Ducati S4R Shots

Took a few photos of my trusty Ducati in the local area just for fun. They look a bit like I am trying to sell it but not the case really!












This was down at West Dean near the building which used to be pub straddling the Hampshire/Wiltshire border.

















I think this is my favourite shot taken near the foot bridge at Lockerley which leads under the railway and up the hill to the Mottisfont estate area.
















This one is good too though I have had to mess about withthe lighting.

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Netley Marsh EuroJumble

Netley Marsh is just down the road from the Farm and being a very local bikey event it seemed foolish to not go along! It is depending on your point of view an amazing display of rusting metal or a fascinating opportunity to see some old bikes in various states of repair - their owners likewise! It is good for being a very focussed event. There is none of the usual stalls selling rubbish folding chairs, polishing cloths and the like - there were only two food stalls for goodness sake and they normally take over at these shows. There was however all sorts of old bikes, old bits of old bikes and bits of old bits of old bike for sale. It was also, genuinely, a 'Euro' Jumble with loads of French and Dutch in evidence along with a few Germans and even an I talian I spotted; there were several stalls offering a 'Euro to Pound' exchange rate. Al of this being considerably better than the pathetic European Famers Market held in Romsey a few weeks back witha grand total of 6 traders - Netley Marsh was full of them.
I have not really taken much interest in the Classic Bike scene before and am still not sure I'm ready for the lengthy discussions on valve guides, correct tyre tread patterns and kick starting technique that seems to be required. I still love riding the thing rather than playing with it in the garage. There is also the whole boring Norman bit about Classic Bikers though I did have a chat to a couple of entertaining chaps - I have the beard but that's as far as it goes (and that is an experiment in being cultivated to the extreme lengths required for credible Harley ownership!).
Nonetheless it cannot be denied that while they might not go very fast or stop very well they do generally look great and many of them, even in really good condition, can be bought very cheaply indeed. So may be soething to consider in a few years time then!

Sunday Ride Out

There was a so-called 'Euphoric European Market' on in Romsey today. This translated to a Frenchman selling olives, Turkish Delight and liquorice, a Portuguese lady selling chicken pies, a pancake bloke and someone of uncertain origin selling hats. Euphoric it was not - it was barely a market! Fortunately I had decided to travel on two wheels to join the rest of the family at this extravaganza and so could easily escape for a more enjoyable activity.

Despite filling up the tank as the first activity the subsequent ride pretty much emptied the tank once again - never mind! Went from Romsey down to Ringwood - fairly deserted on the motorway so found a couple of empty sections to exceed the national speed limit (by an amount about equal to .... the national speed limit, oops!) and then headed over to Verwood. Had thought to drop in on the Three Legged Cross Ducati place but being Sunday it was of course closed, not a big deal as I then headed up past the lakes to Salisbury and hence back to Romsey.

Glad the day was not entirely wasted!!

Indicators

The left front indicator on my Honda CBR600F is not well. Not quite sure what happened but the front does not remain attached to the back without copious quantities of Harry Black Maskers at present (black tape for those requiring translation). So in the interests of improving the old workhorse's cosmetics and function I thought I really ought to get a new a one.

Now, we are not talking advanced technology here, no LEDs, no xenon bulbs just a couple of bits of plastic, a screw and a bulb. It is as you can see on th eleft really nothing that special. So whythe hell when I wantto buy one from Mr Honda does the stupid thing cost £54!!! If it was the Ducati I could almost believe it but still would not have bought it! I can get an after market LED version with clear lenses and the works for about £15 so guess what is going to happen to resolve that nonsense.

Latest Phots

Just a few shots taken locally of No.1 bike.

Decisions, decisions

Now, in truth I have been very satisfied with my S4R; (this one isn't mine but it looks identical and I can't find any pictures of my one at the moment!).

However, having had it for about 18months I have already started thinking about what I might like to get next. Although I hazard to admit it the change would be for both cosmetic and performance reasons. So thoughts have been turning towards options in terms of both engine and colour scheme. Now the choices I would find most appealing are a traditional red bike with offset white stripe and white wheels

Ducati_Monster_S4R_2005

or if really extravagant the top of the range white with centreline thick red stripe and red frame

but white wheels S4Rs Monster:

Now, just lately it has all been made more complicated as the old S4Rs 998cc engine is now used in the new S4R (though S4R doesn't come in white and even the red one doesn't have white wheels).
Ducati_Monster_S4R_2007:
Suspect the decision will be made by a combination of the available funds and the availability (or not at present) of suitable second hand machines. There is no great rush to change but it is still fun to consider the options!

Reassuringly Expensive!

Well, it is a standing joke that Ducatis spend more time in the garage rather than on the road and so true to form that is where mine is at present! It is fairly rare though and really both this one and its predecessor have been very reliable. As it is I'm maximizing the efficiency by getting the annual service and MOT done as well as getting a fuelling problem sorted out.
Hopefully should get it back on Saturday so will report on progress then.

Must say I'm quite looking forward to it already. As well as removing the tendency for teh bike to go as fast or slow as it wants to regardless of what I'm doing with the throttle I'm hoping they might have been able to do something about a bit of a flat spot between 4.5 and 5.5 thousand revs. I know I could probably sort it with a Power Commander but don't wish to go down that route as I suspect S4R will be swapped for one of another colour soon and so I would have wasted the set up costs. Oh well, fingers crossed for success on Saturday!

Harley-Davidson

Must be getting old; I'm starting to have desires to take a Harley for a test ride! Could be fun though

S4R Unwell, well, sort of!

Took Mr S4R for a ride today to establish quite how unwell he might be. I have had a spell where the engine seems to want to rev in ways that are utterly unrelated to how far open the throttle is; which is clearly no good. Only snag is that the problem seems to go away at high speed so its a bit unclear what is going on. Will take bike off tomorrow for an expensive stay with Motorapido
up in Winchester and hopefully he will come back fixed and with a new MOT to boot.
I still see the Ducati as No.1 bike but the recent increased use of the Honda has made me realise what an excellent bike that is as well. It can easily reach 130mph, is incredibly smooth and easy to ride and now that the second baffle has come out it even makes quite a good noise!

Dare Devil Rider - Miss Sarah Houghton

This is Sarah, daughter No.2 who has actually been riding longer than me! In truth I was very happy for her to get involved in the bike display team as it gave me an excellent excuse for getting involved in bikes myself!

She has been riding with the team for 4 years now and is still understandably rather enjoying herself and is fully justified in the attention it brings. She may not be the most aggressive or adventurous member of the team but she does every thing expected of her without a murmur and with a bit of intelligence and awareness - can't ask for more than that!

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Update

Since this Blog was started there has been a significant pause before it got going again!
There was no real reason for this other than sloth but no matter. It is nonetheless reasonable to bring the reader up to date with biking matters in the world of Jeremiah.

First the garage. I currently have a blue Ducati S4R from 2004 which now has about 3000mls on the clock having bought it about 18 months ago with just 34mls showing. I never did find out what its brief history was but having bought it from a dealer, Pegasus, up in Reading, I was fairly happy it was a sound buy and indeed it has been though I am now thinking of bike developments but that will be another story.

To keep the Duke company, in much the same way horse owners sometimes buy a donkey for their paddocked horse (possibly a bit unfair!) I also have a yes common and predictable but also resilient and reliable Honda CBR600F. There was sort of a plan that it would be the winter bike as it was more likely to withstand the English weather than the shivering Italian though the truth was I just wanted a faired sportsbike as an alternative to the Monster.

Technically 'in the garage' but actually generally 'on the lorry' I also have a Kawasaki KX85 which is my 12year old daughter's steed and performing tool for the No Limitz Motorcycle Display Team, also of which much more later.

So there we have it, 3 quite varied bikes and much fun to be had!