Back in the early 80s I had a mate who always seemed to have plenty of different bikes about the place. I didnt pay much attention to most of them as I didnt ride back then. However whenever he had a Ducati (and he had a few) there was just something about it that got my attention. A mixture of the sound and the styling and the fact they seemed so different to other bikes. 10 or so years later when the 916 appeared I couldnt believe a bike could look so good, totally unobtainable for me back then as they were so expensive. A mate bought one to the dismay of the rest of the lads who ALL had fireblades. He let me have a go one day and I just fell in love with the thing. Still didnt buy one though, whenever I saw a 916 parked up I would go and have a good look and for some reason I was always drawn toward the top yoke and the levers etc as they just seemed so right compared to the cheapy looking things on whatever Japanese bike I had at the time. Fast forward a few more years and I decided I wanted something different to my usual Blades and R1s etc having read all the tests etc I decided I wanted a new Mille R (2002) in black. Being tall I decided it was the bike for me as some of the testers said the bike was too tall for them. I was ready to buy and a little impatient as I just wanted to walk in a shop and buy one but everywhere I went I was told it would be a minimum of 2 weeks before I could have one. I ended up speaking to Dave at Duc Manchester and he talked me into having a look at a 996S as they were doing a special deal on them as the 998 was coming out. 20 minutes after walking in the shop I owned a red 996s! Never looked back really. I did end up trading the 996 in for a Multistrada 2 years later but it didnt take long to start craving another. I still remember looking at the new 996r they had at Duc man and wishing it wasnt so expensive. I decided I had to get one as they were going for roughly half what they were new (Aug 2005) after missing out on a few that were sold via this site I eneded up with a mint example that I now cherish.
Theres really nothing like a 916-998 I love the solid feel of the thing and the committed riding position. I even enjoy the way it bucks and skips of imperfections in the road that the Multi just sails over. The way it picks the front wheel up over little crests in the road whether youre expecting it to or not. And the soundtrack from the Termis and airbox, sometimes I feel like putting the standard quieter cans back on just to hear the airbox noise more clearly. I remember one writer in a magazine describing the airbox noise as sounding as if an angry goose had been place under the fuel tank.
