Back on a Ducati after all these years

[Darren69]

No, indeed Geoff, spot on. and I did actually serve my apprenticeship on air cooled early '90's Dukes (750/900SS) and so I can appreciate the airhead mentality but despite there shortcomings I stayed loyal to the brand but wanted to performance upgrade so went to to 4V LC bikes by way of the 748 and loved the overall madness of that particular bike. I should have sold it when it started to cost megabucks to maintain but I didn't and so it sits preserved in my dining room as a thing of beauty having last been ridden about but 6-7 years ago. But I digress, the 4V S4 Monster is not such an ornament or desirable as such as the 748/916 are but just as equally mad financially , probably more so but just a tad more practical for this aging body. More torque and power than a 916? yes please.

The 748 serves as just a reminder that if the bike exceeds your own limits by so much then you are probably close to or pushing your own. You can just go crazy fast on one on any road and it feels so slow. On the Monster at least you know when you are pushing the limits, you, the bike lets you know.

[utopia]

Oh and apologies .. rude of me to post on this thread without saying ...
Welcome along, Druid.

Interesting to hear your views on the Raptor, but it's a shame none of you has actually ridden one! I don't think there would be anything in it in performance terms compared with the very best contemporary Monster, the main difference being in the refinement of the Suzuki engine, as you might expect. In present company, it wouldn't be wise of me to point out how much rarer the Raptor and all the other excellent Cagiva bikes are, compared to the Bologna Beasts! Of course, I love my Ducatis but they were brought into this country in far greater numbers.

As to tweaking a Raptor 1000, IMO it certainly doesn't need any more power, even though the tune is softer than in the donor Suzuki TL, but I've fitted Matris suspension front and back for comfort, and made the seat cowl from GFRP to balance the looks.

Nick

Originally Posted by utopia

Similarly I also pondered an Aprilia Shiver but even though the name is a homonym for the closest I get to a religious icon, it wasn't enough to sway me even a teensy bit.

I had a Dorsoduro a couple of years ago and I really liked it - except for the 12ltr fuel tank which gave me 60 miles till the fuel light came on

Being realistic though, I was smitten since falling for the 750 bevels in the early 70s and from that point (february 1974, dragon rally to be precise) there was never going to be another bike that would scratch my itch.

It was the 900 bevels that I lusted after. I got my 900 in 1986 I think and it was a dream come true.

Oh and apologies .. rude of me to post on this thread without saying ...
Welcome along, Druid.

Thank you

[boris]

Welcome to the Forum Druid. Is that the Wingate where the Vulcan went in in '71? I was a very nosy schoolkid then, just up the road in Gateshead at the time. Looking at your bike timeline, we must be around the same age group

Yes, it's that Wingate. The Vulcan went in about 200m from where I live, bits of engine still turn up occasionally. It was long before I lived here mind, I was a nosy schoolkid in South Wales at the time

[boris]

Strange that bits still keep turning up, it was the No:1 engine detonating that caused the issue. Unthinking of the implications, I did take a souvenir at the time. After a career in the Raf and being involved in some a/c accidents, i discovered how bad that was..