jihem

first Ducati I ever rode was a very expensive and very rare 851 (888 in fact) SP2. I did 100 meters and then decide i would go in another direction and so got engaged in doing my first ever first gear U-turn with a Ducati. No one ever told me that you NEVER U-turn a Ducati, cos the steering lock is more of a lock...

i was riding my ex T3 Calif, and a friend was following on his 888. Arriving at a crossroad, i jump off the bike and run a few meters to my friend who had just stopped, to tell him something. I somehow totally forgot to put the side-stand on Big Mama, and she was there, on her side, with the huge footrests of the Calif serving as side-stand

now we're talking

Nicolas Cage rides a Guzzi too. actually, i found an entire list of VIPs and their favorite motorbikes here here (you can read Bob Dylan rides a Triumph, so i'm not sure the infos are kept up to date )

ok, ok, i'm bought to the idea thanx to all for ze input, see you late june !

Hi all, i'll have to travel late june to Seattle and obviously i'm taking a plane. But this is looking at quite a few hours aboard a 747 (for the best) and there are no direct flights anyway. So, I 'm wondering if it wouldn't be more fun to travel from SF to Seattle by car. Nice roads ? Too long ? Too damn boring ? what do you think ? (no, i don't want to rent an HD or a Beemer instead of an intermediate car

As it happen, Florence is a girl's name in French... at least guys, you don't have cities that change names depending what part of the country you're travelling in... In Belgium, if you happen to start in Antwerp, going to "Liege", it's named as "Luik" in flemish and there are no indications of "Liege" there... Same goes if you start in, let say Namur, going to "Kortrijk", as the boards will only show "Courtrai"...

where's that 77 miles winding road ? This is nearly as long as Belgium from one side to the other...

i love ducatis. I had a '89 750 Sport and a '93 Superlight and they were delighful. The 900 was more fragile but geen what a bike The only reason i didn't get a third ducati is i didn't like the SSie line at all and didn't want to go into 4 valves territory as I'm more interested in developping my ability as a rider than having a bike that develops 120 Hp at the back wheel...(So, one of the reason i choose the Ghezzi-Brian is it's the ultimate 2 valves twin cylinders italian machine). The classic line looks too nostalgic to me. I hate anyone to remind how "old" i really am and i've always found the duc 2 valves frame a bit flimsy when ridden hard. Is that still the case ?

yes, it's really tough and looks very very painful indeed. I couldn't go thru that either. congrats !

bon anniversaire

snow here in Brussels, this morning. The Ghezzi hasn't been ridden in 4 days. It's been so cold here for the last 10 days or so... I actually couldn't start it the other day. I went to that great italian restaurant (waitress has green eyes, brown hair and her upper lip is a call to crime. enough said anyway, it was freezing but Wonderbra had started impeccably and she was running smoothly. Temp was very probably around - 2 or 3 ° celsius. I had a cappucino and a light lunch. Afterwards, the Ghezzi wouldn't start. It was sleeting and all. I could hear the fuel pomp, battery was ok but the bike wouldn't start. I had no tools with me, so i called some company called "Touring" who help when there's a breakdown. The guy came one hour later, he was of course a motorbike enthusiast (most of the repair guys there are) with a CX500 Honda at home so he did recognise the engine straight away;) With his help, and after the removal of the one piece bodywork and a few finger taps on the fuses and ECU leads, the bike eventually started fine. What was it ? Too cold ? Bad connections ? I dunno. And so was he: the bike started fine and that was all... Anyway I rode Wonderbra back to the garage and she's been there since. Started her again yesterday and it sounds as great as ever i think i need another cappucino

max !!! he's becoming a running joke... pffrrrr. i like him a lot but he's getting very ridiculous.. that time posted by Valentino Rossi is AMAZING. How can he drive a 2004 car only 1 sec slower than Ol' Schumi in the 2006 Ferrari ? Even if the track was wet, or whatever conditions, it's nothing short of incredible. i'm afraid this year we'll be seing the last of Rossi on two wheels before he goes to F1 and becomes World Champion in 2008...

Hollywood ?

wait for 2007 when all machinery will need to be smaller than 800cc... Ducati will be gone, Honda will be owning the serie again and it will be back to business as usual....

i' m puzzled...what seems to perspire is that the Ohlins are more confortable, slightly better than the Marz', and that the seals are most of the times porous after 5000 miles. ok. but what about accuracy of riding ? is that waving habit of the early V11 gone with the Ohlins (i know it was also frame related) ? is the Ohlins more incisive ?

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

horror !!!

mmmh. going thru Francorchamps in a Lotus Elise comes close. And if it drifts, well it's only more fun as much as i adore bikes, let's face it: some cars are indeed VERY exciting in the proper environment (but then again, what isn't exciting on a race track ?)

the grocery man sings when handing over the lettuce ?

i dunno yet about the distance, i have to go to the garage to check it out but it's way too cold now thanx for the link, that will indeed be very helpful

do you know him ? I'm asking this cos he gave me a very different (but still interesting) price..1490 shipping included... i'm actually very interested. Are they good Ohlins forks or "low-end-products-done-in-a hurrywith-cheap-components-to-satisfy-a-customer-we're-not-so-sure-about" ?

Bob, is there a micro climate around yr place ? it's f**** freeezing here in Brussels....

samo samo, except mine is even "sweeter"; it's my wife's company car I really hate spending $ on a four wheeler to be honest. The A class Merco is such a nice little bugger that we' ll get a new one in a few weeks.

thanx...I believe i'll go HTmoto or Dynotec then....