IMOC Rally - Directions to meet for breakfast & Headcount

NAKID · September 08, 2008, 12:39:44 PM

They should have had more than one judge. Yes, he was fairly old, at least in his 60's. None of the Ducati's that won nor the best in show were in the last 20 years. The three best belt Ducatis were 1984, 1985 and 1987. Honestly, there was nothing special about any of them. Nothing set them apart other than the fact that they were still in relatively good condition. The best in show ABSOLUTELY deserved to win. It was a gorgeous either restored or original 1974 Ducati 750 SS. GORGEOUS I tell ya. But the rest did seem rather biased. Even the Best Ducati Superbike was a stock 888. Again, in good condition for it's age, but nothing special...

ScottieDucati · September 08, 2008, 12:43:27 PM

Awww Tom, lighten up there big guy. Where's that poking with stick emoticon when you need it? [moto]

I own an 848 because I like to ride at the track, not go to shows in search of some kind of justification or reward for the thousands of dollars I spent on my run-of-the-mill late-model production bike in an attempt to make it something special... and I take my bike to the track, on 500+ mile rides, and look at it in my garage late at night to make me happy... not to pregnant dog and moan if people don't vote it best in show... in fact, if I ever brought a bike to show and actually won something, I'd be pretty flattered, and surprised... but if it didn't win, I'd likely realize that these things are up for debate, opinion, and perspective... and then I'd get a grip and realize that most of these bikes not-"manufactured in the past 2 decades" are pretty damn special, just for the mere fact they're complete and running examples of such... whereas my "199X Ducati XXX" represents a time of mass-production and an exploding aftermarket filled with bolt on billet pieces and other tasty bits.

Note: My aforementioned 15 year old bike still made more HP than your glitzy monster

You just shouldn't be surprised when knowledgeable judges see past flashy paint and billet pieces for what it really is... a modern bike with bolt on accessories, some paint, and some little custom bits. Yes, you did a fantastic job and your bike is a beautiful example of what a motivated owner can accomplish with their given choice of bike. Tom, I like your bike, I really do, but at the end of the day it's a Monster S2R1000 not unlike the other 10,000 ones produced to which you'd be pretty hard pressed to find many of them that are still stock.

The truth is these "old" bikes you so loathe are monumental projects to restore to like-new condition, especially if as an owner you pride yourself on period correct or NOS pieces, which are rarer than hen's teeth.... whereas an S2R1k, or *any* Post 1995 Ducati you can pretty much find anything you could ever want on eBay or at the 11tyBillion aftermarket companies that make parts for it.

A vintage Ducati is much more than meets the (untrained) eye when it comes to finding replacement, or upgrade pieces. It took me 2 years of searching for period correct billet race calipers for my 851, and required a 10 person group buy to get SilMotor to do a run of reproduction spaghetti full exhaust systems using the original templates. In fact, one generous 888 owner bought 3 systems himself just to meet SilMotor's quota to get the exhausts made. We're talking about a bike still made in the '90's, I can't begin to imagine what the task would be to find even the simplest piece for a 25+ year old Ducati, or Guzzi, or whatever.

I'm not saying your bike isn't nice, I'm just saying next to say, pretty much any European bike 15 years or older... it's just not that special and being pissed off that you didn't win a plastic trophy at perhaps the best gathering of vintage / rare / exotic Italian motorcycles is like a petulant kid complaining Santa didn't bring him the latest GI Joe for Christmas.

Saying the vendors should judge is about the most retarded idea I've ever heard, then of course, if they were judging... you'd probably win, because you spent more money with them than all those old farts who took 20 year old rusty parts and spent countless hours of time with a grinding wheel restoring each part to as-nearly-new condition as possible... because, well you can't pop open the latest MotoMillenia catelog and buy it anymore.

You should be happy that on your ride home, or sitting in your garage, you have a bike you love (and don't we all know how much you love it)... Now come on up to Loudon for a trackday buddy and bring that thing where it should be. Besides, wasn't 2007 enough? You gotta share the love buddy.

Monstermash · September 08, 2008, 01:37:29 PM

If you were there and saw the bikes that won I would be more than willing to listen to your arguement. But since you were not there and didn't see them, any opinion you have is pretty much null and void. Why weren't you there anyway? I would think with your appreciation for fine classic Italian machinery it would make sense for you to go and support a worthy cause such as this.

As far as the vendors that were there, I really haven't spent any money with BCM and abosolutely zero with Seacoast. Yes I bought my bike at Wagner but at a HUGE discount. They don't owe me anything and they prove that every time I bring the bike in for warranty work.

I suggested that the vendors do the judging because it would allow the decision to be left up to more than one person without the need for additional volunteers. That was the excuse I was given why they left it to only one judge, they couldn't get any additional volunteers.

With all this in mind I will also state that if I had been doing the judging none of the "classic" bikes would have won. I just have no appreciation for something that was bought and stored to ride on the occasional weekend around the block. If it was a "classic" show I could certainly understand the reasoning behind the choices but nowhere in IMOC's name does it specify it's a classic/antique organization. With that in mind they should be willing to acknowledge the newer bikes when they are done in a tastefull manner. It's funny that I lost two years ago to one of the same bikes because the same guy was judging the event. Then last year they had a different person in charge of judging and guess what, I took first place.

Hmmmmmm.....Don't you find that interesting? I did until I heard from a reputable source that the people that won are personal friends of the judge. Do you still think it's fair now?

Quote from: ScottieDucati on September 08, 2008, 12:43:27 PM

Note: My aforementioned 15 year old bike still made more HP than your glitzy monster

Not any more. I recently found out that the shorty exhaust was causing too much backpressure and thats why the bike was down on HP. I was ok with that as I really liked the look and I wasn't out to set any HP records.

Now with the new exhaust and the cams installed it's back to where it should be.

I will say that I would rather have a pretty bike that is a little down on HP than and ugly bike thats fast. I think most of us here would agree with that statement as well otherwise we'd all be riding R1s and GSXRs.

herm · September 08, 2008, 02:57:31 PM

so,.........................
anyone else get good pics at the show?
i still need to download mine. i will post up if anything worthy shows up

TiNi · September 08, 2008, 04:04:39 PM

Quote from: herm on September 08, 2008, 02:57:31 PM
so,.........................
anyone else get good pics at the show?
i still need to download mine. i will post up if anything worthy shows up

right...................... pics....................
i've got some, i'll put them up tomorrow, maybe

ScottieDucati · September 09, 2008, 06:12:25 AM

Sadly, I couldn't make the event as I was helping several local guys heading down to VIR with me in October prep their bikes, coolant flushes and a shock swap (btw, if you've done a shock swap on the 848/1098... well you know what I'm talking about). 6 hours of wrenching and we had 4 coolant flushes, an Ohlins shock installed and some monobloc calipers on... then a rippin ride ensued, naturally.

And I bought an 848 so I'd have a beautiful bike that's also fast, so I don't have to choose between beauty and brawn

It'll be nice to see some pics of the show, it's always a good turnout.