Back in the saddle, Ducati ST that is

[greglepore]

I have oddly conflicted feelings about this. Some of you know that I severely injured myself on an '04 749, completely my own fault, and requiring not a few years of rehab and some question as to whether I would walk again.

But, I now live less than 10 miles from the BRP, and before the wreck had 30 years of good motorcycling. So I've been in a self imposed exile until moving here, when I start to idly cruise the classifieds.

Last week, an '06 ST3s abs pops up. For Ducati sport touring folks, this might be the sweetspot-3 valve Desmo twin, which means the torque of the 2 valve Ducs but with a little more rev happiness, in a literbike sport touring package. Oh, it has a wet clutch, but I'm over the rattle.

I would have moved on past the ad, except the bike is pretty flawless, it has new tires, chain, sprockets, battery, recent belts, and a ton of farkles-heated grips, led aux lights, tank guard, carbon exhaust, dual ram mounts, and a $500 Ducati Performance seat, which is considered to be one of the best seats ever made. Oh, and the s had both Ohlins shock and forks. And, because the tach is flakey, its 2k under market at 2900...

So, its in my garage. The seller was 64 and an honest dude, and his remark was "so you ride it 2-3x a year, what are you losing at this price" and he was right.

I'm 61, and hopefully can keep the mist much more under control. I'll never use the bike anywhere near its potential, but thats not a bad thing.

I know trader220 and a couple others here are St guys, so any advice appreciated.

[varmint]

who wants to live forever?

go for it.

[rfuerst911sc]

None of us gets out alive ........ enjoy and be safe .

[jorian]

The bike: that is a lot of bike for $3K. Sounds like it was well maintained by a decent owner. I’ll bet it sounds fantastic with those pipes. The seller was right, at that price you’re really just parking your cash for a while as it will always be worth +-$3K. If that was local to me I would have bought it. Lord knows I don’t need any more bikes but that one would be hard to pass up.

You: if you have 30+ years in the saddle you likely have the experience to keep your self out of trouble (notwithstanding your previous wreck). I’m sure the wreck will temper your riding in the future. If your like me, riding gets a hold of you and becomes part of your life. I know others have had serious accidents and quit. I get it. For me I’m not necessarily afraid of dying, I’m afraid of not living.

[908/930]

Nice, looks like you got a great bike. I have been trying to decide what Duc to get, that has been one of the options, do post your opinions after applying some miles.

[HardDrive]

That is a crazy deal. Those Silmoto pipes were not cheap. And I'm going to guess they sound fantastic.

[flatbutt]

Hey Greg, welcome back. It is a different world from the one we used to ride through. I am now 20 years past my accident and still riding but nowhere near the mileage I used to log.

My advice is to spend time in the parking lot doing stops and starts, U-turns, circles and 8's. Not to just get familiar with the new bike but more importantly get used to your new body.

I can't tell you how that feels for me but I can promise that it is. Not just reaction time either though that's real.

I don't remember the level of your injury, mine was at C5 so it impacted my equilibrium to a degree as well. So rapid side to side head movement is not good for me. That impacts the way I do the 180 degree scan. YMMV but be aware bro.

Again...Don't try to ride with your old body, you don't have that one anymore. Get to know your new body. Have fun bro.

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Hey Greg, welcome back. It is a different world from the one we used to ride through. I am now 20 years past my accident and still riding but nowhere near the mileage I used to log.

My advice is to spend time in the parking lot doing stops and starts, U-turns, circles and 8's. Not to just get familiar with the new bike but more importantly get used to your new body.

I can't tell you how that feels for me but I can promise that it is. Not just reaction time either though that's real.

I don't remember the level of your injury, mine was at C5 so it impacted my equilibrium to a degree as well. So rapid side to side head movement is not good for me. That impacts the way I do the 180 degree scan. YMMV but be aware bro.

Again...Don't try to ride with your old body, you don't have that one anymore. Get to know your new body. Have fun bro.

Thanks. C4 for me, I don't have equilibrium issues but I do have limitations in strength at the deltoid level. Luckily not involved in handling the bike much.
I'm with you on the low speed stuff. I didn't even put the bike in the garage, as it required two very low speed off camber uphill turns in the driveway and I didn't want to drop the bike on its arrival day. LOL. I did order a pair of Frey Daytona GTX boots (they have a 2 in lift, to help with my 29 in inseam) and am going to have
the seat slightly shaved to make sure I have a firm footing as the bike is tall and heavy and I do have limitations.
My biggest concern is that my caution and lack of current confidence will be a liability, but I'm sure that will go away with experience. The one plus of living here in VA is that I don't need to ride in traffic, ever. I can head out rural roads to the parkway, or county road to US 33 and be in the most deserted part of WVa in an hour.

[gsxrken]

What a steal! Looks like it’s ready for three panniers as well out back. Those are surprisingly handy if you want to use it commute to work.
I was lucky in a sense that “my” accident happened when I was 21 years old... a car on the shoulder whipped a U-turn as I was approaching. I lost the ability to bend my right thumb but gained a lifelong distrust of other drivers, and that has saved me several times over 30+ more years of riding since then.
I hope you find you can still enjoy it. If you can’t, be honest with yourself. There’s no one answer for everyone.

[Chocaholic]

Congrats Greg. My only word of advice...ride for pleasure, not for transportation. Avoid city traffic at all costs. Country roads with an occasional stop sign. I’ll be 62 next month and still ride whenever I can. But we’re somewhat rural so I worry more about animals than cars.

Enjoy the riding and be safe.

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by gsxrken

What a steal! Looks like it’s ready for three panniers as well out back. Those are surprisingly handy if you want to use it commute to work.
I was lucky in a sense that “my” accident happened when I was 21 years old... a car on the shoulder whipped a U-turn as I was approaching. I lost the ability to bend my right thumb but gained a lifelong distrust of other drivers, and that has saved me several times over 30+ more years of riding since then.
I hope you find you can still enjoy it. If you can’t, be honest with yourself. There’s no one answer for everyone.

Came with the stock duc hardcases, not mounted in photo. Has a custom givi monokey rack. Hoping one of the cheap knockoff boxes fit.

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Congrats Greg. My only word of advice...ride for pleasure, not for transportation. Avoid city traffic at all costs. Country roads with an occasional stop sign. I’ll be 62 next month and still ride whenever I can. But we’re somewhat rural so I worry more about animals than cars.

Enjoy the riding and be safe.

Yup. Retired and rural. Have no desire at all to ride for transport. I bicycle so am well aware of the distracted driver stuff. It'll be strictly a Blue Ridge cruiser for me-Parkway and the killer roads on either side of the mountains in SW Va and WVa.