Ducati Demo Truck Day.

One day while hitting up a few bike shops in the area I ended up at a Ducati dealer. I'm not particularly interested in getting a new Ducati, but it is nice to see some of the bikes in person I see in the magazines. I have buddies that are into Italian machinery so they aren't completely foreign to me. The Ducati Scramblers look like fun and while admiring the Urban Enduro the salesman talked me up and we talked about the possibility of doing a test ride. I wasn't able to get back to the shop despite his repeated texts encouraging me to return. That is until earlier this week. He sent me a text letting me know that they will be having a demo truck over the weekend. Now that is something I can work into my plans.

Demo days are an awesome thing. The headquarters of whatever manufacturer brings a semi-truck to your local shop full of new bikes and you get to ride any of them they bring, for free. Usually it is just for a few mile loop in a group, but where else do you get handed the keys to new machinery. I have done a Harley demo day and it was fun, despite the bikes not being my cup of tea. It is a bit ironic that they only demo days I've done are for bikes I really have no intention of buying new.

                                     

First Bike, Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle. So while this was a demo day, I was actually working with the dealer salesman for these test rides. I showed the appropriate documents and was given the keys to the Scrambler. Right away this bike was fun. It is small and feels light. The suspension felt taunt and responsive without being jarring on normal city streets. The overall ergonomics were sporty, but comfy. The pegs felt a bit more rearward than I'm used to, but the handle bars were spot on. I had plenty of room in the saddle to move around and get used to the feel. The gauge is a modern stupid digital thing. Why did analog tachometers go out of style? Once I finally got used to it I could easily read my speed. Too bad it was set in kph so I had no way to correlate my butt dyno to real life speed. 

The dealer told me to take it to Decker Canyon Road which is a fantastic curvy road near the dealership. I got there in a round about path as I ended up getting on the freeway by accident. The mirrors were useless as I could only see my arm pits. I haven't ridden a naked bike in so long I forgot about wind blast at freeway speeds. Once I finally got to the curves, I really had fun. The torque this thing has makes rolling on from any throttle position a blast. It would tractor itself out of the wrong gear if I missed the shift. Every time I twisted my right wrist I felt the front end go light. It was maneuverable and nimble and a blast from the first moment I rolled onto the road until I regretfully returned to the dealer cutting my ride short as the gas light was on and I had no idea about the fuel capacity and range. This is a bike I would buy.

Ride #2, Ducati Multistrada 1200 Pike's Peak Edition. 160 rear wheel horsepower. Four ride modes. Upright ergos and abundant wheel travel. Sounds like my V-Strom only without the wiz bang computer and 100 ponies. I was a bit intimidated by the power of this bike especially as I took off on the same route with the bike set in 'Sport' mode. The saddle felt like a horse saddle as I sunk into it and felt the front and back ends cup my rear. The pegs and handle bars fell into place like we'd been together for years. There was no windscreen, just an adjustable fly screen that did an excellent job of directing the wind blast up and over me while still feeling like I was in the wind.

No errant freeway stint with this bike, though I'm sure it would have been very nice cruising at speed with it on the 101 towards L.A. I hit the twisties immediately with all the confidence that having ABS, Wheelie Control and Cornering Traction Control gives you. In all actuality the ride felt like my V-Strom would if it had more power and better suspension, except for the buzz that was continuously transmitted up my nether regions and through my arms at most revolutions. I played with the modes on the way back and could feel how the computer changed the throttle response and power levels. I didn't like how the gauge display would change for each mode. Urban mode even takes away the tach all together! In the end I wouldn't buy this bike as it does the same job as my current ride does, but only just a bit better in some areas. The price tag is three times what I paid for the Strom and not worth it to me. Others will disagree, especially my buddy who went with me that said I look cooler on the Duc than on the Strom. I agree, but this bike won't be in my stable unless major financial changes dump loads of cash into my pocket.

The final ride, Ducati XDiavel S. Part sport bike, part cruiser, all silliness on two wheels. I am most conflicted with this bike. I pretty much hated everything about it from the start, but I was smiling the whole ride. The riding position was akin to going to the gynecologist with my feet swinging in the air in front of me. The seat gave me exactly one position to sit in with no way to adjust for anything. The engine had a range of about 1000 revs from 3700 to 4700 rpm where it didn't shake like a paint mixer. I smelled burring oil strongly, TWICE. It didn't feel sporty despite the gauge cluster telling me I was in 'Sport' mode. When I parked it I noticed that the off switch was blocked by the aforementioned gauge pod so badly that I had to wiggle my fingers into the slot to turn it off. The rear shock is horizontal and gives you no bump absorption at all. Every ripple in the pavement was transmitted directly to my spine since I couldn't absorb it through my outstretched legs.

In the canyons it was surprisingly flickable into the curves. I started to push it a bit, but the engine shudder and fear of dragging my boots promoted me to back off and cruise. On the way back to the shop I realized that on perfectly smooth, long open sweepers this thing would be a blast. Too bad CA is not prone to having smooth pavement as anyone that rides around the L.A. area can attest. I don't know why I was smiling under my helmet. I think it was due to the ridiculousness of this machine. To each his own I guess. There is a market for almost any bike, even this one.

I was glad to try some new bikes. I was surprised by each one of them in different ways. I can't wait for the next demo truck to come to town. It always promises to be a good time. I would like to thank Ducati Westlake for allowing me to ride $50k worth of brand new bikes for the price of my credit check. 

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