Coast to Coast (and back?) with an Italian Supermodel

$1900!!!! fuck me is right!!!

Heh Hoya, I was in the Cascades last year, on a trip tha took me from N. Kalifornia ('bout 100 miles south of the Oregon border) to N/E Oregon-McCall-Stanley-Salmon-Missoula-Omak to I5 and home. The Cascade ride was gorgeous. And what'd mean the weathers terrible....it was a balmy 28 this morning!

My friend Asura from Asura Design took pity on me and came to pick me up for a late night dinner and drinks. We ended up at Habana in Costa Mesa. Very cool locale:










Everything went well until the topic of MMA and Martial Arts came up. Take 1 Aikido expert (Asura) and 1 ex-Kickboxing/Shootfighting instructor (me); add gin, vodka, wine, rye and a shiny parking lot and, well, it doesn't take long before theory turns into practice. Frightened customers ran for safety (refusing our invitations to participate); police were called. The intensity of the struggle, leisurely 911 response times and the ability to affect sobriety permitted: 1 cracked rib, 1 thumb fractured, 1 esophagus bruised, 1 shirt destroyed, 1 digestive system turned inside out (twice), 0 arrests for drunk and disorderly conduct (woohoo!) and 1 tap.







Remember that shit I said early on in the R/R about it being the stupid things we remember? That reckless, fearless stupidity is the prerequisite for building the kind of memories that can sustain us until a final sleep rounds our lives? (When it doesn't kill us.) Well, this was one of those examples. Priceless.

Love the talk about the sparing at the bar/restaurant/pub/watering hole/what ever, but you really knocked me on my ass about the valve adjustment! WOW, and I've had 2 friends buy Panigales! I can't afford the maintenance, so I might as well not even look at the bike! LOL

There are plenty of great independent shops around the country that will do Ducati maintenance for about 1/2 the price of dealers. Their work is as good or better than most dealers, although YMMV. That said, the Panigali 15,000-mile service is about double what the dealer wants to do my MTS 1200.

I don't know. Sounds like the rapage from the Ducati dealer would still be cheaper than the hospital bill from one night of drinking with Dennis...

I've had my Hyper for 16 months-put 3000 miles on it. Just paid 1300$ for the standard 7500 mile service

Agreed. Unfortunately I'm the first private owner in North America (and I'm guessing the world) to have 15,000 miles on the bike. No shop has ever done the service before, but at least factory Ducati dealers have had the formal training. (Something no independent shop has had.) I'd also hate for something to go wrong at, say, 20,000 miles and have the dealer deny a warranty claim because the service wasn't performed by Ducati. One of those, 'ya wanna play, ya gotta pay' situations that sucks balls!

Hyper 7500 mile service should be somewhere between $550 and $700. Perhaps you got the Manager's Special?

Anti

Thanks for reminding me why I ride a Honda V-Twin (a Superhawk)

Fcuking hell $2k for a service, I hope the included a hooker for that price

Great R/R

Stay safe

Agreed! LOL

:eek1 Mad Servicing cost! Like you said, I buy bikes for that price!
I would absolutely buy a copy of the book but as amazing as these pictures are, the writing is what has influenced me the most. Add me to your list for a full write-up :)

Loved the DV section, will be visiting and trashing my own bike off-road.

Be safe!

Who won?

Done! Enjoy Death Valley (very hard not to).

I took the most damage (my thumb still hasn't healed), but he ended up in the guillotine. >)

$1900 service. I guess it's the price you have to pay to ride the sexiest bike on the road. Great RR, been quietly following

I just spent my weekend reading every last page of this ride report. Absolutely inspiring!

Keep up the good work, and safe travels.

I spent last night reading this entire RR and was even a little late for work today because of it and I say F@#$ it was totally worth it! Thanks to Antihero for sharing his adventure I loved it!

Pshhhh $1900...

that gets you only 3 hookers in vegas for a total of a couple of hours each. How many hours did it take you to get to 15K and have to pay $1900?!

... thats right.

Ahhhhhh Dennis!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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So when are the two of you gong drinking again? Shit I’ll buy it is sure to not be much more than a good Pay Per View and the seats will be way better.<o></o>
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Glad to see you made home safe with the bruises coming from the Alcohol

Looking forward to your next adventure.

Rick