Operation Duc Hunt

There are two main films that planted to seed of my love for motorcycles, Mad Max, and most prominently, the Japanese anime film AKIRA.  I saw a bootleg copy of the English dub prior to the US release, and from that moment on, the need for a motorcycle started spreading through my brain.

I've wanted many, many bikes, but there are three street bikes that have always stuck with me.  

1. The BMW K75s

2. Buell Ulysses XB12X

3. Ducati 900 Super Sport

I owned (albeit briefly) a 2006 Buell Ulysses, and loved it! Torquey and full of character. Unfortunately, I had to sell it shortly before my oldest was born.  I barely missed an opportunity to buy a K765s, before buying my XJ600.  About a month after I bought my XJ600, our local Ducati shop had a 900SS/CR that was about double what I paid for my Yamaha.  I made the mistake of sitting on it.  

All three of these bikes are quirky, have character, and in some ways, almost agricultural. I like my bikes with spirit and quirks.  New bikes are smooth, efficient, and refined.  You can keep 'em.  

 About 5 years ago, a fellow rider offered me his 1998 Ducati 900SS/CR but I couldn't make it work. So, he sold it to a mutual friend.  That mutual friend promised me first dibs if he ever sold it.  That friend reached out recently and made me a mindboggling offer.  So, I reserved a cargo van, made a plan, feverously poured as much Ducati info in my head as humanly possible, and have begun to count the days until the Italian Adventure kicks off, aka the "Duc Hunt".  

These 2v, belt driven, carbureted engines are high maintenance, with the complicated desmodromic valve trains, and aren't for the half-assed mechanic (wait, is that me?).  I'm not paying Ducati to do my work, I like getting my hands greasy.  And greasy they will get, as this is no hop-on and go bike, it's been sitting, and will need much tender love and attention to get back on the road.  

Will I keep the Hurricane, no, probably not.  I don't have a need for 2 street bikes, no matter how much I love the Honda. I will however, definitely keep the side cases (and maybe neon pink windscreen) for future use.  If my coworker buys it (he used to race them when they came out), I'll be stripping it down as he wants to bring it back to its former fairing covered glory.  That will leave me with a nice little surplus of bits and pieces for a future project (dual sport time?). 

Stay safe out there....