ANYway, lots of things have changed since I posted last. But that's not what this post is about.
This post is about the Ducati's replacement...
Yes, you heard right: I am replacing the Duc. It just isn't what I wanted. It's great for kind of tooling around and some spirited riding, but it's not really a sport bike and I realize now that's what I really want. The nice salesman at Moto Forza didn't really see the point of getting another sport bike and gently guided me to the Sport 1000. But after about 1200miles on it, I am just not that excited about it.
So, after doing a lot of research into a replacement, I came up with a fairly short list.
Initially I was going to a new bike and just pay cash for it. I really like the power of V-twins and wanted to stick to that.
My first choice was probably a Ducati 848, but at $13,000 I thought that was a little much and the ergos on that are just not that compatible with my...ahem...current figure.
The real gem I thought was a Buell 1125R. Their first real sportbike. I was pretty much set on that but the reviews stated that it just wasn't ready yet.
"Give Buell a year and this one will be a hum-dinger" to paraphrase the motorcycle critics.
I was almost willing to take a chance and just get it, but the plans to buy a house got moved to the front burner and I need to conserve cash.
So I decided to go for something that would cost me less that what I could get for my Duc.
The list became:
Ducati 749 - nice, very good handling, but high maintenance. About $9000 for a good one.
Suzuki SV1000 - much more affordable ($4000-$5000), but not as nice pieces (suspension, brakes, etc). Not my first choice.
Honda RC51 - Considered a real competitor to 999 in that you could hang Ohlins and brembos with a PCIII and get pretty close to the 999 but at thousands less. Only downside: the thing ways almost 500lbs!!!!
So I was kind of at a loss.
I read somewhere about something I hadn't considered: An Aprilia RSV Mille R.
Turns out that bike uses a custom designed engine from Rotax, the same Austrian engine MFG that makes the 1125R's engine. Considered very reliable.
Milles are widely considered the somewhat homlier more sensible sister to Ducati. More reliable, very comparable to the Ducs but just doesn't have the cache that the Ducs have. So they cost less but are a little more tricky to own as Aprilia dealers are few and far between and parts are a little hard to come by. Duc owners are used to being treated like royalty and rarely do anything to the bikes themselves. Aprilia owners HAVE to fiddle with theirs.
Unfortunately newer ones are still in the $9000-$10000 range. Still too high. But low and behold, the Mille (or the RSV1000R as they are currently know) have been produced since 1998. Lots of old ones around, but not a lot for sale. I found myself a 2001 RSVR with Ohlins, OZ wheels and Akrapovic exhaust being sold by a poor guy who "used" to be a realtor until the market took a crap. So he begrudgingly put his beloved Mille up for sale. Sucks to be him, but good for me as people aren't turning these bikes over.
The guy was in Vegas so I had to venture out to Sin City to check it out. I was pretty sure that was the bike for me as I couldn't find anything comparable.
I drove out there with my trailer and a cashiers check. I could not get there fast enough I was so excited!
I get there at about 4pm and it's something like 110f! Fvcking hot as hell. I check out the bike and after handing him the check for security, he lets me ride the bike around.
I really took it easy since I knew exactly how much bike this was so I didn't really get a chance to open it up. The bike was fine and we did the paperwork and I put it on the trailer and left for home at about 6:30pm.
Fast forward 4 hours later to my driveway:
I get the bike off the the trailer at about 11pm and I am desperate to take it for a spin, even though I am totally beat.
I gather my gear and start her up. The distinctive low rumble of a 1000cc v-twin is just delicious!!! I get geared up and roll off.
The bike is remarkable easy to ride other than it's kinda high like the Duc. The shifter is so tight that I can't feel the shifter move, but I know it's in the next gear. Even though the bike is a good 30lb heavier than anything I've ridden, it's so flickable. Totally turns in with the least input but is totally stable. The very opposite of the Duc which is twitchy but not responsive.
As I get near the freeway I get some room to open the throttle...
Oh....my! I was getting quite giddy to get on the freeway after this little taste of thrust.
I get on the 5 and then to the 8 before I really try to open the gas......and then the fun began!!
I didn't get on it too hard...mainly because I ran out of room!!!!! I barely got it above 8k rpm in 5th and I was already doing 90mph.
OMG! Oh my freakin' god!!!!! I am not worthy...I am so not worthy!
I get it into 6th and all of a sudden I am doing 110rpm before I have to grab some brake because of slow moving traffic (read: 70-80mph).
But I have to qualify "grab some brake": you don't grab these brakes, lest you want to get catapulted into next week!
This brings to the next amazing thing about this bike...the brakes. Full 320mm brembos. These things can stop global warming! I purposedly only use one finger and that almost stood me on the front wheel.
So I've had the Ape (because it is)...or more like a gorilla...for almost a month now. I am slowly getting used to it. Thing is I still haven't gotten the thing past 110-120mph. Just no room! I have barely use half it's power band. I can't get above 7k rpm in 6th and it goes till 10,500! Can you imagine how fast that would be? Holy cow!!!! I ain't getting into that till I take it to the track.
Everything else I have ridden up till now has been the equivalent to little bicycles with training wheels and tassles....yes, that goes for the Duc.
This just goes to show how insane modern sport bikes are now-a-days. This bike is 7 years old and at the time was pretty much the fastest thing there was at 120hp. Now it's positively middle of the road with top end bike like the 1098 and 1098R topping 160-180hp...in a TWIN!
That's almost inconcievable! I actually though about a 999 a while ago. Not anymore. Stupid to own that much bike. Hell, it might be stupid for me to own this much bike.
I wanted to post pic, but Blogger is being difficult. I'll post some later.
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