RIDE REPORT

The Author will soon be Riding this Rocket. Here is the Madness (ride report) as posted by the Author in the Ducati "Big List.

RIDE REPORT:

Per my post of a couple of days ago, I am getting a 999 yellow monoposto. It will be a couple of weeks before I pick up the bike.

I test rode a demo 999 monoposto. The ride reports and reviews of the 999 were glowing. But I had not been on a bike since June 2003. So my ride was a clean slate. And it was a ride down old US 66, Central Avenue, in Albuquerque, NM, and then out of town on the old “mother road”. I am not a nostalgia person, but FWIW.

First, I was amazed at how the bike rode in low speed in stop-and-go traffic. Not much lugging and first gear power delivery was good in traffic. The rear sets were a little off for me, but no problem. They can be adjusted.

When I got out of traffic I hit 2nd gear and rolled back the throttle. About 8000rpm it hit the power band and it hit the band hard. I put some weight forward. Then I hit third at about 9000-9500.

The road was empty and the rear mirrors unadjusted. I saw 100+ on the speedo and I backed off a bit. But at 100 the bike felt like it was hardly moving. Rock solid and responsive.

I rode a couple more miles and then turned around. Coming back I noticed the very effective braking. No problem, but it is a one or two finger stopper until a rider gets the full feel of braking.

Going forward, Fred on his reply, gave me some good advice. Start slow and learn the bike. It is far more bike than I have ever owned and I want to rebuild my skills safely and sanely. But I think that my SS experience in Minnesota is helpful. I understand the bike’s wide turning angle at slow speed and know the brakes take just a light touch.

It is October here in Albuquerque and fall may hang on through November, maybe even into December. In Minnesota it could end in October. I was skating and shooting pucks on Thanksgiving days in Minnesota. Here in NM, I could get a ride in.