About 40 hours to go...

After much lusting over bike magazines, changing my mind 100's of times, dreaming of BMW 650 Dakar, Triumph Speed Four, Yamaha WRF250F, MT-03 and even thinking about a CB500 for a bit.
After taking my test, finding out the missus was pregnant, changing nappies, saving up the cash again, doing an offroad course.
After lusting after more Triumphs and MT03s and carefully researching a sensible commuting bike I suddenly realised I could afford this Monster that was staring at me out the Autotrader.

A monster, the first bike that I ever thought was cool, can I really get one of those?

Viewed it, rode it, bought it.

Gonna pick up my shiny (nearly) new M695 on Wednesday evening. I can't bloody wait.
Then just the small matter of riding it back from Oxfordshire to Bristol. The furthest I've ridden on roads since I passed my test was the test ride.

It's gonna be great!

Oh, and Hi.

hi and welcome!congratulations on getting your new bike, take it easy and you'll be fine!

Enjoy
The 695 will be considerably quicker than the " learner" bikes you have ridden before.

Some advice from an old lag

Always concentrate on the furthest visible point on the road ahead - that way you will have the most time to react. Accelerate towards an opening horizon, roll off or brake towards a horizon that is tightening or coming towards you.

Read the road at all times - surface, camber changes, bumps, junctions, side roads, muck on the road, damp patches under trees, clues as to where the road goes - hedgelines, roadside telegraph poles.

Treat everyone else on the road as a complete numpty who is out to kill or maim you - this mindset is probably the most important advice - they may not have seen you even though you are in clear view.

Build up speed in a controlled way - use the same piece of road and mark your speed at defined reference points - "yesterday I exited this corner at this marker point at 48 mph - today I will try to do it at 49mph" Think about what you did yesterday and how you can improve today - you will make mistakes inevitably but they will be recoverable because you will only be a little bit outside of the comfort zone and you will learn from how you recovered.
Be smooth at all times - on the throttle, on the brakes, on corner entry and on how you position the bike on the road to straight line kinks.
Do not **** off civilians with loud cans or wild overtaking manoeuvres
Enjoy
welcome to biking and in particular Ducati biking

The 695 is a fantastic bike, was my first too (after years of old school and the one new school auto scoot).

Richard hortons advice above is very good - basically take it easy for a while until you get comfortable...and then dont get over confident

Ride at your own pace and dont ever let other people intimidate you into going faster than you're comfortable.

Enjoy and good luck!!

Thanks for the good advice. I will most certainly be taking it easy on the way home, and for the foreseeable future. Especially since there is some rain forecast for tomorrow now.

You're right that there is a lot more power there than in the knackered Suzuki that I learnt on, but I was pleased that the throttle response was not too vicious so slow town riding on my test ride was OK. Just as well since I intend to ride it in Bristol, where traffic is plentiful and slooooow.

Thankfully I have a mate giving me a pillion over to collect the bike, and to ride back with me. He's a sensible chap so I'm not worried about him egging me on.

Regarding the advice on not pi$$ing the public off with loud cans, I totally agree; however this bike already has High Level Termi's fitted. The baffles will be going back in for commuting. Might take em out for the weekends though ;-)

[J.P]

Welcome to the club and with Richard's advise and a sensible approach you'll have a great time.
No harm in saving up for some post test instruction either. worth looking into the I.A.M which is fantastic value and will help to keep you alive & well.

But apart from all the sensible advice, have a bloody good time too.

[Blah blah]

Hello, and welcome to the club...

Originally Posted by richard horton

...Do not **** off civilians with loud cans...

Looks like I better stay at home then

Totally hooked.
I picked up the 695 yesterday afternoon from the dealers, after a mate wizzed us up the M4/A34 from Bristol,
I was pretty nervous on my first bike as we road into the centre of Oxford to pick his girlfriend. 1 mile to get the hang of the bike before rush hour traffic...

[BTW, riding a monster through the centre of Oxford on a sunny afternoon has to be recommended, never in my life have so many short-skirted girls been staring at me. I could get used to that. Lucky they can't see my ugly face inside my lid]

So anyway had a leisurely ride back through the Cotswolds from Oxford --> Swindon --> Sherston --> Bristol.
Those 90 miles are the furthest I've ridden on the road since I passed my test, and I can tell you that I was pretty wooden for the first while, riding down roads I don't know on a bike I don't know. But once I got past Sherston onto road that I know well it was a blast. I've not had such a grin on my face for a while.

Riding back from work in the pissin down rain today was not such a giggle mind, I never realised how many manhole covers there are in Bristol before, or how thick the paint is on the edge of the bus lanes.

So that's it. Life changed, no more 45 minutes to travel 4 miles to work for me. No more wishing I had a bike; cos I have one now and its fan-bloody-tastic

Well done, remeber that feeling of first big bike many years ago.
Lets hope we have SOME summer!