Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry i've pretty much been away from my PC for a week so couldn't update things as I went. To mark this somewhat small and insignificant milestone, I've got around to building up the FireBlade page, which is now under the My Bikes - Past and Present banner at the top of the page.
Today the new owner picked up my Ducati Monster and I wish her all the best with it and hope it gives her a great deal of fun and enjoyment. For me though, that chapter is over and I'm enjoying getting to know my Blade more and more.
In book news I've added a review of The Limit by Michael Cannell, which although not actually about bike racing, its still a fantastic book and one thats well worth your time.
In Ducati crash news, the parts have been ordered and the bike is scheduled for the workshop at the start of July. The damage could have been a whole lot worse and thankfully the engine seems to run fine, but only a proper ride will confirm everything is alright after the rebuild. I hope so as in a month, I plan on being in Italy.

Well if everything goes to plan tomorrow, I should have the FireBlade in the garage, the Ducati in the dealership for repair and some money in my pocket following the sale of the Monster. I've arranged to hire a van tomorrow morning from local van rental firm Wheels www.wheelsltd.com for a very reasonable fee and the plan is the head up to Silverstone, collect my thoroughly busted up Ducati, drive over to Oxford, pick up the FireBlade and bring them both back to Barnet. If I have time, I'll try and arrange a coffee with my mate Neal who lives in Wantage, who always has the ability to make me smile and at a time like this, I will really need it. Cross fingers it all goes to plan.

On the hottest weekend of the year, when it seemed all the bikes in England were out in the road, mine was sat in the garage getting dusty. Not that I'm complaining as I had a great weekend. I got back mid afternoon today and after spending an hour or two catching up with things, I decided I had better get on with these track fairings. The first job was to repair the tabs on the belly pan, two of which were broken. I cleaned up the tabs and looked at ways to secure and reinforce them. I picked up some proper fairing clips at the end of last week for this very task, but when attached to the taps, they simply left no room to really attach them back on. It was then that I tried putting one on the last remaining tab and that, well frankly disintegrated on me. That was it, stuff it! I certainly wasnt going to fight a loosing battle with soft second rate plastic. The problem was, I still wanted to use the main panels, including the nose and tail, so I decided to give the normal (non carbon) belly pan a whirl instead and I'm very pleased. So much easier if I'm honest and it looks pretty good too. I just have to hope they go onto the bike okay. 

Whilst rummaging around I found my original integrated tail light. Those of you who have read my blog over the years, might remember that I had to change it over as one of the four clusters of indicator LEDS stopped working, which isn't good enough for road trim, but for track duties and that one journey each way at each end of the day, it will be fine. The original idea was to put some stick on indicators inside the tail unit, but with this solution I don't have to and have saved myself a little bit of wiring. The problem with mounting the light is still there and following the issue with the belly pan, I wasn't really in the mood to start building up a tab and than having to find a solution regarding the thread. So I drilled a hole, just a small one to start with and as I thought, it comes out right under the seat cowl. The plan now is to either bolt the light in using the original gromets, but with a much longer nut and bolt which will then sit recessed under the seat, or by using cable ties. Now I know what you're thinking;  this is serious bodge territory and you absolutely right, but lets see what happens.
Going back a few days for a second, on my way up to Birmingham on Friday, I had a more than enough time for the journey, so instead of just sitting on the motorway, I decided to drive my biking route which is much more engaging. Along the way I knew that I was due to pass a Triumph dealer www.hughendenm40.co.uk which is on the A40 just before Oxford services. So, I got out and had a look around, which is when I saw this.

Its a 14,000 mile 2002 CBR900RR FireBlade, the last one designed by Tadao Baba, the father of the FireBlade. The price is okay and I've sent out a few emails to see if I can get a test ride later this week. If I like it, this would be perfect for me, but the only problem is I still haven't sold the Monster.

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.

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.

Thankfully I didn't have to be anywhere specific after work today, which gave me a lot of freedom. I had been thinking of riding over to Ruislip (West London) to have look at the Kawasaki dealer over there, but in all honesty, I couldn't be bothered. It would have meant riding across London and onto the A40, with a return journey via the North Circular Road. So instead I filled the bike up and headed over to Mike and the gang...again...to say hi and ask about my upcoming service.
Artur had popped out for a bit, but kn the meantime I did get to meet the Ducati UK sales rep for the South. He was a nice guy, very smiley and polite. I liked him straight away.
When I wanted to leave, my bike wouldn't start. The starter motor kept firing, but the engine wouldn't turn over. I was looking a bit puzzled when, from the back of the shop, both Artur and Mike came out laughing their heads off. Turns out they had unplugged both my sparkplugs, which even I thought was quite funny. Life is a lot easier when your friends are there to help you out, but also show you the lighter side of things.

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.

Well as most of the UK will attest to, the unusual weather continues. When its not chucking it down, its actually still really mild. Yesterday London saw light winds, no rain and more double figure temperatures so I took the opportunity to take the big bike out again. The riding position is so different to the Monster that I questioned how I managed to commute on it for five months. For me, this has really highlighted the 'problem' with having two bikes that are so different. It didn't take long to get used to the riding position thou and I'm very aware that my body isn't necessarily 'bike fit', but that can be easily sorted. Since the New Year, I've intentionally started concentrating my gym work on my upper body and core. Running has been taking care of my legs for ages now, so I'm not too worried about that, but what I really want to do is be strong in the right places in time for the Italy trip I have planned for the summer. That will entail long days riding a sportsbike over some fairly large distances. The last thing I need to be at that point is unfit. That could be seriously uncomfortable, but more importantly, dangerous too.

This is probably going to be my last blog update before Christmas as I'm going to be using the car to get my into and out of London on Monday and Tuesday. This should permit me a quick getaway on Christmas Eve as I head down to the in-laws for five days of relaxing and quality time.
This morning I took advantage of the decent weather and free time and cleaned up the Monster, removed those horrid stickers on the exhausts and gave it a fresh coating of ACF-50.
On the topic of stickers, personally I think they have no place on a bike, with the possible exception of a rider logo on the screen. I know some are used to cover marks and scratches, but I just don't think the bring anything extra to a bike. Badges are fine and in my opinion should be cherished as you should never cover or remove a manufacturers badge. It has to be said thou, that both Kawasaki and Ducati have possible the largest badges on their tanks anyway. All the stickers I get, normally with the purchase of a new piece of kit, get stuck onto my Halfords tool box. Its no £2000 Snap On box so defacing it with the Alpinestars logo seems to work quite nicely. Anyway, here a picture of the now stickerless rear end of my Monster which looks much better for it.

Finally just a quick note to wish all the readers and visitors to the site a very Merry Christmas. Take care. 

It was the Friday before Christmas, when all through the town, not a creature was stirring, not even a......well all except for the masses of people heading to Smithfield Meat Market this morning. It was absolutely rammed and this was at 04:40 in the morning! So many people who had no idea where to go. It was massively annoying frankly as I needed to get to work and they were blocking the access to my car park. The parking wardens seemed to be enjoying themselves, so I guess that's one thing. My journey had already gotten off to a bad start when I pulled into my local petrol station to find they had no fuel. I couldn't spend any serious time finding an alternate source and coupled with the closure of the A1 in Holloway, I was already late so you can understand my frustration at the market.
On a plus note, I'm really loving the way the Monster is sounding. That throaty grumble makes the bike sound a lot bigger that 700cc. Hopefully more pedestrians will hear me now and stop trying to jump under my front wheel whenever the mood takes them. I did managed to get to a petrol station on the way home within 10mins of leaving the office and managed to get a fraction over 13.5 litres into the tank, so I was in fact down to my last 500cc. That's cutting it a little too close even thou I could have got maybe 5-7 miles down the road before spluttering to a halt. I've run out of petrol once or twice before and I really don't recommend it.