Tag: Ducati Desert Sled Fasthouse

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Making Lemonade

Crackle and crunch went the leaves underfoot as we loaded up the car to head out for our ride.  With temps in the low 60s, the day promised to be a perfect fall ride.

            The ride was delayed but for an excellent reason.  Bill wanted to install my brand new LeoVince LV10 carbon fiber slip on exhaust.  That’s the lemonade making; last week’s drop gave Bill the idea to go ahead and replace the scratched up stock exhaust (the lemons) with the delicious sounding LeoVince (you can hear what the exhaust sounds like here: https://youtu.be/BndvfPF-Nl0).  Now my Ducati Scrambler rumbles and grumbles with a deep-throated roar.

            The install took 15-20 minutes, so we were soon heading out.  I rode the whole time with a smile on my face enjoying the engine roar even while I acknowledged that I would need to wear ear plugs on future rides.  The best sound was when I downshifted; at those times, the exhaust popped and rumbled wonderfully.

            I did make one mistake with this ride.  I forgot to wear my motorcycle socks.  My motorcycle socks are knee high and would have kept my lower legs warm from the wind chill shooting up my jeans’ cuffs.  It was chilly enough to make me close my helmet vent and keep my visor down.  I was also able to enjoy the slow speed maneuvers as the engine heat warmed up my chilly shins.  One such drill was to turn the motorcycle to full lock and dab the feet while completing a circle.  I was able to complete two full circles and was a little full of myself.  After the ride when we were doing our ride reviews, Bill pointed out that in that exercise, I was supposed to be looking in the opposite direction.  Oh well.  Something to practice next week.

            When I was practicing on the R Nine T, Bill took out the Ducati to enjoy the new exhaust himself.  While on the R Nine T, I did have one stall, but I recovered quickly.  The city had some digging flags out that I was able to use as cones for slalom practice.  I was having such a good ride on the R Nine T, I half-hoped Bill would want to ride the Ducati home so I could stay on the BMW.  No luck, but I did tell Bill I feel ready to ride the R Nine T on some pavement.

            The roar of the exhaust helped to move along some Canadian geese who were determined to cross the road in front of us.  After Bill’s turn on the Ducati, he said we would order the baffle to help mute the sound some.  I managed to spot an Atlantis Fritillary butterfly, but there are more Halloween decorations out than butterflies now.

            One aspect of this week’s ride with the new exhaust was the realization that just like that, I was having fun on the Ducati again.  No doubt the cooler temperatures help but, after last week’s drop, I was questioning my choice in motorcycles.  The new exhaust took about ten pounds of weight off the bike, and the deep roar gave me a new sense of fun and adventure on the Scrambler.  Next weekend promises the same lovely weather; with the right socks, I’ll be all set to really enjoy my ride.

LeoVince LV10 carbon fiber exhaust.
The LeoVince exhaust on my Ducati Scrambler.

How to Transport a Motorcycle

            Rain greeted us Saturday morning, so I didn’t get my last practice ride on the BMW G310 GS.  Instead, we headed out to Home Depot to get some supplies; we had a ramp to make.  When we bought the BMWs, we transported them home using a U-Haul 15-foot truck.  At Adventure BMW, the dealership, they used a metal ramp to walk alongside the bike while running it up the ramp (insurance issues prevent any riding the bike up into the truck).  When we got the bikes home, however, we didn’t have any such “sidewalk” ramp, so my 310 was walked out with Bill astride it, and the R NineT was ridden out by my daredevil younger brother.

            This new bike was a Ducati bought from Bayside Harley-Davidson and Ducati out in Portsmouth where they really expect you to ride the motorcycle out of the dealership.  But we had rented another U-Haul, and Bill had come up with a creative way to make our own “sidewalk” ramp out of half of an extension ladder and some plywood.  It worked beautifully, but it took the better part of Saturday to make and did not come without some complications.

            Our Sunday was devoted to transferring motorcycles.  I picked up the U-Haul and we loaded our “sidewalk.”  When we got to Bayside, we found my lovely Ducati Desert Sled Scrambler Fasthouse #683 of 800 in a fancy display with my name on the seat.  We found Dorian to finish up the sale’s details, Dorian rode the bike out to our truck, and we proceeded to load.

            Now this was Sunday, yet we saw multiple cars cutting in and out of traffic, cutting me off (people, U-Hauls do not accelerate quickly), and in general making the case for our transporting the bike by truck rather than trying to ride it in traffic. 

When we arrived at my parents’ house, I quickly went in and brought the G310 GS out; we didn’t want my Mom thinking for a moment that we were going to house three motorcycles in her garage.  Next came the hard part—turning the Ducati around so we could walk it off the truck (no daredevil brother today).  This required brute strength to drag the bike around and then strength to carefully walk it down the ramp—not letting it get out in front of you nor let it tip too much to one side or the other and fall off the ramp.  However, once we got it off the ramp, got the BMW loaded, it was time to start her up.  The roar of the bike reminds me of Bill’s R NineT.  I quickly grabbed my jacket and helmet, suited up, and hopped on.

Since it was my first time on a brand-new bike, I reverted to my MSF training, kept the bike in neutral and just rocked it back and forth, then walked it.  Next I put the bike in first and paddle walked it a little up the street, turned around paddle walking, and walked it back.  Now I released the clutch and rolled on the throttle and scooted up the road in first, shifting to second.  As I shifted into second, I felt the 73 HP and the power of the 803cc engine—I loved it!  I didn’t feel confident about my U-turn, though, so I took a spin around the block, never leaving second gear, and road the bike up into the garage—no stalls.  Next week will be the full practice and neighborhood cruise and I absolutely can’t wait!  It’s also the week before winter break, and I am honestly more excited about getting to ride my new motorcycle than the upcoming holidays.

My brand new Ducati Desert Sled Fasthouse Edition Motorcycle as showcased at the dealership.