Dipping my toes into the Duc pond

[Elefantitis]

Been lurking for a while, decided it was finally time to introduce myself. My name is Charlie and I'm a self-employed motorcycle mechanic from western Maryland, not far from Hagerstown.

I've had Italian motorcycles for nearly as long as I've been riding, starting with a Benelli Fireball 50 that was given to me when I was 12. That planted the seed that grew into a love of Moto Guzzis when I bought my first in '83. Owned a bunch of them since, along with more Benellis, two Morinis, almost a Laverda and three Cagivas. Then there's all of the non-Italian stuff... 

My present fleet includes lots of unusual stuff - '91 ATK 604, '95 CCM C25 350 and '94 MZ Silver Star Classic. Plus two old Guzzi Ambassadors, a Yamaha XT500 and more recently my first Ducatis. Don't know why it took me so long - perhaps the occasional ride on my brother's 907ie was enough. In any case, this past Summer an '88 750 Paso project popped up on Craigslist and I bought that for $500, then in November an '85 Cagiva 650 Elefant appeared in Fairfax, VA for $1000 and I bought that too.

The Paso is still in storage awaiting resurrection, but I have the Elefant "freshened up" and ready to ride. If only I could get the previous owner to send me the title like he promised he would.  Seemed like a good guy, had a garage full of other Ducz. On the day I bought the bike, he said his wife lost it, that he'd get a duplicate and send it to me. Here I am four months later, still trying to get him to do the right thing. Probably should have just walked away from the deal... 

Anyway, an early Monster is on my "hit list" now and if the right one comes along, I'll buy it. Trying to talk my friend Keith out of one of his three has proved fruitless. 

The day I brought the Paso home:


Elefant ready to ride:
 

[ungeheuer]

I could be wrong (unlikely, but hey.... anything's possible).... but I'm pretty sure I recognise your Elefant. 

And if I am correct.... the previous owner is an inmate here...



But I could be wrong.

But I doubt that.

[Nekkid Tim]

Welcome from a fellow Ducati and MZ owner.   I have a 1995 Skorpion 660 Sport.  Know another local Paso owner, as well.   Good to have you on board.   I'm in northern Virginia.

1995 MZ Skorpion 660 Sport by s4rsrider, on Flickr

[1.21GW]

Antietam Classic Cycle?  So, I guess you're near the battlefield.  I rode down there last year and hired a guide for a private tour.  Beautiful roads in N Md/S Pa!  You are a lucky man.

[ducatiz]

Charlie, sorry for the delay on the title :-)  you should have it in your hands today depending on the post office.

The brain gets foggy, and I had the wrong VIN in hand when I talked to DMV.

If you need paso engine stuff, I have plenty lying around.. swingarm.. wheels..  heads..

[koko64]

Welcome Charlie.
A Monster would be a good addition to the fleet. The carbed M900 with some engine mods makes for an effective point to point streetbike, also able to cruise, commute and even tour.
Cheers.

[Elefantitis]

Antietam Classic Cycle?  So, I guess you're near the battlefield.  I rode down there last year and hired a guide for a private tour.  Beautiful roads in N Md/S Pa!  You are a lucky man.

Yes, about 6 miles from the battlefield. You're right, I am lucky to have so many great roads to ride not just in MD and PA, but also VA and WV.

Charlie, sorry for the delay on the title :-)  you should have it in your hands today depending on the post office.

The brain gets foggy, and I had the wrong VIN in hand when I talked to DMV.

Sorry for the "rant" in my original post, I was just getting frustrated with having the Elefant ready to go, but not being able to legally ride it. USPS is their usual slow speed, nothing today, likely tomorrow.

Now if I could just grow my legs a few inches - even with the spare seat altered and recovered (1.5" removed) and all rear shock preload dialed out, I'm still on tippy-toes.    Might look into bar risers, so I can drop the fork tubes a bit and see it there's another inch to be taken out of the seat foam without bottoming out.

Stopped by friend Keith's today - his collection of Monsters has grown from 3 to 5. He's talking about selling the 600 in May at British & European Classic M/C Day (it'll take him that long to dig it out of his cluttered mess!), so I might try to work a deal with him then.

[ungeheuer]

Bye Charlie.

[ducatiz]

What happened to charlie?

[koko64]

Where'd he go?

[1.21GW]

He left to sell the Elefant on ADVrider.  Maybe he was on here just tracking down the title.   Shame, I bet he could've added meaningful contribution to the technical threads.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1053066