Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Errr.....?

[dennisfathead]

Newbie to biking, newbie to DSC, newbie to just about everyting in your world. Please be gentle.

Can I firstly contgratulate you all on having far too much time on your hands. There is stuff in hear the Encyclopedia Britannica has not even heard about. I have learned alot.

Partially based upon research from this site I intend to get a first bike, and that first bike will almost certainly be either a 750 SS or Monster. Fear prevents me from mentioning the preferred colour.

I have a couple of concerns on which I would appreciate your views.

1. 200+ mile, 100 mph motorway trips. Which is the lesser of the 2 evils: wind on monster, or comfort on an SS?

2. Comments about SS. "Wrong gear on a roundabout and it will spit you off" and "grumbles unhappily in city speeds". Should I be concerned?

3. Am I right in believeing that the 750 / 800, Monster / SS have a wet, and therefore, smoother clutch?

4. Given a standard 750 SS or Monster what changes / additions would you make to improve maintenance and comfort.

If it helps with any of the questions above, I am 6' tall, 13st, 33 years, live in London.

Look foreward to hearing from you.

Dennis Fathead (grandmother struggles to remember names these days!)

[Steve M]

Firstly fathead (?) welcome to the club.
If there is much motorway riding I'd go for a faired bike. Maybe worth considering an ST2 also.
An SS may be a bit too "sports bike" to begin with, though they are not too extreme like say a 916.
The engines are fine around town - it's more a V twin thing than the SS engine, but the smaller engines are less lumpy at low revs, you'll soon get used to it. Don't know why it would spit you off at a roundabout though.
Which ever you get you won't be disappointed. Don't worry about the clutch, the dry ones are fine as long as they are cleaned of dust from time to time.
Happy riding.

[Edited on 16-6-2004 by STEVE M]

[TP]

Welcome to the DSC Fathead (feel funny calling someone a Fathead!)

Those types of trips my preference would be the SS. Having said that I commute on a 996 and my theory was buy the bike you love and deal with how you use it, entirely impractical but hey - I have to be practical at work all day and I have kids .....

As you've been cruising the site you'd know that Ducati's tend not to stay standard for too long so things like front sprockets tend to get changed fairly quickly etc - they're pretty much all geared too tall.

750SS has a wet clutch. Not sure about comfort etc as getting onto one after riding my 996 seems pretty comfortable to me Not much use to you I know but someone who rides an SS will find this post shortly and give you some more useful information.

[Glyn]

been mentioned once above ST2
the most underated bike you will find
loads of comfort and what ever anyone says it will keep up with the big boys on real roads.
and after 300 miles there all in agony and your fresh as a spring morning
bloody cheap to buy and insure an all

[Phil Butler]

Yes for what you want to do I think the ST2 is the tool very, underrated but a great bike. I have a 750ss as well and although I have done tours up to 3500 miles on it if I have to do any serious Mileage I use the ST, the 750ss is great fun but the ST is a great allrounder, like the other guys say it can keep up with most bikes no problem..... it's got the pedigree it after all a Ducati !!!!

[Jools]

Originally posted by Glyn
been mentioned once above ST2
the most underated bike you will find
loads of comfort and what ever anyone says it will keep up with the big boys on real roads.
and after 300 miles there all in agony and your fresh as a spring morning
bloody cheap to buy and insure an all

Oi You! That's what I was going to say...

Except that I did a 400 miler up to Yorkshire and back in a day a few weeks ago and I was a bit creaky afterwards even on an ST2. Having said that it was the way my leathers bunch up at the back of my knees that caused mucho soreness, and the way the new Shoei lid pushes itself back into my nose and chin at any reasonable speed that caused most of the discomfort - Only a mild twinge between the shoulder blades could be put down to the bike.

Yep, the ST2 is a much underated bike - like a comfortable SS and I've never been left behind.

If you do get one, make sure it has the big engine like my one has in it, not the small one like Glyn has got

PS: That's a joke by the way, but it's my only explanation as to why Glyn arrives half an hour later than everyone else at the pub - although he could just be a tight git