Zero-day defector, proud new owner

Hi, all!

I was about to join that there other board, until it lost its soul. Luckily, I escaped.

I'm Tom, a new Duc owner in Eugene, Oregon. 2003 Monster 1000S.

There's a story about my conversion to Monsterhood:

I rode a Honda VF500F Interceptor in college in California. Sold that, and haven't ridden for...geez...I'm sad to say, almost 15 years. But once the bug bites you, you're never really free of the disease, even if you're symptom-free for a decade or more.

I'd been thinking about a bike for a while, and had mostly convinced myself that a GSX-R would be just the thing, as a replacement (and upgrade!) for the beloved VF500F. It seemed a good way to get an early start on something that'd be an inevitable part of a midlife crisis anyhow. Why wait, eh?

I mentioned the desire for a GSX-R to a co-worker of mine, who sniffed in disgust, turned up his nose in his inimitable British fashion, and said, "Bah. You ought to get a Ducati." I didn't really know much about the brand, and figured that they were probably out of my price range. So I thanked him for his input, smiled to myself, and returned to my dreams of rice rockets.

Some time passed, and one day, while I was supposed to be working, I Googled "Ducati" for fun. At the top of the results was a Craigslist entry for a Monster 1000S, with a seller about an hour and a half away. With pictures.

Ooo, that's a sexy beast, I thought. And, hey, wow, nice price! Less than a new GSX-R. Lots less. And...that look. It's kinda like a bike with 5-o'clock shadow, giving you the finger, or something. Dunno exactly, but I like it!

Anyhow, I wandered around for a while, looking at other Ducatis, learning about the models, reading lots of reviews. Came back to that Craigslist entry and stared a couple times. Bookmarked it. Then forgot about it.

Fast forward a couple of weeks. I popped onto YouTube, and searched for...yeah, you guessed it. Ducati. Found a video of a Monster 1000 with Termignoni exhaust. Played it. Played it again. Big grin. Oh, wow. I think I just peed myself a little bit.

I hit that Craigslist bookmark again, and stared. Damn. That price, that bike, that look. Niiice. Well, it's probably long gone. Or the owner has abused it. Or....

But I thought, well hell, let's just call and ask, shall we? The owner turned out to be a really nice guy, owner of several Ducs, who described the thing as being in excellent shape. He had all the paperwork, including receipts for parts, and for service. Garaged, low miles, lots of aftermarket parts, yet below bluebook.

So I drove up there that weekend with a cashier's check. Looked, listened, bought.

Now, owing to the sudden onset of my affliction, my wife couldn't drive me up, so the trip was in a car, alone. Which meant that I had to leave the bike - my bike - in this guys garage, and drive back to Eugene with only the title and a box of extra parts. Agony.

It took two weeks of nail-biting, before I could arrange a trip up again, with a friend. Actually, THAT friend. The coworker who had idly said "Ducati" over a month before, and started this whole adventure.

Retrieved the bike and rode it back home, with my face aching from the constant smile.

Oh man, everything that I had imagined, only more so.