Trading my harley for first ducati...maybe

[Le Pirate]

eh....waiting sucks man


I was in at 10am and out by 1pm with a new bike.


It'll be worth it though  [moto]

[Desmo Demon]

Any words of wisdom or advice? 

Just because you *know* how to ride you rHarley, do not assume that you *know* how to ride a Ducati. They are two totally different breeds of bike and on opposite ends of the spectrum. I rode dirtbikes for years and logged over 50k miles on my HD before getting my first Ducati....a '99 SS750.....I have a 15" rod down the center of my right femur because I didn't respect the new machine and its capabilities because I thought I *knew* how to ride......

[devils haircut]

DesmoDemon,
That is exactly the type of response I was looking for...the type I could use!  I'm aware that riding ponies doesn't prepare you for bull riding.

[Desmo Demon]

That is exactly the type of response I was looking for...the type I could use!  I'm aware that riding ponies doesn't prepare you for bull riding.

It was so disillusional....I thought that since I was riding 400-500 cc 2-stroke dirtbikes and my HD was modified with more HP and torque than the SS750 that it would be a piece of cake.....i was rudely awakened 3 months and 3000 miles later when I smacked into the side of a mountain at 60 mph. The light-weight, rev'ing capabilities, better brakes, and quicker acceleration just didn't sink into my stubborn head. I look back at the way I was riding back then, and I was definitely an accident just waiting to happen....unfortunately, I didn't have to wait too long.

Here's the story I wrote on the wreck...

http://www.desmodemon.com/dead_duck.html

And a picture of the poor SS750...

[JDS 07 S4Rs]

Hey Desmo. I read your story. That would have happened on any bike. U miss judged the road. True, going from a 700 lb MC to a 400 Lb MC is going to be a change. The riding styles change as well. U changed to a sport bike because U were riding beyond what your HD was meant for. It was a cruiser.

Sportbikes are good short commuters (IMO) Easy to handle around town, easy to flick back & forth. Not that great for long hauls. BUT, the MAIN reason I have one is "FUN" They are fun to ride.

Hopefully if Devils HC get his Duc he wont have the same outcome as U. If I can add anything to this. I would say that the sportbikes are safer. BUT, they do promote a tendancy to speed,,,,,,in my case. Speed alot . WTF,,, its a sportsbike. Thats the way they are meant to be driven.

Good luck on whatever U decide. Just dont drive beyond your limits.

NOTE: Desmo,,, I am not knocking U on anything U said. I have been down this same path twice now. Going from Sportbike - Cruiser, Back to sportbike, then Cruiser, & now Sportbike,, I guess 2.5 times  You just had a unfortunate accident. It cant be blamed on bike choice, or riding ability.

Just my 5cents worth,,, fricking inflation 

[Desmo Demon]

You just had a unfortunate accident. It cant be blamed on bike choice, or riding ability.

I still view it as a bike/ability issue. The bike is capable of so much more than the cruiser and never having an accident on a cruiser and none that resulted in serious injury on a dirtbike gave me a false sense of my riding abilities. When I first got on the sportbike, I knew practically nothing about such phrases as counter-steering and looking through a curve. Those are two terms that really don't exist in the cruiser world....or at least not in the one I was coming from.

Looking back at the times leading up to the accident, I was riding too fast, hitting the brakes too hard and inconsistantly, I was chosing very bad lines through curves, I wasn't looking through a curve but only a few feet in front of me, my judgements of speed were skewed from the smoothness of the Duc compared to the vibration and rough ride of the HD, I was doing stupid passes because the bike was more capable than what I was used to, and many, many other things that, now, I know were proving my lack of riding ability....at least sportbike riding ability. The largest problems I had were with over confidence and not riding the bike long enough to get to know it.

I look back to the size of my chicken-strips ad how slow I was really riding in the curves and am almost embarassed to think I wrecked. I go past my crash site probably at least once a month and for several years, I made sure to give the curve the "bird". One day, I surprised my wife by giving it the thumbs up. She asked me why I did that, and I told that if it hadn't been for the crash, I probably wouldn't be the rider that I am today......chances are, I would have kept riding faster, but not smarter, and probably would have eventually killed myself.......not like I'm not heading in that direction any way.   

[devils haircut]

Well it didn't work out last year when I started this thread, but after almost a year I still haven't lost the bug.  I'm gonna try agian this year (better credit score and new home owner) but I think the 1100 may be a better idea.
How does the 696 compare to the 1100?  Sorry for the dumb questions...I will answer any harley questions you might have, lol.

[HuDuc]

Just because you *know* how to ride you Harley, do not assume that you *know* how to ride a Ducati. They are two totally different breeds of bike and on opposite ends of the spectrum. I rode dirtbikes for years and logged over 50k miles on my HD before getting my first Ducati....a '99 SS750.....I have a 15" rod down the center of my right femur because I didn't respect the new machine and its capabilities because I thought I *knew* how to ride......

I agree, I just got my first Duc and coming from a Dyna it was quite different. as Desmo said Respect the Machine and take your time getting to know it.

On a second note, 696 might be too "small" I almost got one until a buddy wanted to upgrade to Superbike and sold me his S2R 1000. The extra 300 CC are nice.

 

[devils haircut]

It seems that there are a couple of us Dyna riders here that have either traded to a Duc or are planning on it.  Since you have experience with both, what (if anything) do you feel you have sacraficed by trading the HD for the Duc?

[HuDuc]

It seems that there are a couple of us Dyna riders here that have either traded to a Duc or are planning on it.  Since you have experience with both, what (if anything) do you feel you have sacraficed by trading the HD for the Duc?

Obviously two different machines, I ride solo more often since the Mrs is not as comfortable (she's 5'8 125 lbs) The Duc is much more nimble, awesome speed, incredible brakes. I can tell you that I'm more alert riding the Duc. I'm getting to know the bike so I have not pushed it much. Maybe some track time is in order.

[Slide Panda]

Well it didn't work out last year when I started this thread, but after almost a year I still haven't lost the bug.  I'm gonna try agian this year (better credit score and new home owner) but I think the 1100 may be a better idea.
How does the 696 compare to the 1100?  Sorry for the dumb questions...I will answer any harley questions you might have, lol.

Funny you should ask - there's a thread that started the other that's right along the lines of what you watnn to know

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=25613.30

[Langanobob]

they're cool looking, but they weigh about 500lbs.  seems ridiculous for a scrambler.

seriously, i like that whole bonneville line, but they just don't seem to have the right numbers.

I think your post is maybe a year old, but I agree.  I have a '66 Bonneville that's (IMHO) a lot  more fun to ride than the new ones.  I don't think they got the new ones quite right.