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

[AntiHero]

Originally Posted by D.Kinsey

Who won?

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

[JS_MENACE]

$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

[cab591]

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

Keep up the good work, and safe travels.

[GeorgiaBound]

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!

[tcuguy]

Originally Posted by JS_MENACE

$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

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.

[1960FL]

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

Ahhhhhh Dennis!

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.

Glad to see you made home safe with the bruises coming from the Alcohol

Looking forward to your next adventure.

Rick

[3B43]

3 hookers for $1900? Not the two I talked too. They started at $1500.....of course, on a scale of 1-10, they were about 10.5! One of 'me was a 12!!!!!

[dand111]

Thank you a hundred times over AntiHero for your quite "heroic" efforts here. In a word, your report is "wonderful." (wander-ful) You are a maverick, an intellectual cowboy on an exotic, foreign, metallic horse (thoroughbred). Sorry, but there is nothing "anti-hero" about you. You are just one of so few straight-out freaking post-modern heroes! (Deal with that.) On top of that you have serious writing talents. So often your words hit resounding emotional chords.
I kinda cringe a little bit at all the shots people take at those souls that choose to stay at home, raise families, or whatever their reasons may be for not rambling--that's their business regarding what they do or don't do or where they go or don't go. Do what you will with your life--after all, you're in charge. (at least for us who are fortunate enough to have been beneficiaries of those that have sacrificed everything for our freedom) Those of us that have the wanderlust, we roll on (and on, and on....) But that bug doesn't infect everyone. Hell, Immanuel Kant never left his hometown. (Although, in all fairness, if he had an Italian fire-breathing refined beast at his disposal it might have been a different story.) Thing is--some of us are sessile and some of us are tumbleweeds. Roll on dude! -dayll

[Stixx]

Originally Posted by musicman

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.

Which dealer ? I'm still Jones's for a MS

[RhinoVonHawkrider]

Originally Posted by 3B43

3 hookers for $1900? Not the two I talked too. They started at $1500.....of course, on a scale of 1-10, they were about 10.5! One of 'me was a 12!!!!!

Jeez I got to start partying w/ U guys, I got short arms & deep pockets. And FWIW, I can go to DR for a week, party like a rock star, w/ at least 2 different chicken heads daily, and that $1900 includes air, hotel, food, drinks, Wepa

[DCrider]

Originally Posted by AntiHero

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

If you do make it back to DC remind me to never bring up MMA in a discussion, I like having working thumbs and eating solid food

[musicman]

Originally Posted by Stixx

Which dealer ? I'm still Jones's for a MS

Ducshop in Atlanta does my non-warranty work. There are other excellent, independent Ducati shops around the country. I do hydraulic systems flush and oil changes myself, leaving the infrequent valve adjustments to the pros.

[prometheus rising]

Originally Posted by AntiHero

Onto the rest of the ride!

Back to where this trip began:

Having hit 15,000 miles in Death Valley (or maybe even a little before), I brought my bike into Ducati Newport Beach to have my first 'major' service done. I hope you're sitting down. When I called to ask how much it was I was not. Though Ducati has done a great job of doubling the time between valve adjustments (15K for the 1199 vs. 7500 miles for the 1098/1198/848), the frameless design requires complete disassemby of the bike. Swingarm, forks, everything. 16 hours, $1898.24.

Makes the look of these in the showroom a little less appealing:

...

Ducati has this backwards, they should be paying you. This RR has given them and their new bike a fortune in free publicity.

[AntiHero]

Thanks, guys! Would be cool if Ducati contacts me--if nothing more than to say, "hey, knock off the off-road shit, you're hurting Multi-Strada sales!". :)

[dm635]

Just finished your RR. Great story and adventure. Don't see how some have read it overnight. Anyway, just got back into biking after being off while the kids grew and will plan some extended rides this coming season. Picked up a "78 beemer R80/7 in 8/12 and it should certainly be up to the task after my winter checkout/maint./re do. Will think of this story many miles from home. Keep rollin'