby tomato plants.
Made an apple tart.
Planted a rosemary that I'd had inside all winter.
But.... tomorrow.... biking, surely!

 

So today were the strangely named “Acid Days” where nearly all the manufacturers were present in my local town and you could try their wares out over a predetermined route which was supposed to take about 20 mins. It actually took me 15, but I can’t see how you can try any bike out at 50mph. Strangely named, because I had to sign a form saying I wasn’t going to ride under the influence of drink or drugs.

It was dry but with a chilly north wind. I was quite excited about it; so excited that I had had trouble getting to sleep. It was either that or the entire cafetière that I had consumed at about 10pm. And I woke up at 6am, which isn’t like me at all. Sign-up was at 8:30, tests from 9am.

First up for me was the Guzzi Griso. I have never ridden a Guzzi and really wanted the opportunity, as none of my friends has one. The Griso is a handsome looking bike, but the motor looks like an anvil, or something that should really be powering my ride-on mower. Looking at it, you wonder if you’ll ever get it back upright again when you come out of a corner. I needn’t have worried. It’s a very neutral handling bike, quite confidence inspiring, but like many of the roadster ilk, if you are used to riding a Ducati 999, you wonder just to what extent you can take liberties in fast corners. I still don’t know the answer to this, as I wasn’t about to start bending other people’s bikes to find out.



The bars are very wide and I find wobble a bit on upchanges. This is quite likely to be my crappy gear changing, but there is an awful lot of leverage, which doesn’t suit my style so much. The Ducati, having no leverage, means that I don’t do all that much counter steering consciously. Wide bars and no fairing also mean that heading into a strong wind means quite a struggle. By far the most annoying thing was the indicators being where the horn usually is, and vice versa. It’s an ergonomic nightmare and I spent my half hour (added in a few extra roads…) hooting at people as I passed them and then waving at them apologetically and incomprehensibly. I think I’d need an extra inch of thumb to ride a Griso in traffic – I just can’t reach the indicator comfortably. Nor could I find the back brake much, my foot stabbing continually at thin air. Fortunately, I mainly use the front and the man told me that Guzzi had abandoned the linked brakes on these machines, so it didn’t really matter.

The motor is a good one for a roadster. It has 4 valves per cylinder and supposedly 110 bhp. I found it was happy to rev, and indeed I spent rather a lot of time at the red end of the range. It seemed a bit unnatural to short shift, which is something that the Ducati is happy to do. So you have a torque-filled motor, quite rev-happy which makes a lot of sense sub 100 mph which is where you’d be riding the Griso. I really liked it apart from the ergonomics (although it has a comfy seat). If I lived in a built-up area, a Griso would make a perfectly reasonable purchase, but it’s not a sportsbike, and if you’re used to a sportsbike, you’d have to calm down a little.

Next on the list was a Katoom. They asked me which one I wanted to try, and I said I didn’t care really as I just wanted to try a KTM, which I never had . So I ended up with a 690 SMC R Supermoto. This is a single-cylinder affair and is probably a hooligan bike, if you know how to be a hooligan on one. This would have involved backing it into corners and wheelying out of them. I have perfected the art of neither, and again, it didn’t seem to be a very good time to practice, so I didn’t. Single-cylinder bikes aren’t really for me. Down on power and vibey, I can’t quite see the point of them. The KTM was amusing for a short blast, but I only managed to find a real power band once, when suddenly it went all amusingly skittish for a short while. I think to really enjoy it, you need to be sitting on the clocks with your foot out in corners, but this is a mile away from how I feel comfortable riding. Still, you can burble along quite happily, and I made sure to overtake all the other bikes before we got to the twisty stuff I am very familiar with, and then never saw them again, so it can trot along happily if you have a mind to. You wouldn’t want to be much shorter than my 5’10” if you were thinking of buying one, though. It is tall. Wide bars again, so more wind and more waggling on upshifts.

Finally, I tried an Aprilia RSV4 something something. This is the pointy end of sportsbike development, so I was interested to see what you get now that you don’t get with a Ducati 999. Big power numbers apparently, and anti everything, from locking brakes to wheelying to breaking traction. Riding position-wise, there is at least as much weight on your wrists as the Ducati, but the seat is more comfortable and the ride a little plusher. In fact, the suspension seems to be very good. The clock is a little difficult to read; it seems tilted down at a couple of degrees more than would be optimal. The fairing looks tiny and reveals itself to be not marvellous into a headwind. The whole bike is very small, but then so is the 999, so no real change. I found a quiet, twisty well-surfaced road to give it a bit of stick (well, not so much found – I knew exactly where it was: not on the prescribed route). It’s definitely not as fast as the 999 at the bottom end, but is a bit more mental at the top, the bit you can’t use without being worried about jail.

The motor is not as involving as the Ducati – hardly surprising, as it’s a four and not a twin. But it does make a good angry rasp when you wind it open, the sort of exhaust note that means you won’t have to change the can. It’s quite loud enough as it is. The weight seems higher up than on the Ducati, which meant that I didn’t feel like throwing it into corners with quite the same abandon, but that could just be because I’ve done 20’000 miles on my 999 and 20 minutes on the Aprilia. Verdict: I liked it a lot, but not so much that I would ever consider selling my bike to buy one.

In fact, this was what I discovered today, or rather confirmed what I have always believed: If you want a sportsbike for road use, you need look no further than the 999. It’s already bonkers fast if you wind it up, it has lots of usable power low down, and it handles superbly, is reasonably comfortable and makes a nice noise. The Aprilia definitely has better brakes, but the ones on the 999 are not shabby. As a sportsbike experience, you just aren’t going to have a lot more fun on a state-of-the-art 2013 Aprilia than on a 2005 999. They both accelerate, handle and brake superbly well – more than enough for the road. And of course, neither is a great deal of fun at vaguely road-legal speeds. And for going away, at least you can get a tail pack on the Ducati (on the back seat). I can’t see what you are going to be able to attach to the dart that is the Aprilia’s back seat. Plus the Ducati’s fairing is a lot better.
If you want to shave tenths of your lap times on the track, then no doubt the Aprilia is a better tool than the 999, if you know how to use it. But as you’re not racing, there are no prizes for shaving tenths. The Ducati may be easier to ride fast. If you weigh up the cost of a second hand 999 like mine against the cost of a brand spankers RSV4, then the Aprilia clearly makes no sense whatsoever.

To truly have more fun on the road, you have to change machine type, or add a new one. I am sure there are times where a Hyper, a Streetfighter, Diaval or Multi will add a fun element that a superbike cannot provide. It makes far more sense to get a completely different bike, rather than just a more refined version of what you already have. So although the Aprilia was my favourite bike, it wasn’t really. My favourite was my 999. If I was going to add one of the three to the garage, it would be the Griso.

Having found this out, I went home to look at the GP and have a piece of apple tart (here was one I’d made earlier).

 

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