A mate bought one of those Ducati 350 bevel singles being flogged off cheap in 1971, to replace his Royal Enfield 350 Bullet. He let me have a few goes on it, swapping with my Velocette. The Ducati seemed tiny and rather toy-like, but went well.
996SP something or other, 1098S (both my brother's), ST2 and fuglystrada. On the whole I like the 2-valvers better, they just feel nicer and work equally well at road speeds.
Tested a street fighter 1098 and frightened myself stupid. Had to buy one. It was my second bike after passing my test. Lol. Loved it so much I bought the s model after the first one.
Rode my mates Darmah in '78/79 TBH I just didn't get it, always loved the noise they made but didn't make me want one.
My first Ducati was a 620 Monster, finally a bike that felt it was handmade to fit me. I then had my husbands 800 Monster when he bought an S2R 1000. I still have it and it's the one I take abroad if we are trailering bikes over. The 620 tended to run out of puff but I think the 620 had the edge on handling though I can't fault the 800.
A friend had a Darmah and many years ago we went over to Brittainy on the bikes for a week. He was two up with his wife and every time we stopped they crawled off like cripples. When we did three weeks in france, Italy and Switzerland the following year he bought a Goldwing! I think it was following him on his bike that made me want a Ducati - I had a Yamaha XS650 so Ducati's seemed very exotic at the time.
My first Ducati was a 750ss Michael Rutter rep, was a cracking first bike after getting my full license when i was around 18-19 seems a long time ago now lol...
Aaahh......my first ride on a Ducati, well I saw a bike for sale, a 2003 800SSie, I didn't want a Ducati, but was curious, so I went for a look, when he opened his garage door.... it was love at 1st sight (it is the 1/2 faired version before you start sniggering), then I took it for a ride....F*CK ME I thought, I gotta have this, so I bought it, and I still have it too, had it for 5-6 years now, I still love it !!!
500 SL Pantah 1985. I'd always wanted one but they weren't common and in 85 receivership was staring Ducati in the face and it seemed no more Ducatis would be built. Then I happened across one at Oxford Motorcycle Engineers, secondhand. A few days later it was mine, all mine and in Switzerland.
For me it was a Monster 800s i.e. I had literally just completed my DAS and rode home passed Ducati London South. Popped in just for a look see and was "told" to take one for a test ride. The following Saturday it was sitting in my drive as my first bike!
I confess to owning this very orange 750 - also my first Ducati ride Well I kept it for about a month then bought a black and white S4r
I had been pillion on then went about 6ft up the road on K's748. Loved the sound, being on the back but not convinced about me riding it. We needed something a bit more practical than my old Triumph so found my M600. Felt a bit different to the old iron I was used to and scared me a bit at first but loved it! New cans to let it sing and it did me proud. It's recently gone to a very good home as I've moved on to a 996 which is a result of the influence of that first 748
First ride on one for me was a MHR Mille, around 87 I think, mate had one. It must've stuck with me because the first duke I bought years later was my 81 MHR. The list steadily grew from there :smile:.
My first was a '78 Darmah, after starting on Brit twins the way it delivered its power was a revelation. Liquid, vibrationless shove. Not a huge amount of power actually but i was hooked inside of 30 seconds
