Wanna buy » Looking for pre-purchase opinions/advice

[doulos 2007 1100 (Red)]

Jazz:
Congrats! I know you'll enjoy it.
What won your heart the most?

[jazz]

It's hard to say exactly but two things that were subtle yet simultaneously striking. During the test ride there were a couple of moments when I was thinking about where I wanted myself and the bike to be and without realizing I had put any noticeable input into the bar or weight on a peg, we were there. And this is a small thing but in a way speaks volumes, after only 5 minutes on the bike I had to do a u-turn on a very narrow residential street which was effortless to execute. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that beautiful motor which is very civilized for an Italian twin. I thought the front brake felt a little weak but I think the lever just needed to be adjusted further out for my hand. Was too cold to ride her the 100 miles home but will do tomorrow - can't wait!

[zookiman 2006 1000 DS (Red)]

You got it? Awesome! 
Excellent point. I can do figure 8s in my driveway on my Multi. You just stand up on the pegs and ride her like a trials bike. I'm amazed everyones not riding these Ducati magic carpets. I'm sure the 1200 is a dream machine but the 1st generation Multi is all anyone really needs. Enjoy the adventure and don't baby her ride her like ya would a porn star! Oh! another good point was made about warm up or foreplay. Since day one I have allowed my bike to warm up before terrorizing the MetroPlex. It is air-cooled and seems to respond like a aircraft engine. Some days the atmosphere will be perfect and you become a hybrid mix of Multi-Man. NEW BIKE NIRVANA!!!! Congrats Man

[jazz]

The 100 mile ride home would have been perfect if the speedometer hadn't crapped out about 40 miles from home. Showing 0 mph when traveling at highway speeds. Error Code 36. Then got home to find no toolkit in the storage bin in the fairing. I'm pissed! It's too bad because the bike was a blast to ride. Must get rid of the Zero Gravity screen - horrible buffeting at anything above 60mph for my 6'2". We'll see how I feel in the morning.

[DharmaChappell 2007 1100S (Red)]

Refering to your screen,your rear ride height may be too low.Try turning in several turnes on the preload. The seedo my be jst a careful reseat of the canon plug conector on the back of the guage pod (with the key removed). There isn't much of a toolkit included with the bike: Sparkplug socket and psudo-screwdriver tht doubles as the plug socket's "T-Handle".

-Dharma

[jazz]

Thanks for those tips. I will try to unplug and re-plug the main plug to the dash. I hope it could be something so simple but all the other functions of the dash were working, just the speedo crapped out. Would I get the error code 36 if it were something that simple - isn't the error code generated from something further down the stream than the plug not making a good connection? And I didn't know that cranking up the preload on the rear shock would raise the ride height of the rear, I thought that was done with a different adjuster.

[DharmaChappell 2007 1100S (Red)]

The preload adjuster will give you a simple tell if the ride height is the problem. If your weight is 200# or more you could consider a stiffer spring, I installed a stiffer spring and it made a huge difference as I weigh 215# @ 6'3". I can adjust for a pillion very easily with just adjusting the preload.

I'm not sure what that error code indicates, just know that an power off re-seat of the plug will sometime clear odd display problems. Only takes 1 minute (and I have XL hands)

-D

[jazz]

Error code 36 is "speed sensor discovery"

[nwmobiletech 2008 1100S (Black)]

The multi is lighter, more lithe, handles like fly-by-wire...
The GS is like a thick-necked German Wench resting a large keg of lager on her two opposing grotesque boobs, willing to listen to her "master"and serve a stein like a good teutonic personality-less indentured servant. Like a female version of Lurch...(You rang?)obedient and reliable, just no Elan.
The Ducati crowd has pizzaz... panache... flair for style... not afraid to say "Hey, I am here! Want to Play?"
The BMW crowd has....mmm..senior-ity-ness...willingness to fall in to a Goosestep with their select brethren, as long as they are all wearing the same BMW garb and drink the same beer(must be Reinheitsgebot).
The mood in a Ducati shop is cheerful and upbeat because there is always some Ducati sponsored unveiling events just around the corner that have beautiful girls(and guys sometimes) dressed in Ducati bikinis.
The mood in a BMW shop is somber and serious, probably because of the depressing price of all their accessories and service, and the knowledge of the fact that BMW has no such events to look forward to but rather some seminar put on by a boring-as-shit rep droning on about the braking system's artificial intelligence capabilities that learn your driving, eating, defecating and ejaculating habits, then optimizes itself to make your experiences safer from yourself.
The Ducati engine snarls and rips with an eagerness... like a coked out nymphomaniac looking for more speed;"faster!faster!Faster! OOHHHHHYYYEEEEEAAAHHHH........"
The Boxer engine farts with displeasure at you demand it to go, buzzing your hands to let you know that it is following your orders but not happy about it. It obeys, but as soon as you no longer want it to, quickly settles back in to couch-potato mode, a low and lifeless perfectly controlled semi silent idle; a gas powered electric motor; a strong eunich with no ambition or emotion.
The feeling you have when you finish riding the Ducati is one of eager expectation to do it again and again... to rearrange your calendar to allow for more riding time; reschedule your wife's first delivery because the weather is supposed to be perfect that week and you just cannot miss the last ride of the season.
The feeling you have after finishing a ride on the BMW is also eager expectation, but it is for the next visit to the Ducati dealer to test ride the Multi again.
Jon

OH MY GOD! That is some funny shit! Im dying!! :)