Easy Mods

A quick online search will reveal that there are more mods available for this platform than any 10 bikes could support. So while searching forums to see what others have chosen to do, you make lists. That which is cool, and a list of things you might actually get. Then you prioritize that one.

Mirrors are not something that I normally bother to change out on a sportbike, but this is a brave new world. And these stock mirrors are not exactly flattering. You cannot go wrong ordering Rizoma parts as whatever they make is of the highest quality. For this bike I choose to go with the "Dynamic" model in a black finish. Here you can compare and contrast between Olde and New.

Now that's better. Clean lines, great attention to detail and high quality components. And a blue tint for accent.

 And yes, things were falling into place nicely as a new windscreen arrived the very same day.

There's another Monster in the garage

Well, I've gone and done it. Made the move, signed the papers and loaded up the truck. I now am the proud owner of a 2007 Ducati S2R1000.

This is a total departure from what I have owned for so many years. This is the result of deciding that regardless of past history, the ZX6 is simply not the right bike for me at this time. Turns out that there is a large difference between taking a 20 minutes ride on a prescribed course and living with a bike for 3 to 4 hours at a clip. I am simply not willing to make accommodations to my bikes.

Still in the second phase of break-in. I put another 35 miles on right after unloading and browsing the manual. It's a V-twin alright. V-twins shake like washing machines. I've decided that not only will I embrace that sensation but that I'm going to consider that part of the riding experience. However, there will be no loafing in any gear that keeps me below 5K...

Things smooth out a little above that point and at 6 grand the decent power kicks in. Compared with my other bikes, this one seems deceptively quick to me right now. I decided that's due to the sensation of vibration, which with an inline means you are bogging it, so once that started to clear up a bit, I looked at the speedo to find that I was flying right along, faster than I expected to be. It will also take some time for me to learn the engine to be able to correlate what gear I'm in based upon RPMs at speed. It's all different.

 I took Colin out for a 50 mile spin on the ZRX and then I went back out for another 30 miles or so on the S2R. Very different. The Ducati is noticeably lighter -- specs claim 100lbs! -- and more nimble. No surprise that it feels much easier to toss into corners. I'm starting to get a better feel for how to ride this bike and am really enjoying it so far.

My list of potential customizations grows daily.

Life takes a 90 degree turn

What can I say. Time passes, things change.

Over the course of the past couple months I have been concerned with my inability to ride the ZX6 to my fullest potential, let alone anywhere near that of the bike. Never gained complete confidence in the fast corners, and it didn’t matter whether I was hanging way off or not, I simply felt like I had too much body weight transferred too far forward under hard braking. A friend with similar experiences summed up the sensation best saying "I got tired of feeling like a hood ornament."

I tried several different approaches to the issue of fast cornering, and I got around ‘em, but I sometimes had to think about it, and I found that to be disconcerting. I want to be thinking about my exit line and getting on the throttle, not about weight transfer on the way into the corner and extra counter steering inputs.

I came to the decision that I was simply not enjoying the bike as much as I had planned to. And this forced a lot of reevaluations of what it is that I want to derive from motorcycling at this point in my riding career.

I decided to go in a new direction, one that had you asked me a year ago I’d have told you was preposterous, and gone into detail explaining why and the plans that I had. While I was consumed with trying to figure out my shortcomings with the ZX6 -- a great machine by the way -- I recognized a distinct trend which has been forming among the group of people that I ride with and the types of hardware they bring to the rides. Like all of those Dentists you’ve heard about on TV most of your life, they seem to be agreeing. Maybe it is time for me to try a total departure from that which has come before.

Maybe, it’s time to make a change...

Long Live the Black Monster!

I am looking to develop a greater sense of attachment to motorcycling; looking for a purer, more basic motorcycling experience. Oh, I'm not talking about hopping on something 60 years old and abandoning tech, but I want to try something .... less focussed? That may not be a correct word. Modern sportbikes are track developed, sharp-edged weapons, with silky smooth operation, ensconced in a full fairing. Beautiful to be sure and I have enjoyed them for decades. Now I want to try something one notch backed off from the track experience, more road ridable, with more tactile sensations.

So I am embarking on a new path in my motorcycling career, and I will see where it leads.