Anyone ride ?

I just got my motorcycle license a few weeks ago and been researching on Ducati 848, possibly getting one in about 10 days, I'm pretty excited

Do be careful, I can't imagine riding out in your area without a suit of armor.  It would feel like being a pinata on wheels.

I rode from age 14 to 17 before wiping out at night a gravel road in the country.  Spent the night laying in a corn field with broken ribs and a collapsed lung.  I was found and dropped off at the ER by a drunk farmer who had to let me drive.

Fast forward to my 40th birthday when I purchased a '95 Kawasaki KZ100P police bike from St. Louis.  It had everything, lights, radio, saddlebags, etc.  I drove down and trailered it home all excited about riding again.

That bike had a lot of torque, was very heavy, and had a rather high center of gravity.  Probably a poor choice to ride, but I thought they looked cool and the seat was very comfortable.

Well, it took about a week before I had to dodge a car that crossed the center line and I ended up plowing into the side of Chevy Lumina and tumbling over the roof.  Fractured a wrist in the process.

I haven't had the desire to ride since.  I'm old and bones don't heal like they used to.  Remember the old saying, there are only 2 kinds of riders, those that have wrecked and those that are going to.

Be safe, it doesn't take much for something bad to happen with all the road rage out there.  Kind of like this ass.

Yeah I hear you, I had 5 motorcycle accidents back when I was young and dumb and riding in the jungle of Indonesia, and when I say jungle, I meant the capital which is Jakarta, where there are millions of motorcycles riding all over everything including aidewalks, etc, I used to split lanes at 40+ mph, did I mention young and dumb ? Lol.
I'm going to ride like an old man now, especially after 17 years not riding. Thanks for the heads up Rob, I need that
My stepson tried so hard to talk me out of getting a Ducati now, he's trying hard to get me to get Japanese bikes ( honda cbr 600 rr ) which is not too bad, he said the duc's maintenance costs are outrageous, which is true, $ 1200 for 7500 miles major service is pretty steep compare to $ 500 for Honda cbr, so I might go different direction here, hope that Ducati owner is not too pissed off at me if I backed off from the sale, lol.

Things have changed over those years man, we don't react as fast and surrounded by far greater idiots at far greater speeds.  If I was going back to riding, it would be prepared for combat....like one of these.

That is very true, my sister is very much against me getting a bike especially through LA traffic but I'm pretty set on getting a bike now cause I already got my license and I really miss riding, I know I'm going to ride like an old guy and piss a lot of drivers / riders off, I'm definitely not going to split lanes in the first couple of weeks, my helmet should arrive in the next day or two, just have to get the other gears ( jackets and boots ). I'm pretty excited !

I happen to have a brand new bike police leather jacket from Taylor Leather. It is a large tall, but a trim large. I bought it from the factory years ago, but sold the bike before it arrived.

Taylor police makes the best leather jackets in the business. If interested, let me know and I will dig it out.

848s are nice, I love the vtwins. I had an Aprilia RSVR for a long time, put about 50k miles on it.

I prefer japanese bikes GSXR, CBR, R1. Twins are awsome in their own way but still would take a gsxr over any of them.

Used to ride. Been two decades since I have. Had my first bike at 14. Suzuki GS 550.

Mine was the Kawasaki 440 Ltd....also at 14.

I ride but try and stay out of high traffic areas.

I often wonder what would happen to my business if I took a bad fall and had to be bedridden for a couple of months? I have reserve to pay bills but how would it affect my ability to operate it afterwards.

You would probably be listing your business on CL for sale, Mo. Seems to be the case around here anyway.

I would definitely loose business but Im not so sure I would be physically capable of cleaning carpet

That has become a little phobia for me lately. I quit running a month ago after developing a pinched nerve in my ankle that would cause my leg to give out at random times. Strangest thing I have ever encountered, but it made me nervous carrying heavy tools down people's stairs as it would not have ended well.

Legs, back, and shoulders are the machines that make us money. An injury there and things die. I defend those things every day now like a surgeon does his hands.

I'm pretty sure loss of income is covered through liability insurance ? Not sure if there are other details that disqualify that coverage though, good question to ask my insurance guy next time I talk to him.
I was looking for Honda car 600 rr but couldn't find a decent deal, everyone wants blue book price or above that, screw that, this Ducati is well under kbb retail and just $ 700 more than kbb trade in value, we'll see if I get it, I'll post pics, I'm suppose to pick it up on Friday night.

Good luck with the purchase and post pics if you get

milspec6 wrote:I happen to have a brand new bike police leather jacket from Taylor Leather.  It is a large tall, but a trim large.  I bought it from the factory years ago, but sold the bike before it arrived.  

Taylor police makes the best leather jackets in the business.  If interested, let me know and I will dig it out.

I just saw this, sorry Bob, I don't think it will fit me, you have much wider shoulder than I do if I remember correctly. But thank you for the offer

Mo, yes I will post pictures tonight or tomorrow barring any cancellation / problems with the transaction.

Funny, you are purchasing a bike and I am shopping for space heaters and snow shovels.....something just not right about that.

There it is guys, made it home safely by the grace of God, the freeway wasn't kind to me tonight, wind blowing like crazy plus weekend drivers are nuts.

Nice.

Needs some graphics to dress it up though.

Nice DP talk about just jumping back in the saddle. You first ride is in a congested freeway with wind. I bet that fearing makes aerodynamic and just cuts through the wind.

Any close calls on your first ride? Are you buying some armour? Have to take that baby to the open highway and fly like the wind

sweeeet, nice dp. Is that akropovic exhaust? (forgot how to spell it)

main thing I remember to watch out for with the ducs is the clutch rattle

Somehow I pictured you on a more traditional street bike like a Triumph. Decal that thing up and enjoy the ride.

Not much room for the chick on the back.....

Thank you guys
Mo, yes I recalled one major skip on my rear tire when the lane merged and one a-ho didn't let me go, I ended up merging after him and there was a crack on the rivets, that freaked me out big time. And yes I have to buy some armor very soon, I can't believe how expensive they are, $ 500 for a freaking jacket ?? Geez I thought carpet cleaning is expensive

AC, the exhaust is termignoni exhaust, not a full exhaust, just a slip on with reflashed ecu, it's got ohlins steering damper and ohlins rear shock with custom top nuts by Dan kyle. Rear sprocket sized up to 40T I think ? Other than that the bike is pretty much stock. The clutch rattle is the dry clutch, this one got a wet clutch, but I noticed something immediately after I test ride it, this thing does not like low rpm, even around 3000 rpm you would have to down shift.

Bob, I'm not planning on taking any chick to ride with me anytime soon, lol, although I do have the passenger seat available, not sure about the decals yet

If you prefer the heavy cowhide jackets instead of the flashy body armor types, you really should check out Taylor's Leatherwear.  They are quite expensive, but they also have "close out" sales on their site that are bargains.  My jacket was over $400 normally.

This is the jacket that I purchased at a close-out sale.  I paid $150 for it and it even has zip-out Thinsulate insulation.  The only thing that I didn't like were the epulates on this model, but I was riding a police bike at the time so those epulates and badge holder were acceptable.

For those new to riding gear, leather is actually offers greater protection from abrasion than even Kevlar.  

Wow, the factory has some deals right now if you fit those sizes.

http://taylorsleatherwear.com/online-factory-store.php#!/Outerwear/c/11746027/offset=0&sort=normal