Aaannd so it arrived ...

[robertbell]

... DrDesmosedici's monster, in Oregon; which prompts my first post to the forum. A lovely machine,  and no one would have suspected otherwise. I must curb my enthusiasm only in deference to DrDesmosedici's loss.

Being someone who has a love for the Ducati 748, and owns one (yellow, naturally), it has been an interesting road to the acquisition of a Monster. My wife, who also has an S4R (again, blue and white), has shifted from horror at the throught of me owning a matching (well almost) bike, to mild contempt, to threats of never riding with me whilst I am on it, to an odd air of smugness expressed by comments such as "Well, I was the beginning!", to thoughts of lust as she contemplates all the parts she can filch. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for her, she is teaching a field school "up north" for the next 5 weeks, well out of thieving range!

Shipping, with on exception, was very smooth. Using www.haulbikes.com, DrDesmosedici's recommendation, was definitely a good choice. The bike arrived with not a scratch, and you have to rely on a driver who puts his own Harley in the back of the truck to ride whilst on the job. The one exception was the clutch (and perhaps the front brake). Upon arriving, the master clutch cylinder had failed, and the front brake was very "loosely". A conversation with the revered fellows at Cheshire Motor Sports of Portland Oregon revealed that this "can" happen if the levers are held in the "depressed" position during the multiple weeks of shipping, thus placing extra fatigue on the master clutch cylinder. Opinions no doubt can differ, and I am certainly no expert, but it seems reasonable. Regardless, to recover the ~$200 requires a moderately horrible amount of paperwork, far exceeding my patience. So, if you ship your bike with anyone, watch where you put your levers ... assuming you believe the diagnosis that is. Otherwise, you may stick you lever wherever you like! 

Thanks again DrDesmosedici, a lovely machine!

Robert.

PS. Forgot to mention, with mine, my wife's, and my good friend trenner's blue and white S4R, we'll be having a photo shoot soon! 

[somegirl]

Congrats and nice to see you here.

[Betty Rage]

Congrats! Pop by the NW section sometime, there's usually rides going on at some point.

Nice choice with Cheshire by the way, they rock!

[Big Troubled Bear]

Congrats

Waiting for the photo`s

[cyrus buelton]

Congrats

I too am a happy blue/white S4r owner

might have to ride a wheelie down my street this morning in your honor 

[needtorque]

Same color as mine.  Gratz.

[Porsche Monkey]

Hey congrats and welcome to the forum. Entertaining first post. 

[KEH]

Dood, post pics 

[Howie]

Congrats!

[WhiteStripe]

Can't wait to see the pics!

[NorDog]

"A conversation with the revered fellows at Cheshire Motor Sports of Portland Oregon revealed that this "can" happen if the levers are held in the "depressed" position during the multiple weeks of shipping, thus placing extra fatigue on the master clutch cylinder."



Why do they need to "depress" the lever?  Wasn't the bike on a pallet?

When I shipped my FXDX from Redding, CA to Great Falls, MT the bike was palletized (is that a word?).  I had no problems with that shipment unless you count having to wait up for the driver to arrive at whatever hour he arrives (11:00 pm in this case).  I drove an 18 Wheeler for a spell back in the 90s, so I know how much the driver has to deal with, and so I was okay with meeting his schedule.

I used JC Motors btw.  http://www.motorcycleshippers.com/s_whychoose.htm

Oh, and without pix...

Doesn't exist.

Never happened.

[swampduc]

Congrats, and nice first post.
Looking forward to the pics.

[No_Normale]

Here is a IZ_ phone picture of the garage in which this bike is placed... The bike of this post is behind the yellow 748- the blue and white in the front is mine. The other bikes are our friends. Never mind the orange VW bus- we all pretend it doesn't exist!



I will save theivery for the winter months. A perfect activity for the rainy days when I lust after the bike but can't bring myself to get soaked while riding. An entertaining threat to be carried out when one least expects it!

Cheers!

[NAKID]

Never mind the orange VW bus- we all pretend it doesn't exist!

Why? That's awesome...

[No_Normale]

Never mind the orange VW bus- we all pretend it doesn't exist!

Why? That's awesome...

Unfortunately it doesn't run and it makes shared living conditions tight... robertbell and I have friends kind enough to let us take up room in their garage. However, I think the current train of thought is "If we got rid of the bus how many MORE bikes could we get in here?" The current reaction from us ladies is "How many bikes do you really think you need? You can only ride one at a time!"

I know the men mumble something under their breath but- they know we are right... until they ask us how many pairs of shoes we have in our closets because of course, one can only wear one pair at a time, right?