Have not had a problem with ricers yet. To the contrary... I was pulling out of a cyclegear store and about 5 ricers pulled right in.. only one of them looked my way and at the bike... the others were sort of ignoring the cool presence and sound of my monster... well.. The only guy who dared to look.,..couldn't help to say,, you have a nice bike man!!! and I smiled looked at my bike down,, and nodded thinking to myself,,, I know.. grinned to a spaz and then took off being noisy, happy and looking COOL!!!!!!!!! I love you my monster..  [moto]

In my short time riding my ducati, the only thing that has happened to me was a friend of mine that rides a cbr 1000rr with a Yosi pipe told me, in a sarcastic tone that "he likes that he can hear my bike over his when I am 20 feet behind him." I told him I like that too... Got to love a v twin...

i think, at least in my experience, its the squids that take issue with the ducs. I am "challenged" all the
time here (bay area). However there are a ton of extremely talented riders here...most of which ride japanese bikes and
its all good with them.

My last squid challenge...was a young guy that had to prove what i already knew...his trick r1 is faster  than
my 999 in a straight line.  long story short he passed me (i was going the speed limit) illegally on a shoulder for some reason  at 130ish crashed and died instantly all beacuse he had some chip on his shoulder.....real shame.

I dont get 'challenged' alot either. The couple times it has happened, I let em go. I just hope they keep it upright so I dont have to bear witness to a crash. BTDT, dont ever wanna do it again.

I found this quite humorous + just thought I'd share   

-Take a look at the 5th thing down that's included w/the bike. I didn't realize they made those for Hayabusas! 

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/mcy/729034925.html

Quote from: johnster on June 23, 2008, 06:50:50 AM
I found this quite humorous + just thought I'd share   

-Take a look at the 5th thing down that's included w/the bike. I didn't realize they made those for Hayabusas! 

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/mcy/729034925.html

QuoteI am selling my 2006 black and silver busa with only 1100 miles. I bought the bike off the showroom floor in the spring of 2007 with no miles on it.

comes with,

retard eliminator. $ 250.00

I thought that a busa WAS a retard eliminator.

Quote from: silentbob on June 23, 2008, 07:48:23 AM
I thought that a busa WAS a retard eliminator.

ahhhh, good point. My thinking was that retards + busas were generally inseperable, thus rendering an eliminator useless, but your theory is more fitting. 

I had a good encounter with a Jap bike rider this past weekend.

I was filling up and this woman came up and complimented me on my bike, saying her friend had a Monster 750 and she always loved these bikes. She started talking about her CBR600RR, but not bragging or anything. We talked for a few mins and then I took off. It was a pleasant experience.

I get mostly encounters like yours Brett. I get alot of good natured ribbing from my fellow motorcycle refs at bike races becuase of the loud pipes and dry clutch. I'm the only Duc guy. The rest ride VFR's, GS's and RT's and a V-Strom (He has Remus pipes on his!). For the most part, Its a motorcycle mutal admirations society when we meet up. I do get a boat load of compliment from other racers about the bike. Lots of bike races ride too. More than a few have Ducs.

I love two wheels.  I think the Japanese are extremely good at what they do.  I've met idiots on every type of vehicle made/designed in different parts of the world - the only constant is the idiot operating the vehicle.  Granted there are more Japanese bikes than anything else out there so you notice a 'type' of behavior more.  We all have a tendency to favor items we own and show solidarity with others that do (look at this and other forums) sometimes  it comes out in a negative manner.  Look at the bigger picture - we all ride! 

Frankly - this thread has a tone here and there of bashing 'other' brands that are not Ducati - so I guess we are back to square one eh?

Quote from: ducaki on June 23, 2008, 09:43:29 AM
I love two wheels.  I think the Japanese are extremely good at what they do.  I've met idiots on every type of vehicle made/designed in different parts of the world - the only constant is the idiot operating the vehicle.  Granted there are more Japanese bikes than anything else out there so you notice a 'type' of behavior more.  We all have a tendency to favor items we own and show solidarity with others that do (look at this and other forums) sometimes  it comes out in a negative manner.  Look at the bigger picture - we all ride! 

Frankly - this thread has a tone here and there of bashing 'other' brands that are not Ducati - so I guess we are back to square one eh?

We are not "bashing" any other brands, but more so the riders ..err...squids, that just show no respect for themselves or other riders and for some reason need to prove something. There are Ducati riders who do the same thing, like you said the only constant is the idiot operating the vehicle.

I definately do  my fair share of riding with all types of bikes. I dont judge peoples personal opinions or bank accounts, they share a hobby wth me and thats all that matters. I would definately consider myself an enthusiest, I mean considering the amount of time I spend on here reading articles and chiming in.

The people I do lose a littel respect for are the guys that have to much $$$ and just buy whatever someone tells them is the best. I had a guy walk up to me when I was warming my bike up ask me why is sounds like it is going to blow up, blah blah blah... I explained the dry clutch.... Then he tells me he would never by a ducati with a dry clutch because it sounds like ass. He then walks over to is 1098 (with a closed clutch cover) starts it up and tells me to buy a real bike as he stalls it.

Whatever man  was the only thing that came to mind.

Quote from: Pancake81 on June 23, 2008, 10:19:32 AM


The people I do lose a littel respect for are the guys that have to much $$$ and just buy whatever someone tells them is the best. I had a guy walk up to me when I was warming my bike up ask me why is sounds like it is going to blow up, blah blah blah... I explained the dry clutch.... Then he tells me he would never by a ducati with a dry clutch because it sounds like ass. He then walks over to is 1098 (with a closed clutch cover) starts it up and tells me to buy a real bike as he stalls it.

Whatever man  was the only thing that came to mind.

That is classic

To a degree, I guess it's healthy to really think that what you own is better than what other people own. [/psycho-analysis]

Having owned dozens of motorcycles, including a bunch of Ducatis, I've seen the good and bad points of a wide array of bikes.

I have never had a guy on a Japanese bike do anything but compliment my Ducatis. Although it has never happened, I would also consider their trying to challenge me as a compliment. How some of you can see it any other way is sort of a mystery to me.  I suppose you'd like it better if everyone always ignored you.  

I have seen squids on most bikes.  A month or so ago I stopped in to a gas station late at night to use the ATM machine and fill up.  A yellow S2R8 pulled in right behind me.  It was completely stock and he just bought the bike second hand as a first bike.  He didn't know anything about it other than it was "the sh*t".  You could tell he had a few drinks in him, or he could have just been retarded.  Anyway he didn't have a helmet or any gear.  I politely informed him that he should invest in some gear and he went on telling me how he didn't need it because he was some UFC fighter or something.  He then went on to tell me how he just opened it up to 160 mph in 5th gear in 2 seconds.  It takes all types.  In my neck of the woods, most of the Jap riders will wave, as will most of the harely riders.  The BMW and goldwing guys are the ones who seem to be too good to wave.