Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > General Motorcycles only > I learnt a lesson today…

[Ian]

…and thought it useful to pass it on so nobody else encounters this lesson.

Did you know that if you have you bike up on the axle paddock stand and you turn the wheel anti-clockwise (to do something like clean the chain), after a while without you noticing the wheel (and therefore bike) will unscrew itself from the paddock stand? It will very gracefully pop off before your eyes, totter there for a fraction of a second, whist your brain takes in what is happening and the chain of events that will follow. It will then follow that you will grab the bike at the first place of contact, and that place will have a sharp edge, but it being your pride an joy and the fact that the adrenalin has now kicked in you will not notice this until some time latter when it is pointed out that you are dripping blood. You will again discover that point of no return that all bikes have where they get to a certain point and you resign yourself to the inevitable that your bike will make contact with the tarmac; your only hope is to make her landing as gentle as possible. You then take a breath and shout for whatever help is at hand to lift her back to the only way that she should be. It is at this point that you recognise the old familiar site of the 2-finger brake lever. About half an hour later you discover that not every Ducati dealer has brake levers on their shelf and give you the horror stories of having to wait weeks or even months. But then, - Pro V Twins in South Godstone, Surrey come to the rescue, they have loads of parts on their shelves and even if I could not have driven over there they would have put it on an overnight delivery. Thanks Pete.