Yeah... I should have said I always prefer silence. From the Isuzu cars too. Though I found the standard Conti noise on my Duc (GT750 roundcase) to be advantageous in traffic. (It took ages to understand why cars pulled over when my un-lit Duc approached whereas similar speeds and headlights on my Yamahas did nothing!)
And the G200W was loud with foot down - but that was the intake noise!
That doesn't mean I don't appreciate a good exhaust note (like baffle-less 250cc motorbikes - NOT!), but other than safety aspects, ssshhh! (Stealth wins!)
PS - the only other Ducati-like experience was ironically in the Florian... Coming down the mountain was like a rally in that cars would pull over to let me past. But it wasn't the engine - it occurred with G161U & G200W, and I was often just rolling with engine off anyhow. Maybe they recognised her age and suspected brake failure. I suspect a strange car with strangely shaped huge parking lights (Florian headlights) coming around corners scraping RH door handles on LH corners got the respect she deserved.
What exhaust size ?? 2, 2.5 or 3 inch ??
Yeah. I use to hang poo on other bikes.
Or rather, if you weren't riding Jap, you were crazy.
But let's say my cautious first ride with on its old rubber and a fire extinguisher strapped to the seat (leaking Mikunis) eventually impressed me.
I knew the speedo was wrong because although I had done 160+kph up that winding road on my old RD350, I was well aware of doing that speed.
But on the GT750 I was being cautious. Granted, single handed whilst I was rolling a cigarette with one hand and picking my nose with the other, and a bit sus that the Kwacka 1000 behind me that raced up in the straights dropped back on the corners - but no where near 160kph. 100kph maybe....
But I learned 3 things after that trial run.
1. My speedo was reasonably accurate.
2. I understood frame flex.
3. I became a torque convert.
She went well for a $400 purchase ($650 on the road).
I was spewing that I didn't beat my mates on their Suzy GS1000's - it was always the same - light green, front wheel up, and then a consistent 2 bike lengths behind. At the time I blamed it on its slipping clutch (later solved with ~$5 worth of springs).
Only later did I realise that was good for a Duke - they are high speed cruisers or sporties - not quick off the line. And 750cc versus 1000cc...
About a decade later - after about 10 years of criticism from "Delorto" duc owners, they too changed to Mikuni carbies. "You need Delorto pumpers"... what a joke!
Anyhow, I did get into the zen of non-Jap bikes - the quick timing check before a run etc. (But incorrect-offset timing is another story. "You can't put holes in Ducati pistons" - that's another joke!)
She was nice when I was living down the Latrobe Valley. That was when the HD Evos came out and all of a sudden all Harleys were going fast - for sustained minutes!
Or rather, if you weren't riding Jap, you were crazy.
But let's say my cautious first ride with on its old rubber and a fire extinguisher strapped to the seat (leaking Mikunis) eventually impressed me.
I knew the speedo was wrong because although I had done 160+kph up that winding road on my old RD350, I was well aware of doing that speed.
But on the GT750 I was being cautious. Granted, single handed whilst I was rolling a cigarette with one hand and picking my nose with the other, and a bit sus that the Kwacka 1000 behind me that raced up in the straights dropped back on the corners - but no where near 160kph. 100kph maybe....
But I learned 3 things after that trial run.
1. My speedo was reasonably accurate.
2. I understood frame flex.
3. I became a torque convert.
She went well for a $400 purchase ($650 on the road).
I was spewing that I didn't beat my mates on their Suzy GS1000's - it was always the same - light green, front wheel up, and then a consistent 2 bike lengths behind. At the time I blamed it on its slipping clutch (later solved with ~$5 worth of springs).
Only later did I realise that was good for a Duke - they are high speed cruisers or sporties - not quick off the line. And 750cc versus 1000cc...
About a decade later - after about 10 years of criticism from "Delorto" duc owners, they too changed to Mikuni carbies. "You need Delorto pumpers"... what a joke!
Anyhow, I did get into the zen of non-Jap bikes - the quick timing check before a run etc. (But incorrect-offset timing is another story. "You can't put holes in Ducati pistons" - that's another joke!)
She was nice when I was living down the Latrobe Valley. That was when the HD Evos came out and all of a sudden all Harleys were going fast - for sustained minutes!
IZU069 - ISUZU means a lot to me.