Long before I owned one, or had even seen one, I first became aware of the Monster through a long feature piece that I think appeared in the LA Times. I believe it was published in the mid or late 1990s, though I could be wrong about that too.
I've looked online for the article to no avail, and wonder if it rings a bell with anyone here.
These are the bits I remember:
1) The author had been an editor with one of the big motorcycle magazines (Cycle World?) decades before, but had sold his last bike some time back.
2) He wasn't really looking to get back into bikes, which had gone in directions he didn't find all that appealing; sport bikes had become too focused on the track for him to enjoy riding on the street, and Harley's just didn't do anything for him. Not hatin' on HD, but two of the lines I remember almost verbatim from the piece ring true for me -- he noted that "Harley Davidson doesn't make very good motorcycles, which is fine because motorcycles aren't what they're selling," and "These days, Harley riders remind me less of outlaws than of in-laws."
2) On a whim, he went into a Ducati Dealer and the Monster just touched on all the things he'd loved about motorcycles. Riding (and buying) one reignited a passion he though had turned to ashes.
Does anyone else remember this piece? At the time, I mainly noticed that it was excellent, lively writing, but obviously it planted a seed in my consciousness that only continues to grow.
Thanks!
You might be able to get the LA times to find it for you. Give em a call
If anyone has access to LexisNexis you could search there. A paper like that would probably be searchable through their database.