Paul Thompson 'Hooligan'
Admin
Well - actually it's not what you are thinking, I did'nt manage 200Mph - but I did get to ride a rather special bike or two...One of which had over '200' BHP!
Visiting a friend today, I was offered a ride of a new Ducati Desmosedici RR with only 250 miles on the clock. For those unaware, this bike is a limited edition Ducati that features most of the features of their MotoGP race bike, in a package for the road.
Features include Full Ohlins race suspension, loads of carbon fibre, Big Brembo brakes, Marchesini Magnesium wheels and a race exhaust and ECU package that achieves an amazing 205BHP at 13500 rpm. A standard exhaust / ECU for normal legal road use is also provided - but was not fitted at the time...:thumbsup:
So what was it like to ride? (bearing in mind that my current GSX1400 is somewhat like a battleship in comparison, plus the fact that as I've only relatively recently returned to biking, I'm certainly no Rossi...) - well a bit of a shock actually.
I figured it would be quick but bloody hell! - it was seriously quick!!. Below 50mph I found the ride somewhat painful on my wrists, above 50, things happened REALLY fast. The rear brake was not much use, but who uses a rear beake anyway? The front brakes were superb, huge bite and very controllable. I did find the turn in a bit too fast for my liking though. Probably more due to my inexperience in reality and a more experienced rider would probably love it. The motor was a peach! - I've only ridden one Ducati previously, a 900 and that was about 25 years ago, so miles apart in technology. This one with the race exhaust fitted sounded just amazing, with the tailpipes exiting through the tail hump just behind your arse, it was like a symphony just behind you and VERY addictive. There was massive power throughout the rev range, although I don't think I revved it much over about 11K ish and from about 7K it smoothed out turbine like and just wailed higher up the range. One of the lasting impressions I have is just how deceptively quick it accelerated. One second you are showing 40-50 on the digital dash, a slight twist of the grip and without changing gear, you're instantly catapulted into 3 figures in the blink of an eye (well almost!). I did find the rear visibility poor, or at least for me it was as I had to pull in an elbow and move my head to get even a partial glimpse of what was behind me.
We took a ride down a great A-road, with me attempting to keep my friend in sight who was on another of his bikes, a 2008 Fireblade swapping places from time to time and then we dropped into Boxhill to swap over - so I could try the Fireblade too.
Now this was instantly easier to ride for me, for a start I had some rear visibility now whereas on the Ducati, I had none, to talk of and I instantly took to the handling, feeling considerably more at ease when negotiating roundabouts at speed. It was not exactly slow either, with about 180BHP on tap and very very smooth. Then, as we nearerd his home with me leading, he made the inevitable 'flypast' on the Duke, which sounded just awesome wailing past and flaming on overrun as he lifted off.
Both bikes were amazing but with the Blade costing a whopping £30K less than the Duke, it has to offer better value as a regularly ridden bike. The Dukes will often end up as showpieces I suspect although I'm told that the purchase cost includes 3 year unlimited mileage and servicing FOC.
Overall, an amazing experience and not one I suspect I'll ever get the opportunity of again as my friend informed me has actually sold the bike I rode today and also another one he had that had zero miles on the clock.
Sorry if I've rambled on a bit with this but it really has left a lasting impression with me and I consider myself very lucky with the number of rides and drives I've been offered and taken up this season. If any of you read this - THANKS AGAIN....:thumbsup:
A few pics for those of you still awake:
Visiting a friend today, I was offered a ride of a new Ducati Desmosedici RR with only 250 miles on the clock. For those unaware, this bike is a limited edition Ducati that features most of the features of their MotoGP race bike, in a package for the road.
Features include Full Ohlins race suspension, loads of carbon fibre, Big Brembo brakes, Marchesini Magnesium wheels and a race exhaust and ECU package that achieves an amazing 205BHP at 13500 rpm. A standard exhaust / ECU for normal legal road use is also provided - but was not fitted at the time...:thumbsup:
So what was it like to ride? (bearing in mind that my current GSX1400 is somewhat like a battleship in comparison, plus the fact that as I've only relatively recently returned to biking, I'm certainly no Rossi...) - well a bit of a shock actually.
I figured it would be quick but bloody hell! - it was seriously quick!!. Below 50mph I found the ride somewhat painful on my wrists, above 50, things happened REALLY fast. The rear brake was not much use, but who uses a rear beake anyway? The front brakes were superb, huge bite and very controllable. I did find the turn in a bit too fast for my liking though. Probably more due to my inexperience in reality and a more experienced rider would probably love it. The motor was a peach! - I've only ridden one Ducati previously, a 900 and that was about 25 years ago, so miles apart in technology. This one with the race exhaust fitted sounded just amazing, with the tailpipes exiting through the tail hump just behind your arse, it was like a symphony just behind you and VERY addictive. There was massive power throughout the rev range, although I don't think I revved it much over about 11K ish and from about 7K it smoothed out turbine like and just wailed higher up the range. One of the lasting impressions I have is just how deceptively quick it accelerated. One second you are showing 40-50 on the digital dash, a slight twist of the grip and without changing gear, you're instantly catapulted into 3 figures in the blink of an eye (well almost!). I did find the rear visibility poor, or at least for me it was as I had to pull in an elbow and move my head to get even a partial glimpse of what was behind me.
We took a ride down a great A-road, with me attempting to keep my friend in sight who was on another of his bikes, a 2008 Fireblade swapping places from time to time and then we dropped into Boxhill to swap over - so I could try the Fireblade too.
Now this was instantly easier to ride for me, for a start I had some rear visibility now whereas on the Ducati, I had none, to talk of and I instantly took to the handling, feeling considerably more at ease when negotiating roundabouts at speed. It was not exactly slow either, with about 180BHP on tap and very very smooth. Then, as we nearerd his home with me leading, he made the inevitable 'flypast' on the Duke, which sounded just awesome wailing past and flaming on overrun as he lifted off.
Both bikes were amazing but with the Blade costing a whopping £30K less than the Duke, it has to offer better value as a regularly ridden bike. The Dukes will often end up as showpieces I suspect although I'm told that the purchase cost includes 3 year unlimited mileage and servicing FOC.
Overall, an amazing experience and not one I suspect I'll ever get the opportunity of again as my friend informed me has actually sold the bike I rode today and also another one he had that had zero miles on the clock.
Sorry if I've rambled on a bit with this but it really has left a lasting impression with me and I consider myself very lucky with the number of rides and drives I've been offered and taken up this season. If any of you read this - THANKS AGAIN....:thumbsup:
A few pics for those of you still awake:
