My First Weekend with the ST2... and yes... I droppped it...

Shamefully copied direct fromt he ducati forum.. so questions will not be relevant...

Well I collected my first Ducati (02 reg ST2 with 8k on the clock) and present 2nd bike (sits along side an 08 tuono) on friday night from crewe and shot back up the motorway intime to make it home for pizza..

Its fully loaded (not just the pizza) with panniers and a top box but did it bother it... nope not one bit... I was more than a little impressed with its ease of handling and smooooth power. It fits me for a change with just a little twinge after a 93 mile hike home.
I tucked it up after re arranging the shed so she fits and left her for the night... My mate came and had a look and like it a lot.. (for a v twin )

Saterday came and went in a flurry of wallpaper, and so hacked off by the gloop and mess i put it to the lady that we go to the lakes for sunday morning. All agreed I bussied myself changing all the brake and clutch fluids as they were all a decided black colour.... never good... fortuantly 20 minutes later and no dramas it was all sorted.

Sunday morning arrived and we left at 8.. taking a long very sceninc route to the lakes we shot up the A660 over the A 59 and a then its a blur of a roads leading us to the lakes... it took a whopping 3.5 hours thanks to a tea break.. for breakie.. (yum) inexperiane with the bike and pillion and the bloody cars on the roads all doing 40 with no where "safe" to pass them.


The first Ducati ism...
Going into any Left corner at any speed meant the side stand grinds out... making the sound of th eclutch exploding.... when i realied it was the stand I rode accordingly but was very unnverved by the whole thing.
which leads me onto the question of can the ride height be adjusted on the ST2 for passangers.. I have found a funny brace next to the shock that seems to link something and it looks adjustable but i wont mess and I cant find anythign int he service booklet...


Second Ducati Ism..
Approaching a RH corner this time.. go to slow down with the back brake and it goes completley tot he floor.... ****... i think to myself I must have not done the bleed nipple up properly and now my wheel is covered in dot 4 fluid... Nice... but to my suprise.. nothing.. no leaks no explosion... just a non existant brake... carried on using front only much to kittens anoyance with the headbutting... and low and ebhold ... 20 minutes later a woeking rear brake.... (feck knows whats up with that).


Any way.. we arrive late but comfy at ulswater and park up... weather great and spend an hour wondrering about eating chips and watching the runners die of exhaustion from deciding it woudl be a good idea to run around the lake..
trying hard not to point and laugh we walk around the classic cars and then decied to set of home using the motorways...


I love my panniers... the swallowed all our gear plus shopping leaving us gear free to walk around in... fantastic..

Any way.. blat off downt ot the M6 south... drop in on kittens rents at J28 for a brew... off to the end of thier road... and promptly pull out into the main rode where at the same time I stall it ... and with a merry little hoppidy skippidy dance I drop it... (read lowered painfully slowly in the hope that gravity would suddenly reverse and help it upright)

Thanks to those that came to my aid ... and thanks to ducati for making robust panniers hard enough to lay the bike on... first time ever I've done that on a bike.... lesson learnt... this bike has a funny biting point..

Any way... pride duly damaged We head for the motorway and mince the 80 miles home at a hapilly moderate speed..
all in all a good day....

So the ST2...things to note

It needs a service its been 2 years since its last belts and Im on borrowed time...

The suspension needs adjusting before any more 2 up work..

the seat ... ok for the 250 miles we covered but if there is a better one out there ill need it.

Ride height.. if it can be adjusted it needs to be..

Tyres.. old models.. squaring odd nicley... will be too square in 1500 more miles... less if I do a greater % 2 up

the clutch makes a funny noise if I slip it too much it likes to be in our out...

can the temperature be adjusted from F to degrees c?

other than that its an Ace bike... 85 bhp is good but not .... wheel in the air like the tuono...

Never before have I managed 93 miles in one stint and be able to walk afterwards...
oh and 150 miles to the tank... Ill have some of that ... the tuono does 80....
Enough waffle its a cracking bike.... and i cant wait to go camping...:beer:

Sounds like all that was really damaged was pride.

Panniers, the thinking man's crashbars.

Screw owning a Duke. Sounds like a headache.

[fizzwheel]

Found the same on Liz's 749 about the clutch noise, if you slip it to much it squeals. Like you say in or out. Same thing on the back brake, its useless no feel to it.

I'd defo get those belts changed ASAP to.

You'll get used to the Ducati foibles after a while, it just takes a bit of time, but once you've got them all sorted and used to them, they all add to the "soul" of the bike.

Enjoy

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Found the same on Liz's 749 about the clutch noise, if you slip it to much it squeals. Like you say in or out. Same thing on the back brake, its useless no feel to it.

I'd defo get those belts changed ASAP to.

You'll get used to the Ducati foibles after a while, it just takes a bit of time, but once you've got them all sorted and used to them, they all add to the "soul" of the bike.

Enjoy

good to know its "one of them things"

I do love the duke already, its already my friend, it just does it,, no fuss... just right then lets go...

Im changing the belts myself as its not hard and I cannot afford the dealers ?400 price tag...might get them to do the valve clearances at 12 k though...

I have done escort TDI belts which took 7 hours so i think itll be alright

I already have the Tuono in the garage that has its own foibles and TBH i enjoy it.. I used to have more issues witht he SV tbh any way many moons ago..

Screw owning a Duke. Sounds like a headache.

not at all, yes they are more delicate but they are a great bike overall... well built and I love the red and gold detailing... my uncle owned dukes when I was a kid so I love the look... bring on more miles..

Originally Posted by 454697819

not at all, yes they are more delicate but they are a great bike overall... well built and I love the red and gold detailing... my uncle owned dukes when I was a kid so I love the look... bring on more miles..

It's just the dealer servicing that would annoy me and all those bloody belt changes. I've always fancied a monster too.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by DanAbnormal

It's just the dealer servicing that would annoy me and all those bloody belt changes. I've always fancied a monster too.

Liz took her 749S to Moto Rapido in Winchester. When we got the bill I looked at the dealer labour charger per hour and discovered it was less per hour than the Suzuki dealer where my GSXR goes.. its not expensive if you take it somewhere decent.

Also they cleaned and serviced bits that needed them rather than replacing stuff and IMHO they did everything possible to keep the price down.

Also the service interval on the 749 is longer than the interval on the SV...

Ducati's are just like all bikes, they need riding regularly to keep them in best shape, trouble is alot of Ducati owners put their bike in the garage and admire it rather than riding it and it does them no good at all.

I get tired of hearing "Ducatis are expensive", "Ducatis are unreliable" because the experience we've had is completely the opposite.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Liz took her 749S to Moto Rapido in Winchester. When we got the bill I looked at the dealer labour charger per hour and discovered it was less per hour than the Suzuki dealer where my GSXR goes.. its not expensive if you take it somewhere decent.

Also they cleaned and serviced bits that needed them rather than replacing stuff and IMHO they did everything possible to keep the price down.

Also the service interval on the 749 is longer than the interval on the SV...

Ducati's are just like all bikes, they need riding regularly to keep them in best shape, trouble is alot of Ducati owners put their bike in the garage and admire it rather than riding it and it does them no good at all.

I get tired of hearing "Ducatis are expensive", "Ducatis are unreliable" because the experience we've had is completely the opposite.

Agreed.. Already fed up of ppl going... oooh thatll cost you..

Service parts are cheap or at least what you would expect..

oil filter ?7 air filter ?13 sparkies ? 4 belt ?27.. cheaper than most other OEm parts..

I did just find out the panniers I dropped it onto are a whopping ?580 with the brackets should I need to replace them..fortuatly the damage isnt great enough to need replacing...

The bloody Tuono is ?200 a pop.... I like using bikes not polishing them.... shock horror

Falco does 80 to the tank... whats he doing with it!? Riding in first gear all the time? Man.