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.