Well, having last ridden a geared bike more than 15 years ago (an FS1E) I did 1 day on a 125, 1 on a 500, then passed today on a 500 with 3 minors!!! :thumb::D:D:D

Absolutely stoked, and absolutely hooked on the buzz of riding! :thumb:

On the first day we stopped at a bike shop for coffee and they had my dream bike, a yellow Ducati 748 in yellow, 7k miles, for £4k! I had no idea you could get so much for your money (cue a string of replies telling me its a crap bike ;))

God, now I have to put serious thought into what to buy!!!!

:D

So what? :Whatever_

LMAO :D

Go to bed man, I'll set *J'aime* on you otherwise ;)

Congratualtions :thumb: However only the best riders fail first time and pass on their second attempt ;)

As for the Ducati its a great looking bike on the road/in the shop but less great looking when its on the back of a recovery truck which is where by a lot of accounts it spends much of its life.

Congrats Ed

Just buy something reliable ;)

Haha, yes I thought that may be the case. Are they really as bad as their reputation?

That CBR a few posts down looks very very nice too.

I'm bad enough trying to choose which car to own :eek:

Hi Ed,

Well done and welcome to the fold... The Duc is a lovely bike, and nowhere near as unreliable as Emap would have you believe - we've never managed to make one break down on test and we're not exactly gentle with them :)But it's not an easy bike to get the best out of. It's peaky and does't really work very well unless it's being ridden hard.

If you want a Ducati (and why not - it's your money) then take a look at 800SS or even the 1000SS. They're far more forgiving and easier to ride generally. Nice bikes, too, though obviously not quite as sexy as the 748/916 shape...

SB

PS At this point lots of people will tell you loads of horror stories about Italian bikes, born again bikers and people buying sportsbikes straight off. Others will tell you how they passed their tests and got straight on a GSXR1000 and rode it flat out everywhere with no ill effects. The truth is probably somewhere between the two, but there's an awful lot of bollocks spouted here. Just do what *you* want and sod everyone else :thumb:

I know someone who had a bright yellow 748 and he had one problem (electrical) in 3 years of ownership - it was gorgeous, ok maybe not as fast as a 916 (or indeed a modern 600) but it was just something about it i couldn't put my finger on.

it had the Termi's and sounded awesome.

It had character by the bucket load.
go out and buy it if you want to mate - you wont regret it.

Well done passing your test btw:thumb:

Thanks guys, wise words.

Looking back I'm glad I've waited til I'm 30 to get a bike. I drive my cars very hard where and when acceptible, but I have a much greater sense of protecting my life nowadays and after the last 2 days I am confident I can learn the ropes on something sporty without being silly.

Of course, it's other road users that really bothers me! ;)

As for the 748, you said it yourself, there is just something about it that drew me to it and made me come back to it like a drooling kid, where I just kind of stood still and looked for about 2 minutes. It's a work of art, I like my vehicles to have 'soul'. It's why I drive an E39 M5 not an E60.

In summary, then: I think I have a LOT of research to do! :lol1:

Ed, I'm happy to trade you bike info for M5 info :)

SB ('yellowgixxer' on the M5 forum)

Sounds like a deal :thumb:

Hi Ed, how's it going,
Had this from new for a year with absolutely no problems..
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/PSi3/ADDUC3.jpg

Then i had this, nice bike but just not the whole package ( for me )
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/PSi3/suz2.jpg

So i've just bought this..
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/PSi3/DSC_0059-1.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f229/PSi3/DSC_0057.jpg
Still running it in but it's everything i want from two wheels.

If you end up with a Ducati bookmark the 28th April for this.. Evo :: View topic - Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival 28/4/07 (http://www.evo.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7565&view=previous&sid=3aa8006d96053cfa2f50f2b8a6817b99)

The dealer i bought mine from is Moto Rapdio in Winchester Moto Rapido Ducati Sales, Service, Tuning, Racing, Parts (http://www.motorapido.co.uk/) , fantastic people to deal with, real enthusiasts.

Couple of usefull Ducati sites,
Home - Ducati Sporting Club - one of the UK Ducati Owners Clubs (http://www.ducatisportingclub.com)
Ducatisti.co.uk - UK Ducati Forum (http://www.ducatisti.co.uk)

Simon.

Ed,

I had this for a few years and loved it to bits, the missus wouldn't let me keep it in the living room though :mad:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/karlkesselaar/f2.jpg


It mean's you can embarrass your kids as well :D


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/karlkesselaar/20-01-2006110550.jpg

Simon - wow she's a beauty! Out of interest what was your opinion on the 748? I'm pretty small as you know so I like the fact it's nice and compact.

Karl - lol @ her face! Tell me you didn't make her wear that in front of her friends :lol1:

well done Fella, just make sure you test ride everything before you part with your money eh?

Ed,

It mean's you can embarrass your kids as well :D


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/karlkesselaar/20-01-2006110550.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/karlkesselaar/20-01-2006110550.jpg)

:lol1:

Find a Ducati to test ride with a set of Termignoni cans on and I'm sure you fall in lust.

Owning a Ducati is all about good maintainence, if serviced regularly and well looked after it will last as long or longer than any Jap bike. Any Ducati you consider buying ensure the belts have been changed recently or get haggle it off the price of the sale.

I done 7000 miles on a Duati Monster since Jan 06 including a weekend to the Ring.
http://www.geocities.com/gregrichardson1/Monster750.jpg

Good Luck.

OOI how much would a belt change be for one of these?

300 + the servicing isent cheap but timing the belt up im told isent hard at all .,:notworthy