2001 Ducati Monster 900 i.e.

[TT]

Here she is, home already, earlier than expected.


(Lame custom shot. Sadly no user manual was provided)




So far the record was the 944 as between the moment I first saw it and the moment she came home, little more than a week passed.

With the Ducati it was 6 days and I didn't even tested or taken it outside the showroom!

And you know what? I don't regret the move a single moment.

I am usually like that: I buy something and NEVER think it could have been a mistake.

And this bike really is spot on what I was looking for.

In 1994 when it was launched, I fell in love with the Monster, then a couple of years ago I was sort of fed up by it, mostly because of the fact naked are everywhere...
Then, last week, I saw this sweet lady staring at me from behind a window, fell in love again, put down the money and decided we'll have become a couple!

Today when I got the call, I almost fainted, and even if I was of course there with my suit and no jeans with me (planned to take some normal clothes tomorrow for the occasion), I ran to the dealer, jumped on it, and off I was.

Too early (did 80 km only) and too excited to give proper impressions, but so far, HELL YEAH!! It's a blast!
i often find bikes a bit too big for me, but the Monster seems to be built around a 170 cm tall man, not a single cm more, not one less!
The riding position is totally perfect for me. Comfortable yet sporty enough to put you in control. The handle bar is good enough, don't think I'll need to change anything there.
This shade of pearl blue is IMO interesting. Could be tiresome on the long run maybe.. in that case, matte black for sure!

No, for the riding impression... well, as said, everything is perfect. Maybe the clutch handle is a bit too far for me. Would like to have slightly longer fingers at times
Feet position is very good althouhg I'll need some time to get used to the rear brake. HDs always have big pedals while this is much smaller.

Operating the clutch needed some min to get used to. no more huge torque like in the Electra or Dyna, so you need some gas to avoid stalling it.
The gears selector is very sensitive too. You caress it, not kick it. Finding neutral is very immediate, even when the bike is hot.

I adore the Desmo sound so special! When you're low in the revs it seems the engine is suffering, but it's just an impression and anyway it quickly picks up.

I tried some small mountain roads behind home just for the hell of it and well, again, I'll need some time to trust myself as I was doing when I was 18-20 years old. Let's face it, I am an old fart now, and throwing myself into corners requires some more practicing. But the Ducati is a peaceful companion if you want it to be, so it will be nice to learn again with it.

As for engine grunt, fuck me, 76 hp maybe, but when you open wide, the thing really flies. If you never rode a bike you can't understand the totally different level on which they play, but I am sure you were overtaken at least once by a pretty average bike with no fuss at all when you were charging at full throttle down a straight road.

I didn't dare to rev it to the limit, partially because the bike spent some months in that garage, so it need to slowly get the hang of it too, and also because I was simply too scared to just do a wheelie

I tried some 3rd gear accelerations to have an idea, and it's impressive.
Below 3000 rpm there isn't much to do... when you get to 3000 the engine starts to come on boil and at 5000 rpm hell break loose. It's a V-TECH effect, but much stronger. like a turbo from the 80s. You really have to grab the handle bar if you want to stay with the bike.

I didn't try to pass 6000 rpm but I think there should be another step a bit higher in the revs.

But well, it's quite hard to practice such things on the open road. A short 3rd gear blast to 5800 rpm takes you above 140 km/h in a glimpse!

All in all, an amazing day today, and can't wait for the WE to come to fully enjoy the lady!!!