Fraser Motorcycles Newcastle hosted a Ducati ride day 25^th August.

Ducati has always been a drawcard for riders of all persuasions, so much so, that there are a few Japanese pretenders on the market, for example the Suzuki TL1000 or SV650 and Honda Firestorm.

I hadn’t intended to take part in the ride day, other than having a look, as I had another interview in the afternoon. However, Peter Fordham wanted to show just how good a host Frasers could be, and I ended up on a Ducati 750 sport. Muma mia, pass the lasagna, matt black in colour (satin black as they call it) plenty of power, although the engine prefers to stay above 3500rpm, and it doesn’t take much to make that fat back tyre skip.

The seating is very much lean forward, and there is even a platform for me to rest my ever expanding mid section on. The clutch is a wee bit on the heavy side and there is a lot of weight on the wrists. The mirrors vibrate quite a lot so, a quick look for what might be tailing you, will reveal a blurred something, but forget about being clear what it is, not that there is much quicker than a Duc in full flight anyway. Dual exhaust, great front brake with a single disk up front with dual opposing piston calipers, while the rear, which doesn’t appear to slow proceedings much on it’s own, has a twin opposing piston caliper. Most of the weight is over the front wheel anyway due to the riding position. Quick steering, again probably due to the weight being right forward. A decent medium size sports fairing keeps the airstream flowing around you. My only complaint is that the ride was all too short. All yours for $13,000 according to the brochure.

It is noteworthy to advertise the 29^th September for Frasers Honda ride day, be there and sample some of the goodies, hmm, might try the Firestorm.

May your lid never skid.