The Ultimate Stable mate ~

bill · Sep 12, 2009

Fullauto said:
Couldn't miss that one.

I had a '72 450 Desmo ( the silver one)in the mid 70's. Couldn't fit on it these days, as they are quite tiny. Revved well, light, handled, stopped well with the twin leader, crap electrics (all of them), vibrated like a bastard, broke the odd engine mounting bolt, was fun but not for me, for the long term. A mate's B33 BSA would keep with it. Showed me very early on that accepted knowledge was not necessarily the truth. Moved on with no regrets.

the joke was that the only thing that ducati did when they took a 250 single bigger was to add more vibration

Geoffrey Chapman · Sep 13, 2009

Mine's a 250XT from 1985

ntst8 · Sep 13, 2009

Fullauto said:
I wouldn't touch a modern Ducati ( post about '85) with a barge pole. Expensive to service, not easily owner servicable, expensive parts (like almost everything else nowadays) and I must quote a mate of mine who owns nine modern Dukes who said, "Don't let anyone tell you that modern Ducatis are reliable. They are for people who ride on Sunday and put it back in the garage. You simply do not put big miles on them."

A bit harsh i think, the 4 valve water cooled models are not a home handymans toy, and they are sport bikes so not intended for touring, but thats the same as any of their market competitors.
My 2 valve air cooled baby clicked over 53,000km today - 3 years use - and the only maintenance issue has been that the tyres keep wearing out. This includes one Grand Challenge (NZ variation on 1000miles in 24 hrs) and one Southern Cross Road Rally - 6000km in 10 days, plus plenty of Sunday riding.
I do have a soft spot for the bevel drives though.

grandpaul · Sep 13, 2009

Geoffrey, that XT is the near twin to one i had; first monoshock bike I ever owned and SO easy to wheelie...

B+Bogus · Sep 13, 2009

ntst8 said:
Fullauto said:

I wouldn't touch a modern Ducati ( post about '85) with a barge pole. Expensive to service, not easily owner servicable, expensive parts (like almost everything else nowadays) and I must quote a mate of mine who owns nine modern Dukes who said, "Don't let anyone tell you that modern Ducatis are reliable. They are for people who ride on Sunday and put it back in the garage. You simply do not put big miles on them."

Click to expand...

A bit harsh i think, the 4 valve water cooled models are not a home handymans toy, and they are sport bikes so not intended for touring, but thats the same as any of their market competitors.
My 2 valve air cooled baby clicked over 53,000km today - 3 years use - and the only maintenance issue has been that the tyres keep wearing out. This includes one Grand Challenge (NZ variation on 1000miles in 24 hrs) and one Southern Cross Road Rally - 6000km in 10 days, plus plenty of Sunday riding.
I do have a soft spot for the bevel drives though.

I think the problem is that everone wants to be like Troy and Casey, so they buy the most impractical over-specced and over-stressed carbon and titanium confection available, with no thought for the implications of trying to operate a race-spec bike on the road.
I don't blame Ducati for pandering to this market!
I had an early belt 900SS and it was simple to work on and fast enough. The 851 was in another league, but by today's standards is more like a sports-tourer :roll:

Anyway, back to the topic; here's my other stable-mate - a great street bike, and OK on the open road up to around 80 or so...after this the riding position lets it down, but the motor's still good for a fair bit more, even if it does feel like its being thrashed!

Cookie · Sep 13, 2009

A little variation doesn't hurt. I just went out for coffee on the Chang and this afternoon I need to go some distance so I'll take a Goldwing.

broken link removed

grandpaul · Sep 13, 2009

Andy, i sure like the dual disc front brake setup. nice Triumph.

B+Bogus · Sep 13, 2009

grandpaul said:
Andy, i sure like the dual disc front brake setup. nice Triumph.

Thanks Grandpaul - endorsement indeed!
The brakes are great - I just worry about the headstock strength now :?

I have P-clipped the hoses to the sliders since that photo was taken BTW

rbt11548 · Sep 13, 2009

Here's my other bike, thinking of getting a modern bike too, had BMW R1200 st when I was working, then a Speed triple just after I retired , possibly going to do some trips, quite like the Buells but don't know if they'd do. I like something that is not mainstream.

Cookie · Sep 13, 2009

That is certainly classic.

GRM 450 · Sep 14, 2009

My Norton is the new kid in town, the Italians haven't complained yet.

grandpaul · Sep 14, 2009

rbt, that is one slick BSA. Golden Flash?

chris plant · Sep 14, 2009

hi rbt,my guess is an a65 lc (lightning clubman)

rbt11548 · Sep 14, 2009

grandpaul said:
rbt, that is one slick BSA. Golden Flash?

Chris is right it's a 1965 Lightning Clubman, although without the ace bars.

zackybilly1 · Sep 16, 2009

Maybe not the ultimate stablemates but maybe one day ....

The one in the back will be a full resto (bought it new in April, 1982) and the doner bike in front will probably be a streetfighter. Picked up an '03 MotoGuzzi with 5K miles on it (in the very background) and some damage to the headlight/cluster. May make an off-road adventure bike out of it.

Z

Cookie · Sep 16, 2009

The Guzzi could be interesting. A local helicopter mechanic has one with a sidecar and we see him serviceing choppers with it.

grandpaul · Sep 16, 2009

Are either of those "first year" Katanas?

Somewhat collectible, to be sure.

Cookie · Sep 16, 2009

i looked at a couple of Katanas last year myself. I'd agree that an early one will be a collector's item.

Coco · Sep 16, 2009

rbt11548 said:
Here's my other bike, thinking of getting a modern bike too, had BMW R1200 st when I was working, then a Speed triple just after I retired , possibly going to do some trips, quite like the Buells but don't know if they'd do. I like something that is not mainstream.

Beautiful.

zackybilly1 · Sep 17, 2009

GP & Cookie, yes, they are, both, first year bikes. The one on the stand, I bought brand new in April 1982 for $4999....considerbly higher than the GS1100E was at the time. This past Labor Day weekend, I rode my Goldwing up through Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virgina and back down through Tennessee. When passing back through Georgia (south of Chattanooga), I bought the 2nd one (blue tank?) and went back a day later with truck and trailer. I want to fix my first one up to +/- stock and the second one is going to be a rider.

The Guzzi...it's a California Stone and I'm not head over heels on the styling but I sure as heck like the running gear. Smooth, free-revving, torquey, easy accessible with shaft drive. A good platform to build from, for sure.

Z