Last weekend I went to the motorcycle show with a bunch of my riding buddies. I had to wear my leg brace and use crutches to get around, but it was really fun to get out and hang with the guys. The show was quite good; I'd have to say the bike that took the show was the new Ducati 1098 - WOW! After Ducati's total flop, at least in customer appeal, with the 749/999, they got this one right. It's like they threw the classic 916/996/998 style in a blender with the Desmosedici and out popped the perfect hybrid of the two. The styling is another milestone, and you just can't beat the performance for the price - 160hp for just $14,999. Of course they also have the limited edition "tri-colore" version in Italian flag red/white/green, but to be quite honest, I liked the solid red much better. The white number plates from the tri-colore would be a nice touch but other than that I wouldn't change it at all. Nice job, Ducati!
They did have one of the street-legal Desmosedicis there, and that was quite impressive. I love how the exhaust is routed out through two oval-shaped openings in the top of the tail section - yes, the top! Definitely a monoposto bike. I'd love to be behind one at night and see flames shoot out of the top of the tail section with a throttle chop.
Aprilia had a lot of cool new stuff too, their super-moto and off-road bikes with the 450cc V-twin engine were quite nice. In fact, one of the guys I was there with just bought one of the super-motos. I hope I get the chance to take it for a spin sometime. The new Mille-R Factory looks really good, too. I'm still hanging on to my 2000 Mille-R, which I just can't part with...
Friday, December 22, 2006
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