Featured Threads Archive

As a recent new member I sincerely want to thank everyone for making this forum so damned good.

It is incredibly; friendly, helpful, informative and knowledgeable and I for one as a returning motorcyclist cannot say how much I have enjoyed reading and contributing to the many topics; I have honestly re learned sooo many things that I had forgotten since my earlier days of biking.

I wish you all health, wealth and happiness for the forthcoming New Year.

Anyone been out today?
I took a chicken pie to Southwold.
Bit bracing but roads dry

I just wanted to say a huge Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all from @Rob, @Ducbird and me.

As always this forum has been a delight to be a part of and not only has it kept me grounded but it has also lifted my spirits particularly after my "episode" back in July. And I’m sure you will agree that the forum gets better and better………we now have 22,500 members and we keep on growing! And that’s down to all of you!

Friendships, both virtual and in real life, continue to be made and developed on a daily basis here and though some people have had a very tough year, to see the support given by members to those with problems is something I am incredibly proud of. Please keep it up!

No doubt there will be lots of chances to meet old and new members in 2026 with lots of rides, tours and meets being arranged, with the chance to have a cuppa and a natter with everyone about Ducatis, bikes and life in general.

I hope everyone has a wonderful time over the holidays and that you...

For January 2026 delivery.

I have been looking at all kinds - even the Ducati V2 Multistrada, but decided against it as I really need some more outside lane OOMPH ! More horses !

Also want back to 17 inch rims for a bit of cornering action and a good choice of tyres.

In the search I looked at the MT-10 - but had one already, thirsty and been around a while now. The GSX-S1000 - had two of those already - good enough, but a bit basic. Only a few more £££ gets something better. Ducati Monster - had one of those as well

This looks like a bang up-to-date Japanese in line 4. Loads of power and torque, easy to live with in the real world, very reasonable price, well made, good enough spec, Ohlins, quickshifter, cruise control.....

And its not too green !
Kawasaki Z1100 SE. This should do the trick !

Having had batteries die due to being discharged during winter months, I was looking for a simple monitoring system to warn me if my bike battery was running low.

I have a couple of trickle charger/tenders but don't like leaving them permanently connected and my old Guzzi, in particular seems to be more battery 'needy' than my Ducatis, being on it's third battery in the 10 years I've had it.

I saw this 'Ancel' battery monitoring device listed on ebay; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256906200373 and with 20% off due to some ebay promotion decided to try one.

Once connected to the battery, it monitors voltage, temperature and general battery health plus there are charging and cranking tests that can be run and this info is sent by by bluetooth to your phone so you can see the state of the battery without removing any fairings/tanks etc. to get a meter on it. It even 'remembers' where you last parked your bike and shows you on a map.

So far I am impressed, so much so that I...

I’ll be doing this April-July next year, and I’m planning to do it on my DesertX. In all honesty my Africa Twin is probably the better long-distance travel bike, but the idea of visiting WDW on the way home swung it

Hello everyone!

Since this forum pops out quite often while I'm googling something Ducati-related, I've decided to step in and say hi; Mario from Italy, proud 998 owner since 2021, Ducati lover since...2000, I was just a kid when I fell in love with Tamburini design and after years and few bikes I finally bought a 998, which has been under mods since then.

feel free to send a message if you ever come to italy, especially during events like WDW or if you're willing to visit Ducati Museum!

A bit of good news for a change…..
Ducati Nottingham will reopen early next year under new ownership. I’ve not heard any definite dates as yet, but if you’re in the surrounding areas and wondering where to get a new 2026 bike, hold on for a little longer.

Cold ride over to Revs in Moreton in Marsh. A good number of other foolish riders braving the cold, glad of my heated jacket but must get heated gloves.
Cracking ride home via Tewksbury, Malvern and Worcester.
115 miles.
Riding in the cold and slippery roads really focuses the mind.

My 36k desmo has been due a while , had the last one done at Nellys but getting there and back was difficult this year.
Anyway I saw Ducati Manchester were doing a penny a part deal on servicing so sceptically booked it in and managed to get everything done , new front disks a penny each , new headset bearings etc etc …….
Saved me a small fortune as it was a tricky job apparently.
Bikes mint and rides like new so I’m made up
Hats off to Ducati Manchester for what turned out to be a great deal , for me at least .
14 half rings

My two lads have their own cars now and never come out with us and my wife has her own car so I decided to splash out and treat myself.

Hello fellow bikers,
I was a regular biker back in the 1970's until mid '80's when i had an accident and didn't own another bike after that although I rode a few very occasionally.
So, because the thrill of motorcycling never leaves your blood I dipped my toe back in last November and bought myself a fully restored 1972 Honda CB350 Four. It has been great fun to ride locally and I have been to a few events but travelling much beyond say 50 miles becomes a bit of a struggle.
In September I bid on and won the auction for a 1978 Ducati ST2. I had it taken to my local Ducati expert and hope to get it back next week (no, I haven't ridden it yet!!). It has covered 12K miles and has been reasonably well kept but the last service was at 11K miles in 2014 so I decided to make sure it was up together.
I am sure as my ownership evolves I will be gratefully seeking advice from many of you enthusiastic people.

A lot of well intentioned chaps of a certain age will dream of restoring the bike from their youth, learning Spanish, learning guitar or writing a book, I've done the Spanish and guitar bit, as a hopeless mechanic the only thing left is the book, I've written a book.
Essentially about a village idiot, some truth, some lies, included anyway, light hearted fiction that may make you smile. Written in a local dialect, small thinking village life, a world that spans four miles radius from his mums house.
It's a far bigger feat than I ever imagined, originally written as three short stories, now three chapters in the book, each chapter is a week in the bullshitters life, some light industrial language and the odd bike reference.
It's called "Simon Island" now available on Amazon, paperback is £15.00 Kindle is £8.00
It may make a good stocking filler for the liar in your life.

Probably my favorite poem of that time.

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam;
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Play it again Sam

Once we got off the motorway at Malaga we had a fantastic ride down to Tarifa via El Burgo, Ronda and the road to Taraguilla, which we’d never done before. The dual carriageway around Algeciras was like hell with the lid off but once we climbed out you could look left and almost touch Africa. It’s so astonishingly close it looks like a river.

We overnighted in Tarifa where the old town was delightful and great food and wine was had. We caught the ferry to Tangier at 11.am and surprisingly we were the only bikers on there. In fact there were only about half a dozen cars but literally coach loads of walk on day trippers being shepherded around. How can you see Tangier in one afternoon on foot?

We had a passport check on the ferry then about 4 more on arrival. Sniffer dogs made sure we weren’t smuggling drugs ‘into’ Morocco and there was a cursory search for drones. Drones not allowed.

Try as we might the two of us on UK plates couldn’t get insurance cover for...

A dream finally come true!

After a couple of years of coveting a 848/1098/1198, I've finally bitten the bullet and traded my Monster 821 for this lovely 1098S with just 9900 miles on it.

I popped into Ducati Stoke a few weeks back to have a chat with Simon who'd sold me my previous two bikes and said I was on the lookout for an 848. Asking if I'd ever thought about a 1098, I told him I thought it might be a bit too much for me but he reassured me I'd be okay for it. He didn't have any in stock, but he had a look on Autotrader and spotted this one - he knew the dealer who had it and said they were good guys so I got in touch with Andy at Sheldon Motorcycles to discuss the trade. I couldn't get down there due to work, but my mate went down and gave it a thorough looking over and gave it a thumbs up so I thought it was time to finally do it! Thanks to Simon for his help, and also to Andy at Sheldon who was great to deal with and arranged delivery and collection of my Monster.

Looks...

Hi there, I live on Texel in the Netherlands and recently exchanged a 2005 Ducati Multistrada 1000DS (after renovating it) for a 1998 Cagiva Elefant 750 in dire need of care. After riding a KLR600 for 2 years while working in Zambia, I did not ride motorbikes for many years till my son suggested to do a project together. We were thinking Citroën 2CV, Volvo Amazon station or Saab 96, but as we lacked large space we decided on a Cagiva Gran Canyon 900ie, with plenty issues. After repairing and selling that bike followed a white '95 KLR600 (sold after refurbishing it), a blue '93 Yamaha Ténéré XT600Z (also sold), a yellow '95 Triumph Daytona 900 (sold), a purple/grey/green 2006 Ducati Multistrada 1000DS (now Ducati-yellow), a green '95 KLR600 and now the Elefant that I a swapped for the red Multistrada. Tips for getting spares would be appreciated, e.g. I found out that the dampers in the front suspension are complete different (which explained the different rebounds), the exhaust is...

Ferry to France booked for this weekend - and a week off work - super !!

The idea is to go down to Spain to buy an El Gordo lottery ticket, for our office Christmas Lottery Syndicate.

We figured we could get one online - each full ticket costs €200 - but there are concerns over scams and who really knows if you would get the cash if you actually won the thing.

So I will ride down on the bike - a nice end of season trip before winter - and buy a full ticket in a lottery shop somewhere in Spain.

Bike is ready to go. Just figure out whether to go over the Somport crossing - near Jaca - or down the coast to St Jean-de-Luz , Hendaye route.

Hi,
My names Ross from West Sussex. I picked up a 2002 ST2 yesterday with 34k on the clock from Coast to Coast Motorcycles.
Belts, clutch and clearances were done at Alton Ducati in 2024.
Well pleased.

Hi all.
I’ve been a Ducati owner for years now but for some reason have never joined a forum until now.
Had a 959 Pani was superb and in Jan 2025 got the big one.
Currently blasting around the Yorkshire scenery on a Pani V4s
If I can figure out how to post a pic I’ll pop one up.