"Was that a rice rocket that just went by? NO! it's a PASTA BURNER!"
| September 14, 2000: Woke early with a nasty cold coming on. I had the day off to pick up my '99 900SS, go figure. It was sunny and cool at 7:30, when my friend, Razzi, picked me up and headed off to the registry for plates. I drove the 50 miles or so from there while Razzi slept(he works the nite shift)After bolting on the plates, it was off to the office nearby for a quick show and tell, then out on the road for the first longer ride since my two test runs. First note: it doesn't "move away" from a stop, it's more like a "committed launch". I had about 10 miles of 40mph twisty back roads before the highway home. What a dream to nose through the corners! Up on the highway I took it easy the first few miles, no more than 70'ish, so Razzi could keep up in his car. After crossing the NH border and checking the line of sight for cops, I opened it up in 4th a bit and went through 6th. Firm, broad acceleration is the name of this baby's game! I found I rarely needed 6th gear, unless cruising over 80mph. Got it home, unloaded the few extras that came with the bike and sent Razzi on his way, put it on the rear stand, and gave it a good wash and wax. Next stop, a few quick errands around town, the bank, gas station(to show off, of course!)and a buddy's place. Home again, show the wife the new toy and head out for a little cruise north. Fever and a runny nose are NOT going to spoil my ride today!(OK, so I did sneeze inside my new helmet) I took a ride up to the nice folks at BCM Motorsports, in Laconia, for a quick visit and an inspection, while I was in the neighborhood. I also looked for a nice tail pack at every motorcycle shop I saw on the way, with no luck. Most were too big and others just didn't mount very well. I passed on one until I find one just right. On the way home the fuel light came on at about 130 miles, so I gassed up 3 gallons. Looks like I have 1 to 1.5 gallons in reserve. What a great day, great ride, great bike! I have a MUCH better hand for the the clutch now, and can even cross wet grass on a slight incline without loosing traction! |
| January 27, 2001: I picked up my '99 900SS from BCM after some head porting and 944 kit was installed. Being that it was 25 degrees out, I had trailered it up there the week prior(oh, the shame!), and the temps were the same this weekend, however, the roads were dry, albeit sandy. Once I paid my bill, and had fired it up, I HAD to go for a quick spin. It sounded GRE-E-A-A-T! I asked to borrow a helmet, to no avail, so I donned my Ducati toque for a little warmth and took off for a short, around town spin. I gotta say, not being able to give her some steam didn't allow me to feel the full results of the mods, however she did have more raw "grunt" than previously. I got some VERY strange looks while out, especially at traffic lights. This is snowmobile season in central NH, and folks aren't accustomed to seeing flashes of red on two wheels! The folks at BCM accused me of being a real "hard core", but I missed my mount, and a chance to sneak in a January spin, even a 10 mile one, never topping 60mph, was tonic for my soul! Once back at the shop, it was roll her onto the trailer and strap her down for the ride home. It took a while for the bright red of near-frosbite to leave my poor ears and the ensuing hot-tingles to go away! A stop at a favorite watering hole for a rueben and a beer completed the day. C'MON SPRING!!!!! |
April 17, 2001:
Track day was GRRRRRRRRRRRRREAT! (in the words of Tony the Tiger) I was a
virgin yesterday morning, and well deflowered by the afternoon(thanks,
Bruce and Susie!). The night before, my wife was more nervous than me! By that
morning, I was more excited than nervous. The day was an excellent
learning experience, punctuated by a great lunch, good instructions and new
friends. My wife attended in order to do some video and take a few pictures. She
seemed to enjoy it more than she expected, even as an observer. I was
pleased that she came along, if only to see that we weren't just a bunch
of hell-bent hooligans out to cook the asphalt(who, me?) The day started out
slow enough, showing us virgins the track and the lines we should be
taking around the corners. (Oh yeah, that was AFTER I dropped my poor bike in the
garage, at a snails pace, I was SO embarrassed!) The next session out, we
played follow the leader, with a little leapfrog thrown in, for good
measure. By the third session, most of us were raring to go. The
instructors were very observant of us newbies, and answered our questions
unflaggingly. It was go, go, go after that. I felt I did quite well for first time out,
but I knew by the last session of the day I was getting fatigued, and
noticed that I couldn't push it quite as hard as the early afternoon. I
had some great corners, hot trips down the front straight, and even a little
rear wheel slide coming up out of "the bowl" with a hot throttle hand.
Most of the track was nicely negotiable, but the one spot I noticed I was
slowest at and most intimidated by was the exit of turn 9 and entrance to turn 10.
Now I know what to work on for the NEXT track day! I also learned that I
am NOT very fast yet, compared to others, but to myself, I did nothing but
improve from start to finish. As I was preparing to leave, it was noticed
that my low beam was not functioning, and thaks to Bruce, we were able to
get a spare bulb in, even though the broken bulb was floating around
inside the housing, along with it. My 14 year old daughter is DYING to see the
video my wife took, because SHE wants to ride and go to a track day too!
Kudos to the instructors who took the (possibly) less agressive ladies out
and show them the ropes, without the testosterone charged people, and let
them learn at the pace they needed to enjoy their track day, too. All in
all, a fun, friendly, hard ridin day!Track Day Pictures! |
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 |  "My kind of people and shop." | ||
| I'm looking for a few Ducati patches for my cordura riding jacket. I have a "Ducati meccanica Bolonga" wing, so far. I also found a horizontal, red and black DUCATI / patch, and a black Ducati wing, now on my jacket, also. Not many (so far, none!) places carry them in stock. | |||