Maiden ducati ride.

[IceCold4x4]

Well after being on the road for 4 days going out to Colorado and picking up 2 bikes on the way home I felt the need to stretch some chain. So a long time friend of mine thst I haven't seen in 10+ years came by along with a regular riding buddy and we took off to run 25.

Started out in cahaba heights and ran sicard hollow to Rex lake to Zeigler to 25. Swapped bikes a few times between the zrx and the new ducati. My thoughts on these "super bikes". Compared to the zrx it is a torture device for those of us who have a gut. The ties are 14 years old with plenty of tread but we all know thst they are way past their prime in the traction department. It seemed heavy and unwilling to turn without the throttle. Stopped 5 miles past the Hwy 55 turn as I was smelling something burning. Smoke as gently rolling out of only one exhaust pipe and had a plastic smell. Also noticed at this time that rear tire was down to about 15 psi which might have been the reason for the heavy steering. Fixed that and yup much better.

All. In all. Had a nice fun day, rode the ducati to work mk day with the correct air pressure and  feel like it's much better but still uncomfortable. But lessons learned on this ride. Always check your tire pressure before every ride. I got lucky that nothing bad had happened to Me Or My Friends be the time we realized it.

Did get any pictures while on the ride but did get some bad video. Tired a few different things with the camera so the audio cuts in and out occasionally due to distance between my helmet and the camera.

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[norton73]

Tires seem to affect Ducatis more than other bikes. Both my ST2 and my wife's Monster had initial resistance to turning when we got them.
The ST2 got better with new tires and raising the rear ride height made it even better.
The monster got Dunlop Roadsmarts, but it still didn't handle well for me. She doesn't ride it much and the tires aged out, so it got Pilot 3s last summer and wow, it handles much better.

[Fencejumper09]

Haha "Fox on the Run"

Thanks for the video, I look forward to a test ride!

[IceCold4x4]

Haha "Fox on the Run"

Thanks for the video, I look forward to a test ride!

I'll make a standing bet that anyone who rides the 916 and can pull away from the zrx in the twistys gets a free meal.

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[Fencejumper09]

I think I may wait for new tires before I try that bet! Can Kevin be on the ZRX?  :D (I'm mean)

[IceCold4x4]

I think I may wait for new tires before I try that bet! Can Kevin be on the ZRX?  :D (I'm mean)

Lol I'll be the one on the zrx. And I completely understand on the tires. Though they seemed grippy enough last night on sicard hollow. But I'm still leary of them.

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[merc16]

Nice addition to the garage John !

[IceCold4x4]

Nice addition to the garage John !

Might not be as nice as your last red bike but thanks! Can't decide on a nick name yet for it.

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[Nice Goat]

Dayum, that bike sounds great!

[IceCold4x4]

Dayum, that bike sounds great!

Hahaha which one? Lol I'm starting to think I buy bikes based off exhaust noise.

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[DachshundUberAlles]

You need to get new tires on that thing ASAP. Fourteen year old tires are a recipe for disaster.

[IceCold4x4]

Absolutely. This is what happened to 5 year old dirt bike tires. Figured I'd grab a set from cycle gear when they run a sale. Also nerd tires get a set for the zrx but I'm holding out for the pilot road 5's on that.

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