Ducati Experiment is over!

I knew that I would return but I didn't think it would be this soon. Now I just need a VFR to make the transition complete. I see a few nice ones in the classifieds.

I'm also moving out of Chicago and returning to the motherland (Canada) in a few weeks so it would be good to pick up a U.S. VFR for the trip home. I will be working in Montreal and living in the eastern corner of Ontario if all the stars align. I think there are a few members in that area.

 

I am looking for a Fifth Gen right now. By the way, what was wrong with the ST3?

 

Well it had more than ample power altho I never took it all it had but the seating positioned me too close to the tank and the pegs were too close together (closer to the frame).....not very comfortable compared to the VFR.
Handling was ok but just swooping side to side, I didnt feel very inspired, again, compared to the VFR.

The MultiStrada tho, I felt very comfortable and the torque it had got me more than a little excited, reminding of the big bores I used to have (GSXR1100, ZX11, Katana 1100)....and the handling (Ohlins susp.) was truly remarkable.
The bike was just a ton of fun.

 

It probably made sense to sell the Ducati, unfortuantely they make lousy 'only' bikes and some of them are dreadful when used for commuting or touring.

However my 998 is the best bike in the world on a sunny day on curvy roads, where it really is in its element. Servicing these bikes gets expensive, however it is not impossible to do valve adjustments yourself and the amount of special tools is actually less than you think.

The solution is to buy a second bike. I just bought a 5th gen bike which I am very happy with as it is a real all-rounder which can tour and commute with ease, and its good on a curvy road ...but its no Ducati.

 

One of my co workers has a monster I think it is a s4r or some designation like that. It is a nice enough bike but he had some interesting problems with the rubber busings on the rear gear coming loose and eating the communicator behind it that is used to adjust the chain. He also just spent ridiculous money to get the timing belts? and valves done. All I know is it really made me appreciate my gear driven cams. He wants to run the interceptor really bad. I know he will prob kill me but I would like to go down to the track and find out. I guess if all else fails I have a friend with a Vmax that runs a 9.1 that should do the trick

 

The cush drives on the rear sprockets can back out and gring down the eccentric adjuster for the rear hub. I have see this on my buddies 996 and it is ugly! Just plain poor engineering from what I could see. he switched to an STM quaick change carrier to prevent this from happening again at great expense. I would think that the S4 would outpower the VFR in a straight line but the track test will be decided by the rider and the setup in my experience. I have smoked some pretty fast machinery on the track with my 748 and the VFR.

 

What was the difference in lap times between the VFR and the Duc?

 

I couldn't really compare apples to apples since they changed the track since last year and it rained steady when I was there this year. The bike had a completely different performance profile on the The track. If the conditions were equal tha Ducati would out brake and corner the VFR without a doubt but in a heads down drag race the VFR would come out on top. At Road America I believe that I turned quicker lap times on the VFR as it has three huge straights but at the Autobahn (which is much shorter) the Ducati would have prevailed. If I had the ability to have both bikes, the Ducati would be still in the garage just because it was so sexy and fun to take for short romps. My tools also got lots of exercise!