So there I was yesterday, in the bath reading the first few pages of the latest issue of Performance Bikes magazine. The first article was written by Jon Urry and it was all about the £5500 Yamaha MT-07. Now I've read about this particular bike in both RiDE and Bike magazine, but whilst sat there I had a thought. 'I wonder if this MT-07 is available on a PCP finance deal?' Now for those who don't know what that is, its when you put a small deposit down and then pay low monthly repayments for two to three years. You can either then buy the bike outright, give it back, or use the value of the bike to get another brand new bike. I checked and if I put down £1500, then I could have a brand new bike for £80 a month. That's almost only one tank of fuel in the car. No need to worry about major services, nothing going wrong, but if it does, everything will be under warranty. A funky little run around for £80 a month. That's serious piece of mind. Tempting doesn't quite do it justice. Its my girlfriends 30th birthday in a few weeks and she absolutely loves the Primrose Bakery. www.primrose-bakery.co.uk. She has been talking about getting a specific cake for ages, in fact she rarely stops going on about it, so as the good boyfriend, I headed over to Primrose Hill after work and ordered up the cake for her. She's going to love it and I can't wait to see her face when I bring it down to her parents house on the South Coast. Sadly through, there's no way I can carry the cake on the bike, so I'll be in the car. Which is handy really as this what happened to the two cupcakes I bought after they'd been in my backpack for twenty mins on the ride out of London. Still bloody delicious through.
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Dear France,
I am writing this letter to you today as a mark of my thanks. You hardly know me, we've only met the once, but I can say with a great deal of certainty, that for me, it was has been a life changing experience. After a reasonable journey, you met me and indeed my friends with open arms. Your people treated me like a distant cousin, happy to help, even with those most stupid of questions. Your car drivers gave me space, were considerate and even at times admired the fine stead that I had chosen to use for my journey. Your bikers were first class; every one of them raising a hand in greeting as they acknowledged a fellow member of that most liberating of clubs. Parts of your fine land reminded me of home, but I did not feel homesick, for I felt safe. Your villages and towns were beautiful with some of the most exquisite buildings taking centre stage amongst the delightful cafes and bistros. The air was clean and fresh; the sky was the bluest I've ever seen and your food was devine. Your major roads are a marvel to behold. Smooth flowing ribbons of tarmac made riding beyond enjoyable and the country lanes tested my riding to the fullest, but maybe that could have been my bike settings more than a fault of your own. Let me conclude by saying I will be back to spend more of time embracing your culture and enjoying the hospitality of your people Until next time Matt As I'm off across the channel tomorrow, I needed/wanted to do a few things this morning just to ensure the 1098s was ready. This basically included a wash, checking the tyres and softening up the front a few clicks. Whilst I was out there, I cleaned up and Monster, gave her a good wax coating and them promptly took her up to Metropolis ready to be sold. Instead of a 100 mile ride through the countryside, our final ride was just a little 15 minute bimble up the road in a pair of jeans. Sitting here now, this will be the first bike (with the exception of the ZX7-R of course) that I actually passed on that was still in working order. The Hornet and the Z1000 both came to an unfortunate end.
Looking at the pictures above, it's still an attractive bike. The red frame really sets off the black body work, but despite looking good, deep down, I know that moving the bike on is the right decision. Our time together was short and the sound track was amazing, but sadly she had a huge mountain to overcome and that mountain sat next to her overnight. Warm and sunny. For a biker, those three words are heaven sent. They are up there with 'I love you' and 'would you like a cup of tea?' Despite being 'chilly' overnight with a bit of fog in the mornings, this week has seen the weather turn decidedly lovely, which has given me a real chance to actually ride the big bike following the Desmo service at the start of February. The bike feels smoother and incredibly responsive on the throttle and although the slow speed stuff is still a strain on the left wrist, when getting a wriggle on, it feels brand new.
As part of my New Years promise to myself was to ride more, this weekend will see me riding the 1098 over to France for the day, which will also mark the first part in my preparations for my July trip to Italy. As I've never been, I'm really looking forward to it. I mentioned this to my love and she couldn't quite believe that I've never been across the Channel. So despite popping over the Canaries a few times over the years, this will be the first time my humble feet would have stood on mainland European soil. Just hope Europe is really for my size 11s. With the exception of one morning this week, the weather has turned mild. It looks like the winter that never was (minus the awful flooding problems of course) has come and gone and we are looking straight down the barrel of Spring. So it comes as no surprise the find out that my 1098s is still stuck in the garage minus its rear wheel. I'm really not exactly happy about it. If I'd known it could/would be at least three weeks then there is no way I would have taken it to Sutton Coachworks. I'd have found an alternative. All I want now is my wheel back, in a condition I'm happy with, then after that, I want nothing to do with them again. I'm very very disappointed.
Anyway, onto nicer news. When I got home this afternoon I had a Ducati branded A4 letter waiting for me, which was the confirmation of my two Ducati trackdays at Donington Park and Silverstone, which are this year being run by the team at Calafornia Superbike school. I'd already met two of the riders and Lynn, who arranged the booking when they held the Ducati Strada tour in the summer of last year, so it will be nice to catch up. Hopefully both days will be dry...unlike 2013. The drawstring on my SMX plus boots snapped inside of of my boots last week, which although annoying, I'm looking into getting them repaired or replaced. I'll keep you updated. Big day tomorrow, but don't want to say too much. Hopefully more news to follow. Well today I've pretty much spend a few hours playing with my video editor again and have uploaded a couple of vids the yee olde Youtube. They're both a bit of an experiment really, just trying a few things out. As a result they're nothing special and are just two typical rides out of London after work. The first was a lovely sunny day on my old Ninja and the second was a rainy ride home on the 1098s. Let me know what you think. Sometimes life throws you little curveballs to make life interesting. Its at times like this that life also gives you the chance to gamble and well, today I gambled and I lost ladies and gentlemen.
I woke up this morning at the usual ungodly hour, got my kit on, grabbed my keys and went to get my bike. I was intending on taking the Monster, but when I tried to turn the alarm off, the rear indicators didn't flash to indicate that the alarm was inactive. A little strange I thought, so I tried again. Still nothing. It was then that I looked at the keys in my hand and realised that these were the keys for the 1098. I really couldn't be bothered going back inside, it wasn't raining and there was no salt on the ground. Superbike it is then. As it was warming up, the fuel light came on....can you see where this is going? Anyway, on the way into work, I had plenty of opportunities to fill up, but felt I had enough in the tank to get me to work and then back out the mile or so to the nearest garage on the way home. The fuel gauge was saying I'd covered 7miles. So there I am, half a mile from work. HALF A BLOODY MILE and the bike cuts out. Clearly there was a lot lot less fuel on board than I had originally thought. Bugger. I look at my watch and its 04:40. I call work and it cheers the overnight editor up no end and not really wanting to leave my pride on joy on the street I decide to push it to the nearest petrol station, which was thankfully, downhill. After half a mile of this (the opposite way to work I may add) my body was stuffed, especially my arms, hands and back. I could see the petrol station in the distance, so as I was worried I was going to drop the bike, I parked it up on the pavement and wandered down. I found the attendant sweeping the forecourt and although there was a slight language barrier, I explained that I needed fuel and that I really didn't want to have to buy a fuel can, just to throw it away simply as I couldn't carry it any distance on the bike. 'No problem' he says and he pops into the office and comes back with a plastic fuel can full of Shell's finest unleaded. I gave him £20 as a deposit and walked briskly back to the bike, which was thankfully still there. I was able to get the vast majority of the fuel in and with the now empty can resting under my screen, I rode gently back to the garage. I returned the can and got a tenner back, which all things considered, I was actually quite pleased with. I finally got to work at 05:30, 45mins late having one of the most 'interesting' journeys for a long, long time. This is the third time I've run out of fuel with this bike. Twice on the road and once on track. I must remember to not let it happen again. A real school boy error. On my god, this is going to cost me a fortune. Today I was lucky enough to spend the day with the team at Metropolis Ducati and first my I say, Artur you are indeed a very patient man and again, thank you. We got the bike up on the ramp by 08:20 and it was still there at 17:00 when I left as there are still a a few jobs to do. There really is a reason why these Desmo services take so long and therefore cost so much. As I mentioned yesterday I plan on using what I learnt today and putting into some sort of article. Let hope something comes of it, because frankly after today, I need some extra money. As it stands the outstanding jobs are a front fork refresh, new front tyre, a brake check and a few minor little things I've asked Artur to look in to for me. Its times like today that I really wish I had a better understanding of how to fix and serv
Very cold this morning so as the Monster has practically no actual weather protection outside the hand guards and heated grips, I used my rain suit as an additional layer in the cold. It may look a bit silly, but who really cares about that, I was warm. In nicer news, I've finished editing my video clips and uploaded them to Youtube. So for your viewing pleasure (please excuse the rather loud wind noise in places) here they are. First up is footage of my riding and then crashing at Brands Hatch. and second is me riding my old ZX7R at Silverstone, which turned out to be the last time the bike and I would be on track together. Enjoy. Okay, so I've had the Ducati Monster 695 for around two mouths now, so this is what I think...in a slightly condensed form:
What I like - The name on the tank, the riding position, the noise from the exhausts (especially on the overrun), the colour and how easy it is to ride. What I don't like - Its terrible at low revs and partially throttle, so much so that it's really doing my bloody head in. Despite really trying, I can't easily attach any of the luggage I have. Yes I could just about use my tailpack, but this encroaches on the riding position and the tank isn't magnetic so my tankbag is out of the question too. It's just not fast enough. Now I know this is a daft one, but when I took it out onto some nice open sweeping roads and it just ran out of puff when things started to get interesting. I like riding knowing there is more there if I need it. As you may have guessed I haven't bonded with this bike at all. Yes the bike is just supposed to be transport, but I firmly believe that 'transport' doesn't have to be boring or be a compromise. Now I'm not saying the Monster is boring and there are certainly those who love their Ducati Monsters and that's great, really great. Loving your bike is really important, even if its just an ER5 Kawasaki. I really loved my Ninja, just as much as I love the 1098s and well maybe that's the problem. I'm trying to make the Monster fill a space that it had hardly any chance of filling, which although is probably unfair, it's the way I'm starting to feel. Using the bike everyday its quirks haven't made me fall for its 'character' instead they are really starting to annoy me. Deep down I think I've known this since the end of last year, possibly earlier, so this is why I'm now back on the hunt. It makes sense to me that the only way to fill a hole left by a Ninja, is to buy another Ninja. |
MeMy name is Matt Brown and I'm a UK journalist formerly based in London, but now calling the South of England home. I've been riding bikes since 2007, but got hooked straight away. Nothing gives me the feeling of freedom, even when stuck in a city. In 2010 I became a RoSPA gold rider, but when it comes down to it, I'm Just a normal man, riding his bikes as often as he can. Archives
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