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Back in the day I had a '71 Duke 450 Desmo single (297 lbs. dry weight - glitter silver). My buddy had a '72 Duke Sport. On the 750 the suspension was overly hard for the bumps to the point that a fiberglass fender split in half after hitting a pot hole. The Conti exhausts could have a rake handle shoved down them and hit nothing. The 900ss's(Desmo) that were glitter silver around that era were pieces of art to look at (from a distance). The sound was deep BOOMPH, BOOMPH,BOOMPH. Where I worked in the '80's there was a 900 I listened to most mornings. I have to say it was impressive. The main guy to get Duke parts from was in Grimsby, Ontario but he also had MV Augusta which was his personal favorite. Keith Hart used to talk about doing the ton by the end of the short street he lived on with his MV. I don't ignore Dukes. I don't want to own and support one though. Grant.

Say Grant, isn't that the coolest thing about motorcycles, that they all have their own personalities no matter what it might be.

For those who don't happen to speak German.... Those documents were produced by a company that doesn't seem to exist anymore. A quick search turned up a newest reference from 2010 in some forum or other. Nothing newer. What's on the page? Farhzeuggeometrie = Vehicle geometry. Lenkkopfwinkel = steering head angle. Nachlauf = trail. Radstand = wheelbase. So the first section is all about the basic dimensions of the bike. In the next section: Winkelabweichung = Angle deviation. Verdrehung = "twist". "zur" = "to the". "zum" = also "to the". Has to do with conjugation with various different genders for the definite article. "zu" = also "to the". Just take it for granted... Lenkkopf = steering head. Schwingenachse = swingarm pivot. Vorderrad = front wheel, Hinterrad = rear wheel, Lenkachse = the axis of rotation through the steering head. In the last section: Versatz = offset (i.e. error in that case) Räder = wheels Radaufstand Punkt = the point where the wheel touches the ground (I think...). Spur = the line along which the wheels travel. EDIT: "nach" = "to", Links is left, Rechts is right, so "nach Links" is "to the left". The bottom line: both bikes were tested by a company in Bavaria that believed it knew what it was doing, and was recommended in at least one forum. The results show that both bikes were within less than 3mm of being absolutely straight.

Too funny! Went out to my shop last evening and shortly after, noticed the "missing" clamp lying in a corner below my work bench I use for clean work. Bingo!

Unless you ignore Ducati V twins. Phil

Hey Phil I also have a Ducati Super Sport, so it's tough to decide which one to ride. Both the Super Sport and Le Mans beckon me like alluring sirens.

I believe Marc misunderstood the rules and thought he would have to start from the back of the grid. But he was banking on another mis-understanding of the rules, hoping ten other racers would follow him off the grid. He was confusing the situation with another situation, if more then ten racers pull down pit lane at the end of the warmup lap the rules say the race start will be postponed. That rule was added after most of the grid pulled into pitlane after the warmup lap at, I think, Argentina a couple years ago (but I could be wrong about the specific location). However, that rule was strictly about riders pulling down pitlane at the end of the warmup lap, to prevent a debacle like that from happening again. The rules Marc did not know as well as he thought actually meant he would go out on the warmup lap and start the race from his original grid spot, but then have to do a drive down pitlane to add to his race time the equivalent of lost time as if he had swapped bikes to his other bike to get off the rains and onto slicks. This article covers the various possible scenarios pretty well; https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/1066604/1/marc-marquezs-cota-motogp-grid-gamble-wrong-reasons-right-decision I don't see what happened as a sign of Pecco getting on equal footing with Marc. What happened was Marc made a few mistakes, the new Marc we have seen went away for that race and the old Marc surfaced. He outsmarted himself trying to outsmart everyone else, and was lucky he didn't face the consequences he was supposed to. And he wanted to crush the field to show his dominance, but he failed. He had the win, the race was his to lose, and he lost it. I hope at the next round Pecco pulls himself up on equal terms with Marc and beats him straight up. Then it will really be on.

Fahrwerk Tuning must be a clue. Cheers Tom. Sent fra min SM-S906B via Tapatalk

Had my first ride of year on 2004 Ballabio after completing my 20 year (approx 25,000 km ) maintenance visit. With all the work done, new tires, all callipers & master cylinders rebuilt, new brake pads, all new engine sensors, complete “Decent Tune Up”, including plugs, air filter, etc., Roper Plate installed, drive shaft removed and greased, etc. it is just like it came out of the showroom in 2004. Good for another 20 yrs/ 25,000 km. Not sure I am! What a pleasure to ride.

That's the best plan. My sister figured out the physics of it some years ago: When you look for something, the act of searching builds up an energy state that, if the search goes on for more than a couple of minutes, causes the sought after object to pop across into another dimension. Only when you stop looking does the energy state dissipate, allowing the object to fall back into our dimension and be found.

The exhaust sounds good. The dry clutch sound not so much. The transmission is a beauty so far. How solid the bike is on the road is impressive too. Even without the Ohlins. The Ohlins equipped bikes must be a fun ride. We had a bunch of snow and freezing rain where I live over the last week. I'm really looking forward to spring !!!

The snow has cleared and a recent rain has removed the tons of salt left on the road. The V11 was rolled out of its warm bed to make this video commemorating the start of a new season. Remember to like and subscribe. Bwahaa! 2004 V11S

Yes, it is a Sport of course, but It will always be a Lemans to me. HA! It keeps my 77 (and my 73) company, and the Sport is the only bike that rivals the Lemans aurally