The evolution of a motorcyclist

Recently it occurred to me, 100,000+ miles and 8 bikes later, I’m still evolving as a motorcyclist. Looking back at all my bikes, I can definitely see how I arrived here today. But it was a slow process as I figured out my riding style over the last few years. Now I ride a dual-sport, a sport-touring bike and sport bike, but what will I ride in a few years?

I didn’t start riding motorcycles in order to tour on them. As a matter of a fact I rode for a couple of years and never even considered doing trips on my motorcycles.



2006 Yamaha XT225

My XT225 has close to 3,000 miles on it, I've been riding it since October 2006 when I bought it new. After a year, I’m still learning to ride off-road, there just isn’t that many opportunities to ride off-road around here.

For me, the biggest difference between riding pavement and dirt is the mileage. I’m a high mileage rider, I ride far and I ride often. My longest day on pavement so far is 1,021 miles, I did that in 21 hours. On dirt a 100 miles is a long day of riding. And depending on the road conditions, sometimes even 50 miles can tire me out. To this day, the most miles I have put on in a day on the XT225 is 350 miles - 100 miles of those being dirt, the rest pavement.

It’s fun exploring the less traveled dirt roads, that’s pretty much why I wanted to start riding a dual-sport. There are just too many places I can’t go on my street bikes and to me a dual-sport bike is a nice addition to a sport-touring bike. Now there are no roads that I can’t explore.



2005 Ducati ST3

My ST3 now has 22,000 miles, I've been riding it since September 2005 when I bought it new. I can honestly say that this bike has transformed the way I tour now. I sport-toured a lot before getting the ST3, I did that on my sport bikes, but the ST3 allowed me camp on my trips, since finally I had the space for camping gear. Not only could I take all the stuff with me, but the ST3 carries the extra weight well. Sure, the bike feels heavier loaded down with luggage and camping gear, but not so much that the ride is no longer enjoyable. All the sudden I’m able to do multi-days trips and bring everything that I need, and everything is locked away in the hard bags, which means I can do some sight seeing off the bike and I don’t have to worry about my stuff getting stolen.



2000 Ducati 900 Super Sport

I really like the 900SS. I liked the way it sounded, the way it looked and the way it fit me. I bought it used and rode it for exactly one year, June 2006 through June 2007. I only managed to put 3,000 miles on it in that one year.

Even though 900SS was fun to ride, it just didn’t fit the kind of riding that I was doing. First, it wasn’t all that comfortable on the long rides, even though it had Heli bars and a Sergent seat. Second, most of my rides were long rides, so the 900SS sat while I was riding the other bikes. I don’t regret selling it, but I do miss the rattling sound of the dry clutch, my ST3 has a wet clutch, and I miss the way the carbon fiber exhaust sounded. Too bad I installed the new exhaust so late and really didn’t get to enjoy it. I really need to get new cans for my ST3.



2002 Honda CBR 954RR

I have about 32,000 miles on my 954RR, I bought the bike new in July of 2003, but I didn’t really start riding it until September. I needed to get an adjustable lowering link for the bike and no one had one in stock for months. The bike was just a bit too tall and it being my first liter bike, I was too nervous to ride it with out lowering it first. Can you imagine having a brand new bike in the garage for a couple of month and not be able to ride it. It was rough.

The 954RR has all the modifications for sport-touring now. It has a tall Zero Gravity sport-touring screen, Converti-bars, Dual-Star heated grips, an electric accessory outlet so that I can plug in my heated vest, and hard luggage - a GIVI monokey rack and E36 top case. This was the first bike I started using a GPS on and a camera mount on.

I added the taller windscreen when I added the top case in 2005. I needed more storage space for the longer touring trips, I also wanted the top case so I could have a place to lock stuff up on my bike. The top case is awesome, the only thing is the 954RR is just too light of a bike and I’m also too light of a rider, to have weight up high and behind the bike upsets the bike especially in tight turns and slow maneuvers. It’s something that you eventfully get used to, but the 954RR without the top case is a much more fun to ride then with the top case. That’s why since getting the ST3, I have not used the top case on the 954RR, the top case does not upset the ST3, maybe because the bike is heavier.



954RR in Colorado in 2004

Before getting the top case, I used soft luggage on my 954RR. This picture above was taken on my first long ride with the 954RR, it was a 9 day - 5,ooo mile ride out to Utah. By this time I had completed all the sport-touring modifications on the bike so I could be comfortable riding long distances. It is also this bike that I did my unofficial iron butt ride, the "Saddle Sore 1000", I rode 1021 miles in 21 hours. Unofficial because I never turned in the receipts to the Iron Butt Association for the certification.



The 954RR in it's stock form

The clip-ons on the 954RR were pretty low compared to my F4i, my neck would hurt on the longer rides from holding my head up tall to see the road. I guess my arms just weren’t long enough for this bike. I rode it this way from September 2003 to July 2004, but I realized that I would not be able to tour on this bike if I didn’t get after market clip-ons, so I bought the Converti-bars. This was the most important modification for this bike, after the Converti-bars I could finally ride long distances.



2002 Honda CBR 600 F4i

I had 33,000 miles on my F4i when I sold it in August of 2005. I bought the bike brand new in March of 2002 to replace the F4. I did a lot of trips on this bike, but all were short trips of 4 days and less. The bike was pretty comfortable from the start, so I didn’t need to make any modifications. Back then I didn’t use a GPS, didn’t carry any electronics, didn’t need a lot of luggage space. I traveled just with a tank bag and a tail bag.




F4i at the track in 2002

The F4i was the only bike that I’ve done track days with. As a matter of a fact, I signed up for my first track day when I still had the F4, but by the time the track day arrived, I already had the F4i and I was still braking it in. I finished breaking in the bike toward the end of the last session. I did 5 track days that year, the F4i was fun at the track but I got bored with track days, I wanted to travel and see new places.

After I modified the 954RR I only used the F4i for day rides, I did all my touring with the 954RR. But I liked the 954RR so much better then the F4i that after a while I stopped riding it. On September of 2005 my friend bought a ST3, I sat on it and realized that was the bike for me. I sold the F4i and two weeks later I used the money for a down payment on a ST3.



2000 Honda CBR 600 F4 with make-shift luggage

I had 13,000 miles on my F4 when I sold it in March of 2002. I bought the bike brand new in March of 2000 to replace the GS500. The day I sold the F4, I went to pick up the F4i. There was nothing wrong with the F4, it was a great bike, but it had one thing that didn’t fit me, the seat. The F4 had a very wide seat, so it was hard for me to reach the ground. I lowered the bike significantly to be able to ride it. But after lowering it, I had clearance issues, the bike would bottom out and scrape on railroad tracks and bumps. The F4i has a narrow seat, so I didn’t have to lower the bike as much.

I caught the sport-touring bug on the F4. In 2001 I towed the bike to Pennsylvania for a bike meet and realized that twisty roads were a lot of fun. There was no twisty roads near Chicago, so I rode the F4 to Kentucky for 4 days. Then a few weeks later to Minnesota. I was hooked. I now wanted to travel on the bike, I wanted to see this whole country.




All geared up on my F4 in 2001

I had my F4 for two years, but the first year I didn’t ride it very much, I only managed to put on about 1500 miles.

The second year I put on 11,500 miles. I rode the bike to work, and rode it after work. I rode it on the weekends, and did a few small trips with it. I went from not wearing much gear early in 2000, to getting some gear by the end of 2000, then getting better gear in 2001 when I really started to ride more.



Spring 2001, my first real motorcycle jacket



In 2000 before getting real motorcycle gear



1998 Suzuki GS500

I had 2,400 miles on my GS500 when I traded it in on the F4 in March of 2000. I bought the bike brand new in July 1999 after not riding a bike for approximately 7 years. Unfortunately in the 7 years I forgot how to ride. The first month was the most difficult. I dropped my bike a couple of times and questioned if I should even continue to ride. But I kept riding and by the time fall came, I felt confident and wanted to move up to a bigger bike.

Although a good starter bike, I never really liked the GS500, so once I got my riding skills back I wanted to get another bike, a sportbike. Looking back, I’m glad I started on the GS500, sure, I could have started on the F4 and been OK, but the GS500 gave me a lot of confidence in a short amount of time. The truth is, my F4 was easier to ride than my 500GS, but it would have been a lot more expensive if I dropped it. Starting on a naked bike is best.




1982 Suzuki GN125

May 1992 I bought my first motorcycle, a GN125. I’ve wanted to ride a motorcycle since I was 17 years old, but for many years it was just a dream. For some reason I never thought I’d be able to ride a motorcycle, so I never pursued it.

In 1992 I found an ad in the newspaper for used motorcycle for $300 and I bought it. I didn’t know anyone that rode, so I was going to teach myself how to ride. I also didn’t know about the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. I figured the bike was cheap, so if I couldn’t ride it, I’d sell it.

I had the guy selling it ride it home for me, since I couldn’t ride it. I read the manual cover to cover and the same day I started riding it. I rode the alleys and side streets for two weeks and finally got enough courage to venture on to the main roads. I rode the bike until fall. Not having a garage, the bike stayed outside in the parking lot all winter. The bike didn’t run very well to start with, the following Spring it ran even worst and I got rid of it. I was hoping to get a newer bike, but with school, work and lack of money, it took 7 years for that to happen.

International Motorcycle Show - Chicago

Winter is still in full swing outside, but today instead of thinking about riding motorcycles, I’m thinking about sitting on motorcycles. The 27th International Motorcycle Show is in town. I’ve been going to the show every year since 2000 and every year there are new and exciting bikes to look at. This year the show is bigger then ever, even though Triumph has not exhibited in a the last two or three years. Too bad, I‘d really like to sit on the new Street Triple.

Sitting on a motorcycle is a very important thing to do. By sitting you know if the bikes fits or not. And the only way to enjoy a motorcycle is when it fits and when you’re comfortable. That’s why I make a point to sit on as many bikes as possible. Being short, unfortunately many bikes don’t fit me, most are too tall for me and I can’t touch the ground with my feet, it’s still fun to try them on.



The Buell booth usually has some fun displays, here I am doing a stand up wheelie on a Buell Lightning



Draggin' a knee on a Buell Ulyssess



I've always liked KTM bikes, but since I've started riding off road I like them even more. If I was taller I'd be riding a 900 Adventure for sure, I like the way the bike looks and what it can do, go off road and on pavement. But at 5’5” I’ll never ride one. I sat on the 990 Super Duke and the 690 Supermoto, and liked them both - a lot. I just wished I could sit on the 690 Duke to see how it compares to the Super Duke, but I didn’t see it at the show. I’m really digging the naked bikes and the supermotos lately.



KTM 990 Adventure



KTM 690 Supermoto



KTM 990 Super Duke




BMW F800ST

Over at the BMW stand, I drooled over the F800GS, but the bike is just too tall for me. I really wish they still made the F650GS for shorties like me. The F800ST is a nice bike, very similar to my ST3.



BMW K1200S

I still like the K1200S, although not this color scheme. Boy this bike feels heavy compared to the others.



BMW K1200R

This bike was a lot taller than the 800ST or the 1200S, but I found it interesting.



Benelli Tornado TRE 1130

This is the most time I have ever remembered spending at the Benelli booth. They must have had more bikes this year and a bigger booth, I just never noticed Benelli before. Very nice bikes, the TNT was my favorite, it had a low seat and fit me pretty good, seems like a it would be a fun bike to ride. All the Benellis have a 1130cc triple engine and tubular frames.



Benelli TRE 1130K



Benelli TNT 1130



Ducati 848

The Ducati 848 is a stunning bike, so is the 1098. This design is definitely nicer then the previous, resembling more the 748 and 996 that people liked so much. I wouldn’t mind having one of those, although just like the 999, it’s not as comfortable to me as the 996 was. But I’m sure I could get used to that, not that I’m getting one. I have to say that the Hypermotard is a better bike for me then the 848 or 1098, more comfortable and as I said before, I’m really digging the supermotos.



Ducati GT 1000 sport classic



Ducati Hypermotard



Ducati 1098R





Ducati 1098S



Aprilia RXV

Mike liked the RXV twin cylinder enduro. I saw the Aprilia Shiver, but it looked so much like an MV Agusta Brutale to me, that I didn't even sit on it. I guess I didn't even realize that it was a new bike, it didn't stir anything in me. The Aprilia Tuono and RSV are still nice looking bikes and look nothing like the Shiver, which has very sharp corners the way the Futura did.

Yamaha WR250R and WR250X

Yamaha has a few bikes that I wouldn’t mind having. WR250R and WR250X, both nice but a bit too tall for me, I think I could lower the WR250X and make it work.

I’ve been super exited since I found out that the XT225 has been replaced by the XT250. Not only does it have a larger engine and a few extra ponies, but also a larger gas tank and now it has disk brakes in the back. It sits just like my XT225, but it sure is nicer. I don’t like the round headlight though, everything else is nice. I’m keeping my XT225 for now, I don’t think all those improvements are worth getting a new bikes when there is nothing wrong with mine.

Yamaha XT250

Honda CRF450R

Honda CRF250R

Suzuki GSXR 1000

I'm not getting any Japanese liter bikes, but if I was it would be the GSXR 1000, very comfy.


Kawasaki 650R

This is becoming a very popular bike, especially for touring with the shorter riders. I didn't like it that much last year, this year it's growing on me.



The baby Ninja, Kawasaki 250

I just have to say wow, what a pretty little ninja this is. A really good looking bike, doesn't look like a 250 at all. It was the only sportbike at the show that I could flatfoot.



Kawasaki Versys

This year Kawasaki came out with a bike that is similar to the popular Vstrom. The Versys is tall and heavy, I don't see why they can't make these bikes lighter, especially if they claim that they are good for riding some easy dirt and gravel roads.

There was a lot more gear this year. I went ahead and tried on some stuff that I would never buy. This Icon jacket was a size small and fit me nice, also seemed well made but too cute for me.

Live Fast



And I finally got to try on an Arai dirt helmet to compare it to my Arai XD, I like my XD better, but if I ever needed a dirt helmet, I'd go with an Arai, they just seem smaller to me.

Ducati ST3 discontinued

If you have been to the Ducati website lately you might have noticed something is missing. The ST3 is no longer listed in the 2008 model line up. It appears that Ducati’s sport-touring model has been abruptly discontinued just after 4 years of production. Kind of makes you wonder why since the ST3 was the most reliable of the Ducati ST bikes.

The first ST3 came out in 2004. The following year 2005 they made a bunch of improvements to the bike, two of which were a wet clutch and a nicer seat. In 2006 they came out with the ST3s model which had ABS among other upgrades. It seems like they were improving the ST3, so why is it gone?

The first sport touring model, the ST2, was launched in 1996 and in 1999 the ST4 joined the sport touring line up. The two models looked similar but had different engines and options. The ST3 replaced the ST2 in 2004, where ST4 was discontinued a year after the ST3 came out, if I recall correctly.

I have not found any official explanation on the web to why the ST3 is no longer in the line up for 2008 but I did find some clues.

If you search for “Ducati” on www.powersportsbusiness.com and read the press releases in order you will see a pattern develop starting with this press release dated April 2007: “The new 1098 Superbike led first-quarter sales. The new arrival doubled sales of the company’s Superbike family, with more than 600 bikes being delivered to customers. The Monster and Sport Classic families balanced out the final mix with combined sales of more than 600 bikes. The remaining sales came from the Multistrada, Sport Touring and Supersport families.”

In May 2007 Ducati Motor Holding announced a new CEO and in the Fall of 2007 Ducati Motor Holding presented a new strategic plan for 2008-2010 to the financial community.

And if you read the quote above and look at the Ducati website you will notice that the bikes that are gone from the line up are the ones being mentioned as not making as much money as the superbikes, monsters and sport classics. The super sport is gone, the 620 Multistarda is gone and the ST3 is gone.



The Ducati website - 2008 model line up

Can you blame them? The ST3 was never a really popular bike. I’d imagine most people looking for a sport tourer would not buy a Ducati. Face it, getting your valves checked every 6,000 miles costs a lot of money if one puts on a lot of miles per year touring.

How did I end up getting a ST3? The ST3 is a great bike for a shorter rider. The seat is not very tall and it's also narrow, so that allows a rider to get more foot on the ground. I'm 5'5" and I had to shave an inch of foam on the seat to be able to touch the ground with the ball of my foot. The ST3 is also light for a sport touring bike, which helps a shorter rider if they can’t flat foot the bike. I sat on other bikes and they felt really big and heavy, the ST3 fit me.

By the way, I found a great website that has a lot of info on the Ducati sport touring models - www.perryr.com/DucatiSTFAQ.html

Six more weeks of winter it will be

It’s groundhog day today. I was hoping for some good news but Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow in Pennsylvania this morning, so that means winter will continue for another 6 weeks.

Yikes, 6 more weeks? We’ve had the snowiest winter in years and pretty cold one too. Below zero temps, snow coming down every few days. Just yesterday we got 9-10” of snow.



The only machine in the garage that's getting any action lately is the snow blower

This may be the toughest winter since I have started “seriously” riding motorcycles, which was 1999. I guess I was spoiled, the last few winters were pretty mild. If one wanted to get out for a short ride, there were at least 2-5 days a month where there would be no snow on the ground and the temps above freezing. Last year and especially this year Chicago is having a real winter. Great for snowmobiling, bad for motorcycling.

Last weekend the sun came out for a little bit so we were out sledding again. Today it’s cloudy with occasional snow and high 20’s, that’s the kind of a winter day that makes me want to stay inside.



My favorite sledding hill in the western suburbs




Sledding is fun, but unfortunately, after the 6th trip down the hill I’m ready to do something different



Mike slowing it down to avoid a collision








Ducks having fun on a sunny Chicago winter day

After sledding we went for a short hike through the park, just at the bottom of the hill. There was a nice creek and bridge there. This constant snow is making me explore the town I live in, I can't ride and I can't spend all weekend indoors either.