29 June 2006 - Yesterday, while driving home, I noticed the percentage of large vehicles on the road. There was a dearth of motorcycles around me, and few small or midsize cars. SUVs and trucks rule the road. Then I drove past a gas station and noted that while gas had gone up 20 cents this week, each of the stations 24 pumps was occupied. Then I came home and turned on television to see a commercial for an oil that promised "to deliver the full horsepower capabilities of your motor". Horsepower? I'm trying to find ways to be fuel efficient, not gain horsepower. Am I out of touch with mainstream America? By the looks of the vehicles sitting on showroom floors, I am.

Am I the only one that has changed his driving habits based on fuel prices? I tend to drive my big burly Chevy Avalanche around because I'm usually hauling something. Otherwise, I'm either in my tiny car getting 27 MPG or a Ducati getting 40+ MPG. I also group errands and avoid unnecessary driving. Unfortunately, by the looks of the congested roads, most people aren't changing their driving habits. The size and sheer number of vehicles reminds me that most Americans still care more about horsepower and comfort than they do the environment and their wallet. Who is to blame -- the marketers who sell us things with more and more horsepower, or us as individuals?

As riders, we feel that we are doing our fair part to reduce our dependency on oil. Some of us even ride because of the fuel efficiency rather than the love of riding. Unfortunately, motorcycles are a tough sell for the efficiency-minded. When one figures in the rate at which we go through tires, chains, sprockets, and other wearables, the advantage in fuel efficiency shrinks as a result of operating cost per mile. Still, most motorcyclists believe that the world would be a better place if more people rode motorcycles. I'm not so sure. Motorcycling is not for the timid, those with slow reactions, or those whose alertness is that of a sloth... and, unfortunately, that describes a fair number of those driving cars.

28 June 2006 - Another steamer in Pensacola. You know you're facing a hot day when you walk out of the house at 7:00 AM and your sunglasses instantly fog up. Help, I'm a middle age man, and I can't see... ehhhhhhhhhhhh. Hold up, there's a new commercial on ESPN with Maria Sharapova. Talk about a steamer... She's hot!!! Where was I. Oh yeah, Desmo stuff. Not much news actually. I got to see a new Monster 695 last week at a local dealer. They sure rolled out that model early. It was cool to see a stock Monster with a red frame and black tank. It had cheesy "695" stickers on the coil covers though. Otherwise, nothing new on the showroom floor. Th local dealer did have a Paul Smart replica on the showroom floor. The salesman was trying to sell it to me, but I told him I already had a Hailwood replica. He didn't know what a Hailwood Replica was. I walked away.

My darn 999s is still sitting on the lift. It doesn't look like I'll get to it before the trip. Oh well. There are more important things to do, like stocking inventory and getting Suzi ready to run the business for a few weeks. My new storage system makes it a snap to ship stuff. Customers won't know the difference, which is what really matters.

I'm going to put CRG brake and clutch levers on the site today. Awesome product. Pricey, but awesome. I have the standard levers on 3 of my bikes, and the folding levers on my track bike. I even experienced a tip-over several years ago with the lever on my ST2. The lever did as it should have, it snapped off at the detent in the shaft instead of bending. I liked the shortened lever so much that I haven't replaced it.

I'm looking forward to the fall and things settling down on the property so that I can concentrate on another bike purchase.. An MTS1000 will be next. That will be my 2007 purchase. After that the next superbike iteration will probably happen. All I need to do is keep up with the engine platform changes. And no, I don't plan on adding the Desmosedici, unless the engine migrates to base consumer models.

27 June 2006 - I spent a few hours yesterday figuring out how to update my daily desmo on the road. The process consists of using my PDA with a remote keyboard for the writing, then I/R the file to my PDA cell phone, then FTP the file to the server. A bit of a pain, but the process isn't too bad. I found a simple free FTP program for mobile phones. Cool.

That product return that I referred to yesterday isn't going to happen. Sometimes I forget that simple is a relative term. I had sold a set of Madduc reservoir covers to a nice customer. He sent an email several weeks later that he wasn't satisfied with them -- that the Madduc logo on the clutch faced the wrong way with the cap tight. A valid concern, but there is no way Madduc can take into consideration the variability of the threads on reservoirs. I'd just add a thin washer to make sure the logo faced me, but I never had it happen when adding the caps on my own bikes. The logo always faces the right way for me. Hmmm. The real reason for the request to return the caps was a major mishap the owner had. When he removed the brake reservoir cap, the inner bellows gasket came out with it... as they usually do. Since the new cap didn't come with a new gasket, he mistakenly assumed the new cap didn't need one. When brake fluid began shooting out of the reservor while on the freeway, he knew something was wrong. The mistake damaged the lenses of his instrumentation and left marks in the paint on his tank. For anyone else who reads this, the stock bellows gaskets used on Ducati reservoirs is a permanent gasket that will last for decades. The stock cap results in a lot of muck getting caught in the top of the gasket, but you can easily clean up the gasket to look like new with a few squirts of WD-40. When installing the cap, insert the gasket into the reservoir, then the gasket ring (clutch and rear brake reservoir only), then the cap, and then the cap screws (brake reservoir only). The fluid level in any reservoir should be midway between the min and max lines, and the fluid should be completely bled yearly. There, that mistake shouldn't happen again... and this post will make its way onto the product page for that item, just in case. The owner is going to keep the covers. They are the least of his concern now. He's focused on getting the tank repainted and buffing the brake fluid stains out of the speedo and tach lenses. Brake fluid is truly nasty stuff. Highly carcinogenic as well. I always have gloves on when messing with any fluid.

Watched a bitching new Western this weekend -- Broken Trail on AMC. Man, I'm a sucker for a good western, and the inclusion of iconic Robert Duvall was good enough for me. Lonesome Dove is still one of my favorite movies. I've been watching Westerns since I was a kid, and still love them. The appeal of Westerns is widespread for me. In a Western you usually know the good guys from the bad guys, there is a focused plot, men act like men instead of politically correct panty-wastes, and the good guy usually wins. When working in the shop, I usually have a Western in the DVD - Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, John Wayne. As I always say, it's always good to watch horses while you're making horses. If Robert Duvall or Clint Eastwood rode a Ducati, I'd even work on theirs for free.

26 June 2006 - A few tidbits for today. First, let me take back whatever I may have said about Colin Edwards just cruising out the rest of his career. Even though he botched the win, I've never seen anyone ride a harder last lap than he did. If you caught the last few laps of MotoGP, you caught a treasure. Wow!!!

Second, I had my first returned partial order this year... not bad given I've shipped over 400 orders. :-)... I hate returns because it makes me feel like I failed the customer. Still, a 99.9% non-returned rate is probably more than acceptable.

Third, I'm figuring a way to do the daily desmo while on the road. I'll have my PDA phone and a separate PDA. The messages may be formatted strange, but what I'll do is upload a saved word file in html format... at least that's the theory.

Finally, I'm going to try to do a bit of motojournalist writing in the next few months. The plan is to get motivated to do a complete rewrite of my books, combining them into a mega book. I've found that many Ducati owners have multiple Ducks. Doing a single book will make things easier on me as well. If I do the project, it will take me most of next year to write it, a good task to compete if I'm deployed again.

25 June 2006 - Warning: WSB spoiler info in the last paragraph of this posting

This morning I began my semi-annual task of scrubbing the names in the message board. My policy has been that if a user hasn't logged in for over 6 months I nuke them. I don't do this to be mean, but rather to get a feel for the level of participation in the forum. If a person hasn't logged in for over 6 months, one of several things have happened. First, they may have signed on just to have a question answered. Second, they may have logged on to see the level of participation, and were disappointed. Third, they may have logged on with the intention of participating, but got distracted for over 6 months. Fourth, they may have sold their Ducati (some people don't treat Ducatis as a way of life for some reason). Last, the user may have signed on and got intimidated by the more-less friendly nature of the discussions (What can I say, I'm a curt email responder but am much more friendly in person... Just ask the Iraqis).

I've reviewed the first one-half of members in the database, and have deleted about 30 accounts. My hope always has been that the boards would get enough resident experts to make it a legitimate source for advice and commentary. It hasn't worked out that way, and continues to be the LT Snyder board. That's okay because people know where to find me.

I was again asked this week why I don't participate on other boards. In review, I don't participate on other boards now because 1 - I've been doing the technical thing for about a decade and grew weary of the volume of emails in non-thread-based listservs, 2 - I got tired of seeing the same questions asked over and over, 3 - I got too busy with career stuff, and, most importantly 4 - I view it somewhat as a conflict-of-interest in posting on boards when I am now a vendor. Many boards are sponsored by advertisers. This is necessary for those boards that view forums as income generators, but IMHO it is a conflict of interest to try to both offer unbiased answers and try to run a business. The folks that support said forums are friends of mine, and I don't want to disparage them. After all, it takes a lot of effort to make a buck selling stuff for one of smallest manufacturers in the world. I just sleep better living in my little corner of the world without posting elsewhere. Of late, I've been too busy to even go to other forums. Most of the questions are a rehash of old stuff anyway - ducati design stuff, tires, oil, flaking rockers, where to get chains/sprockets, complaints about Ducati quality, etc. I wish there would be more interesting posts there, like "Hi, my name is Carmen Electra and I was thinking about buying a Ducati, can you guys offer some advice". The resulting flood of email support (and phone #s) would swamp the server. Come to think of it, if I was demented enough I could create a fictitious personality and username just to torment users of other boards. Hmmm.....

Two weeks before my trips begin. Looking forward to riding and looking forward to putting the uniform on again for military duty. As a postscript, I'll be deciding late summer whether to leave my teaching gig with the Army and going back to a line unit. If that happens, the DD will be written from overseas come next year.... Yuck!

I just saw where Troy B is back up to form and dominated in the first race in WSB. Clearly, the Ducati is dominating now. Yes, it's partially the rider, but Ducati has found something. Lanzi in 7th and Xaus in 9th is okay too. SpeedTv isn't showing both races until Tue afternoon, so I just set up the DVR to record both races (world superstock is also showing). I'm wondering if Ducati's supposed 1.2 liter superbike is contingent on WSB changing the rules. If so, I'll bet Ducati is paying a lot for input into FIM's decision-making. If it were me, it would be a simple decision - let it in. That way we'd get some competitive privateer v-twin teams that can afford to run a Ducati. As it is, satellite teams are hard-pressed to afford a true Corse setup. While I don't want to see a "Ducati-Cup series" like it was a few years ago, I'm also thinking about other twins. Remember the RC-51. Neat bike. And Japan will make them again for world/country-level racing if the rules give twins a break.

Troy now has over a 100 point lead heading into the 2nd race today. That, my friends, is a HUGE lead. I'll bet Ducati is already planning the race replica 999r they'll come out with to celebrate, and the t-shirts and merchandise manufacturers are getting their orders. I, on the other hand, will wait for the Lanzi replica bike.... I am a cynical bastard, aren't I?

24 June 2006 - Got up early and put in a nice ride on the M900. Got home by 10:00 AM just in time to pack a few orders for shipment. My new phone gives me internet access on the road, so during a gas stop I logged in to see that Nicky won a wild race at the Dutch TT. Can't wait to see the race tomorrow.

I'm kind of baked from the heat. 97 in the shade with a God only knows heat index. These kind of days, I'd rather be indoors watching racing while sipping a mint julip -- not that I know what the hell a mint julip is, but it sounds good.

Not much else going on this weekend. I started packing some more for the trip to CA. Don't worry, my departure won't stop any orders from shipping. Suzi is trained! A few new products will come out this week .. CRG bar levers and throttlemeisters. That will do it until I get back.

I'll chat some more after I watch the races tomorrow. I don't know what happened to Troy B in Superpole, but he'll be starting on the 2nd row, so it's not that bad. Hope Ducati does better in WSB after a dismal weekend in MotoGP.

22 June 2006 - Not a good day if you're a Rossi fan. That fractured wrist and ankle will slow him down a bit. What a banged up MotoGP lineup. Job security for Dr. Costa.

Big tech changes at DT. I changed out my old cell phone for a new starcom setup. Bling, Bling!. Internet access with desktop computer synch. Now I can send and receive data on the road. I'm 24/7 wired!

Spy shots have showed up of the supposed new 1200cc superbike from Ducati. The photo lacks resolution, but the single-side swingarm and dual can exhaust is back. The rest of the bike is too black to tell. I'm hoping headlights like the Desmosedici. While the look is okay, I'm not inspired.. but then I wasn't when I saw the 999 in photos. To be honest, I'm sad to see the 999 style go. At least it was a new concept. What I see in the photo at right is nothing new, just a combination of bits. We'll see.

I rolled out another product today... the steering stem nut replacement with integral RAM mount ball. For those of you that want a factory look to their GPS, Radar Detector, Camera, or PDA mount, this should fit the bill. Look for it under the "modifications" section in the products.

Just ran 3 miles on the treadmill. Time to go grab a shower. A heat index of 101 today in P'cola. I weed-wacked for 2 hours, after which I was shot for a few hours. Summers in Florida suck!!!!

Got news of the bike selection I'll be testing on the Laguna Trip - a GT1000 Duck, a Triumph Scrambler and 675 Daytona, a BMW R1200s, a GSX-R750 and a Buell Ulysses. A little bit of everything, except for a regular cruiser. I'm shipping a magnetic tankbag and saddlebags out to CA to be waiting for me. When I get there I'll park the Gran Canyon and head off on the test. I love being me... usually that is.

21 June 2006 - Happy 10th anniversary to Suzi and I. I wanted to get married on June 22nd to commemorate the anniversary of German invasion of Russia, but the 21st was the best I could do. Since the wedding, we've enjoyed 10 years of bliss... well, almost. As much as I hate to admit it, most of the heartache over the past decade has been caused me, and my motorcycle penchant. Fortunately, Suzi is now numb to my motorcycle purchases. Now that motorcycling is both a passion and a little business, the lines of UPS deliveries are blurred between what's for me and what's for the business. I tend to carry products that I wanted to have myself anyway. For our 10th anniversary we had rented a cabin in the mountains. Then I found out the cabin was at the end of a 1/2 mile gravel road. There went taking the roadster or carrying a bike in the back of the truck. We were dead set against heading to the mountains if we couldn't take a bike, so we cancelled. Suzi loves being around the house anyway so now she can take care of our herd of cats, ducks, fish, squirrels, turtles, etc. I made the mistake of telling her that even though we weren't leaving the house, I'd refrain from checking my email or doing Desmo Times business for 5 days. Obviously, I didn't quite manage to keep that promise.

One of my customers put down a reservation on a GT1000 last year. Well, the bikes are getting into dealerships and I just know his bike will be ready to ship to me when I'm gone on my motorcycle trip. The GT is a neat bike. I purchased a '74 GT about 5 years ago and had it converted to a sport model. The GT is far more functional, with an upright seating position and comfortable ergonomics. The upgraded components make it a great bike both for around-town riding and, with some saddlebags, for an out of town jaunt. Ducati has done a brilliant job or capturing nostalgia with the Sport Classics. I don't know of any other company that responds as quickly to customer input. Now before you flail me, I mean with regards to bikes that people want...not customer support. Ducati has had a lot of problems with their move to California, and, quite frankly, their customer service rep wasn't much better when their HQ was on the East coast. I view this as inevitable whenever a company strives for sales growth above customer satisfaction growth. It relates to something called a mission and vision statement. I've been studying and teaching business strategy for 20 years. A mission and vision statement is the purpose for being of a company. Ultimately, the customer is the purpose for any consumer-oriented-product/service company, but many companies lose sight of this. Companies can easily slip into a mentality of accepting customer churn (the process of losing existing customers and having them be replaced by new customers) in the name of growth. Regardless of what a business does, there will be some customer churn. But companies that view growth as all-important tend to treat customers as pawns. I call it the "what have you done for me lately" mentality. Of late, I would suggest that Ducati is more concerned about your next purchase instead of recognizing what a customer has done for the company in the past. For instance, look at me. I've got a garage full of Ducatis, and have, by some estimations, a small fortune tied up in the marque. Ducati could care less about that. They are only concerned about my next purchase. Viewing customers in this vein is aking to treating them like pawns.

I'm proud of the fact that approximately 1/2 of my customers are repeat customers. Yet, when I get an order I don't think to myself, "gee, I can hardly wait for their next purchase". That's BS. I try to follow the marketing adage that I teach in the classroom. "Customer service doesn't end until the product has reached the end of its life cycle". That mentality takes a lot of customer service, and is the linchpin of a concept in marketing called "relationship marketing". Relationship marketing considers a symbiotic relationship between customer and seller as paramount for both to survive. An interesting notion, and one that big companies are hard-pressed to accomplish. A good example is my decision this week to switch internet hosters. I used to use a company called NameSecure. Their prices were reasonable and I didn't need a lot of customer service prior to the business growing. During the last few months, NameSecure has had problems with service outages. The problem for me was that they don't have a 24/7 phone for customer support (in fact no phone support at all) and I found a competing vendor, Bluehost, that was cheaper, and had far better options. The kicker for me was that Bluehost had a blog to inform me of any problems in service and the features on their site was far superior to NameSecure. So, I severed my relationship with NameSecure and switched to Bluehost. They fit my needs and don't use an ala-carte approach to service like NameSecure does (for extra services NameSecure charges additional fees).

So, when you make a purchase from DT, don't think that I don't appreciate the business and that I only care about the next purchase. I know that if I satisfy a small customer base, they will return. I use customer service as a tool towards sales growth, rather than set sales growth as the #1 goal. Its a function of the mission and vision I have for DT. I love Ducatis, I love to make them better, and I love sharing my ideas for products with people that care about that. If that sounds like a simplistic business idea, onit is - one that every business should remember... without satisfied customers, businesses are in business to go out of business. So next month when I'm listening to that dope Ducati Island at Laguna Seca hawk Ducati's newest lineup of bikes, maybe I'll hand him a note that says "why not make a statement about how much you appreciate the purchases that loyal Ducatisti have already made rather than continue to beg for more money, you heartless fuck!". (what would a blog be without little gratuitous profanity). Time to wake up Suzi and head to Waffle House to celebrate our anniversary... I'm quite the romantic.

20 June 2006 - No, I don't feel bad denegrading Gibernau for the crash even though he got a busted clavicle out of the deal. One upside of MotoGP crashes is that Dr. Costa is sure to give a good quote. I don't know if you've ever read any of his stuff, but that man wears glasses with a different tint. My favorite quote is:

"Many children, like many grown-ups, have realised that a wish come true is a wonderful thing, and a wish coming instantly true is something truly divine. Speed is therefore the right way for desires to come true: it is not by chance that the messenger of the gods, who connected the spirit of the gods on the Olympus to the hearts of men on earth, had winged feet. What can I say then of someone who wants to slow down bikes? That they go against the very heart of human beings..."

Dr. Albert Costa

Now that's writing. His latest quote, cited on Superbikeplanet, is equally entertaining. Heck, if I was a MotoGP racer, I'd crash just to see what he would say next. Of course, if I was a MotoGP racer, I probably wouldn't be writing a Ducati blog and pulling my pud in Pensacola (say that 10 times quickly).

Gotta go box up some stuff. Chris at California Cycleworks placed a reseller order - 20 books and 20 case saver inserts heading for California.

19 June 2006 - Okay, so I watched the MotoGP race last night. What the hell did Gibernau do? It looked like he rammed Capirossi and his front brake lever hit Capirossi's fairing. The last time I saw that was a few years ago when Steve Rapp did the same thing and cartwheeled his Ducati down the front straight at Road Atlanta (He remounted to finish 5th after a restart). I watched the video in slow motion about 10 times to see what caused it, and I can't blame it on Capirossi. Another reason to not like Gibernau. It was cool to see Americans running 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th. I don't think I've ever seen that before.

After I watched the MotoGP race I watched the recording of my favorite show - Carpocalypse. It's a show on Spike TV about a bunch of rednecks that build unique race cars/vehicles during the week and then race them and smash them up on the weekend. Talk about a hoot. Last night they had to ride cars up onto a car hauler while it circled the track and then they raced cars that were fabricated to look like boats. It's a hard show to explain. Just check out Spike TV on Saturday night. I love that show. I suppose that says something about my intellect level.

I've had a bunch of problems with my web/email hoster. I switched hosters a few months ago and just got around to switching the email provider. During the last 72 hours I've had sporadic service from my web hoster and, as a result, few emails. That isn't a problem for businesses whose secondary business is the web. For me it's a big deal. When surfers can't find my site, I don't get orders, which means no sales which means I get pissy at my web hosting company. So if you can't get to the website, send a nastygram to bluehost.com

Three more products rolled out today. One is a pick set. I use picks to dig out stubborn shim keepers and to pull out clutch plates. The second product is a rear wheel nut tool for single-sided swingarm bikes. The third is a rare tool for removing the castle nuts and securing the cam wheels on 2 and 4 valve ducks.

My OGK FF4 came in today. 2 days from California. That's better service than Desmo Times! Great helmet. Just for grins, I put the white OGK in the sun next to my multi-colored HJC and did a IR heat test. The OGK measures 20 degrees cooler than the HJC when measuring the outside helmet temp. Inside temps were about 15 degrees different. So much for the belief that helmet color doesn't make a difference. Of course, moving air and the ability of the helmet to flow air is important too, but when sitting at a red light I should be a little bit cooler. Brilliant.

18 June 2006 - Like I said, Miller Motorsport park will be Ducati's best shot this year. 3rd and 4th in Race one isn't too shabby. Shame what happened to Ben B in the 2nd race, but at least he was pushing. I'd rather see him do that instead of settling for behind the Suzukis. I haven't had a chance to watch the MotoGP race yet, but will later tonight. By the looks of things turn one was righteous.

Yesterday I started the unenviable job of taking all my inventory out of my home office and organizing it into bins and racks in the showroom. I had Suzi to help me. The good news is that the home office is once again free of motorcycle parts. The new system will make it much easier to store and keep track of things. I did a good job of tracking inventory when the stuff was in plastic bins on the shelf, but now i'ts much more organized. It has also allowed me to see holes in my items that I need to stock. Just stuff I already have to work on customer bikes that I don't resell on my site - sprockets, sprocket cover plates, etc.

I got the first report of my case saver insert saving the engine casing of a customer bike. The case saver took the brunt of the chain whip and the casing was spared. That makes me feel good. It's hard to believe a little $22 part can save thousands. I've got one on all my ducks. You never know when your master link will take flight, although I believe it is a rare occurrence. I've never heard of it happening on a riveted chain, but then weird things happen to parts that are spinning.

Another weekend has come to a close. The year is almost 1/2 over. The weather is good, there are no signs of hurricanes in the Gulf, and all my Ducks are running. Life is good.

17 June 2006 - Yesterday I did something I've been dreading - Installing a chain lube system on my Cagiva Gran Canyon. What a pain in the ass. It took me 4 hours to install what should have taken 5 minutes. The directions and setup were as complex as a technical manual, and adapting the parts to work with the bike were a nightmare. I'm hoping after all that work that the system works. I'll find out in a few weeks. The system I installed was a manual gravity-feed system called the Loobman. A pretty simple system. I didn't want to have to mess with vacuum hoses or other mechanical/electronic systems. If the system works, that's fine. If not, I wasted $35 and 4 hours of my time. The upside is that my new aluminum rear sprocket stays together. During last year's foray from FL to CA, I tore up my aluminum rear sprocket and had to replace it in California. Optimally, I'd have a steel sprocket installed. Unfortunately, nobody makes a steel rear sprocket in the size I want for the Gran Canyon. The stock gearing on that bike is 15-45. That's right a 45 tooth rear sprocket. Now how the hell are you supposed to tour on a 45 tooth rear sprocket. If you want torture, pull 6000 rpm all day long on a 2-valve ducati. The gearing I now run is similar to a 900ss gearing, which is much better for highway trawling. I also unwired the head's up display stuff from the bike. It was nice to test a HUD, but I've got enough gadgets on the bike. I don't need another one. At present I run a sigma speedometer/odometer because the stock speedo is in KPH and is over 10% off, a GPS, and a radar detector.

I'm still toying with running the mp3 option on my GPS and listen to music, but I've never used music while touring. I prefer to hear the ambient noises. It's also one less thing to fuss with while touring. Unfortunately, I know the 3 blokes coming with me will probably be running mp3 players. I'm used to waiting for other people at gas stops. I never put on my helmet and gloves until others already have theirs on. In the summer, its a matter of saving myself a bit from baking to death. The only person I never have to wait on is Greg Calhoun. He's my symbiotic touring partner. Our simple hand signals let us know whether we need to stop for fuel, a pee, food or sleep. He's as quick at a fuel stop as I am and rides safely and at a pace I prefer. Those type of touring partners are hard to find. You don't know somebody's riding habits until you tour with them. I'll be doing 6-7K miles next month, so its nice to not have to worry about who I'm touring with. On our trip will be me and my Gran Canyon, Brad Gaines on his '06 ST1300, Calhoun on his Blackbird, and Avello on his VFR-750 - One italian mount and 3 Hondas. I guess that's about the right percentage for a touring crew. Jap bikes dominate ventures out of town. If I wasn't my own mechanic I'd probably be on Japanese steel as well.

16 June 2006 - Well I stocked out of my clutch pushrod pins in less than 24 hours. Of course, if I would have had 20 in stock, they would have sat here for a year. Go figure. I took down the link to the pushrod bushing until I get more in stock... perhaps STM will ship some over next year. In the meantime, I'm adding 3 more products next week. First is a billet steering stem nut with a twist - in the middle of the nut is a hole for mounting a RAM mount ball. The kit includes both the nut and the screw-in ball. Once that is mounted an owner can mount any one of the hundreds of RAM mount bases for their PDA, Radar Detector, GPS, etc. A brilliant idea. As soon as the RAM mount balls arrive I'll pop up the ad for the product. The second product is a rear wheel nut tool for 748-998 superbikes. There are a few such tool variants, but I decided on one that is cost effective for 748-998 superbike owners. The third product will be a cam nut removal tool, suitable for all cam nuts except those on Testastretta heads. All three products will be up on the site by Friday June 22nd.

I broke down today and ordered a few things for me... a rarity these days. I ordered one of my favorite helmet brands, an OGK, for my upcoming trip to California. I purchased an OGK FF3 GP from the UK several years ago. It was a bling-bling purchase. I love the helmet, but I mistakenly ordered a large. I bled for the helmet due to the exchange rate and shipping costs, so I kept the helmet and ordered larger cheek pads to help the fit. When a US distributor opened up, I decided to purchase another one. The good news is that the distributor was blowing out the helmets at $199. I ordered a medium white helmet to help me beat the heat during the trip. The helmet is every bit as good a those that are 2x the cost. I should know - I've tested enough helmets over the last 5 years to open a shop. I currently use an Arai Astral (present from the wife) - a poorly constructed helmet without the a removable liner, the OGK FF3 - superior fit and finish, and a HJC AC-11 - Another execllent helmet for the money. If you are in the market for a good helmet, but are on a budget, check out ogk-helmet.com .

I also ordered a few sets of the foldable CRG levers. One set is for my track toy 748 that is in need of levers. The other will go up for sale on the site. If need exists I'll start stocking the levers more fully. While the levers are expensive, at least I didn't spring for the remotely adjustable brake lever. Be warned though. One look at the CRG levers and you'll drool on your keyboard. Yum!

That's enough for product spamming, even if it is my own damn website. I'm looking forward to some more racing action. I actually plan on watching the next AMA round, but only to see what the new Miller Motorsports Park looks like. The track layout will be best opportunity for the Ducati to shine this year in AMA. The track is more like a european circuit. I may just put it on the list of destinations for road trips for next year. I'm also looking forward to watching upcoming WSB and MotoGP rounds to see if Bayliss can continue to impress and if Rossi can mount a comeback. Unfortunately, I feel like a lost soul watching motorcycle racing here in Pensacola. If I went into a sports bar and asked to watch MotoGP, the NASCAR fans would string me up. Am I the only one who finds watching NASCAR like watching paint dry? If you're reading this post, the answer is probably no. Go motorcycle race fans!!!

15 June 2006 - A few new products have been added to the mix, both of which I've had a hard time getting a hold of over the years. The first is the center bushing that goes on the end of the clutch pushrod and through the bearing on the pressure plate. STM came out with a gorgeous billet piece, but I've never been able to get a hold of one. Well, low and behold I managed to get a few. The second product are seat hinge pins for 748-998 Superbikes. The stock pins are plastic and quickly deform when removed. These alumunum pins slide in easier and will last far longer than the original pins.

I sold out of my original batch of 10 cooling fan upgrade kits last week and will be making more this weekend. I guess the summer was the perfect time to come out with the upgrade.

I've been considering adding clutch and brake levers to my inventory. My favorite levers are the foldable CRG levers. They are 6 position adjustable and, should the bike tip over, they fold up instead of snapping off. Unfortunately they are $150 for EACH lever. Ouch.... The alternative is a 4 position adjustable lever from brembo for $55. Personally, I'd like to have the $150 lever, but there's a difference between levers that I want and what Ducatisti wish to purchase. I have a feeling that most of my customers want sensible upgrades. And while the billet adjustable foldable CRG levers are very functional, $300 for a set of levers is a bit much. Okay, so I talked myself out of carrying the CRG levers, but that doesn't mean that I won't order some for myself. See, the Daily Desmo can be therapeutic for me too.

One final tidbit for today. I got a box in my daily UPS delivery. I didn't recognize the box, nor do I remember ordering the part that was inside the box. I did some digging and found that I did, indeed, order said part.... 3 months ago. It's nice to see that I'm living the dream just like my fellow Ducatisti.

14 June 2006 - I've had a few questions on belt tension in the past few weeks. The problem for dual-spark or desmoquattro owners is that the recommended tensioner tool in my book is hard to come by, the Ducati harmonic tester/mathesis tester is too expensive, and no other tools are available... well almost. Several months ago I purchased a $300 belt tensioner tool that measures tension along a small run of belt. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to test it on a desmoquattro or dual spark. When I do, I hope to be able to get baseline settings so that I can recommend a tool (not the $300 tool but a more inexpensive variant) for setting tension. I'm confident enough to use the twist method on dual-sparks (grab the belt in the middle of the longest run between pulleys and twist - if the belt will only twist 45 degrees the tension is perfect), but owners would be best served with an inexpensive tool. I hope to have a recommendation within a few months. In fact, the new tensioner tool is sitting on the lift with my 999s... just waiting for me to work on it. I won't recommend any tool until I've first used it.

13 June 2006 - I heard last night that Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers was injured in a motorcycle accident. While I feel for the guy, riding without a helmet opens you up to that. If you've never seen a head split open, I guess you figure it can't happen to you. Unfortunately, a head can't take much of an impact. I know wearing a helmet is a personal choice. In fact, I used to not wear a helmet. When I first started riding in Arizona, I rode without a helmet, jacket, long pants and even shoes. I used to have callouses on the top of my left big toe from shifting. Is that stupid or what? Fortunately, you can fix stupid (Sorry Ron White) if you live long enough to learn from mistakes. Fortunately, the good Lord let me survive long enough to see the error of my ways. I now find that I can't ride without a helmet, not only because I feel vulnerable without one but because I can't stand the windblast. You won't see me riding without a helmet or an armored jacket of some sort. I still ride in jeans around town, which is bad enough. Jeans last about a split second in any fall over 5 mph.

The issue of freedom usually comes to the fore in discussions about helmets. Don't get me wrong. I'm against helmet laws, just like I'm against seatbelt laws. I'd rather see a law against obesity. Hitting a 400 pound guy walking down the sidewalk would probably crumple both my Duck and me. But I digress... If Ben Roethlisberger wants to ride helmetless, more power to him. But we have more stupid drivers down here in Florida that you can shake a stick at. All it takes is one to ruin your day, or as Ben is finding out... the looks of your face.

When it gets too hot to wear a helmet, I don't ride. That's why I like winter more. In the winter I can wear all my armor and not sweat. Does it make me ride any differently? No, it doesn't. Compared to an automobile, a motorcycle and rider (with armored gear) isn't much mass. And mass times velocity is the key statistic. Remember, it isn't the speed that kills you... it's the sudden decelleration and resulting impact. Think about that on you daily commute.

12 June 2006 - Today is a double-career day -- teach at the University in the morning and wrench this afternoon. I've been having a tough time with the clutch on an ST4. Aftermarket slaves work great, but if a customer can't find neutral they fail to appreciate the merits of slave upgrades. I don't blame them. What I do to fix the problem is to make sure the slave is properly bled and then pull out the clutch pack, measuring the overall thickness. By changing out one of the steel driven plates with a thinner curved plate I can usually increase separation and thus make it easier to find neutral. Of course, there is a balance in pack thickness. Too thin and the clutch slips, too thick and neutral is impossible to find. Before messing with pack thickness, it pays to set a baseline. Changes as small as .5mm make a difference.

After I finish the ST4, I'll begin installing a chain oiler on my Gran Canyon. I took at 120 mile trip on her yesterday to make sure she was ready for the trip to CA. Although I'm getting some head turbulence from the Laminar Lip, I think I'm better off with the windscreen height mod. If not, its an easy fix to ditch the Laminar between here and CA. I rode out there last year without it, so I suppose I can do it again.

We're suffocating here in the panhandle. Months without rain and now the heat is downright oppressive. I got my ride in before it got hot yesterday, but its no fun yawning in your helmet at 6:00 AM. My water-cooled Desmos are safe and sound in the garage until fall. Even with my fan modification, I don't torture myself with getting roasted alive sitting on a water-cooled desmo.

This weekend was a non-race weekend, so I wasn't distracted from working on the property yesterday. I finished the earth-moving for the time being. As soon as school finishes in 2 weeks, I'll build my bridge and start the retention wall for the driveway leveling. I'm still shooting for a build of my new office in early fall. We'll see.

11 June 2006 - I got a few good emails yesterday. One was from a motojournalist friend who is going to try to wrangle some hospitality passes for us while at the MotoGP event next month. If you've never been in a hospitality tent you're missing out. Free munchies and beverages, a seat, closed circuit TV and the shade of a tent. I got to experience it about 5 years ago at Laguna thanks to Robert Pandya, the marketing exec at Aprilia. Since then I've watched the racing from high atop the hill at turn one - a good vantage point, but the hill is all dirt and you bake in the sun.

The second email I got was from an old friend Brian Vogel. Brian is the one that designed my Desmo Times logo. He's a great guy and a brilliant artist. He now does the t-shirt art for the MotoGP event, and the personal graphics for many riders. I haven't had lunch with him for about a year, so its time we got together. As luck would have it, he was on the same flight with my wife last year out to LA, and ended up getting a rental car with her when they missed their connection to Monterey. Without him, she probably would still be stuck in the LA airport. Brian is one of those rare artists who breathes motorcycle art. He is also a great rider and is passionate about every line he puts to paper. He emailed me the logo for this year's MotoGP. I'd love to post a pic, but its proprietary until the event.

Today won't be much of a Duck day. I'll be in the yard sweating. We haven't had a good rain in months, a rarity in the summer. Even with my sprinkler system (that pulls out of the lake), the grass doesn't grow. When it has been dry for that long, the bugs get hungrier. We've got some ferocious yellow flies here in the Panhandle. Yellowflies are about the same size as a regular house fly, but with some important differences - they bite like hell and they chase you. I've run a hundred yards only to have the same yellow fly stalk me like I'm a popsicle. Yellowflies attack the back of your neck and ears for some reason. I hate the goddam things and hate summers in Florida because of them. I found the answer to them several weeks ago -- the zapper. The zapper is a racket that looks like a racketball racket. Inside the handle is a few batteries. When you hit a button, the webbing on the racket electrifies. When it makes contact with any insect they explode. You want to talk about cheap entertainment. I now enjoy getting the mail from the mailbox because I can issue out some revenge. The best is the trek to my workshop. Because I have yet to replace the bridge on my property, I have to walk 100 yards to my shed. This used to give the yellow flies unfiltered access to my hide. With my zapper, I'm not the hunter. The most fun is making the trek to my shed at night. When you hit a yellow fly at night with the zapper they explode in a ball of light and sound. Talk about some good redneck entertainment -- it doesn't get any better than that. One cautionary note on the zappers. It WILL zap anything that comes into contact with it - including you. I made the mistake of swatting at a yellow fly, only to end up hitting my other hand. My hand was numb for about an hour. Lesson learned.

10 June 2006 - This week has been a big week from an enthusiast standpoint (or at least my viewpoint). I rolled out 3 new products - A Slim Stand, Billet Reservoir Covers, and my Cooling Fan Upgrade Kit . The first product I didn't develop, but I helped test. Enthusiast Andrew Sexton decided to build rear stands for his Ducks. A great idea, and a product that I've personally wanted for awhile. The billet reservoir covers are to eliminate that darn peeling stock brake master cylinder cover. I was going to carry 2 other brands of covers, but the Pro Tek cover was impossible to get manufacturered and the Pantera cover didn't look nearly as nice as the Mad Duc cover.... so I decided to do what I usually do ... carry products that I'd want on my bikes. The cooling fan upgrade kit is something I've been personally using for years. The summers down here are tough on water-cooled desmos, so I use a manual fan switch to turn on and off the fan. Upgrading the fan itself to a high-output variety draws more air and eliminates my tendency to cast a watchful eye on the temp gauge whenever I stop in traffic. I don't know if the above products will sell, but I do know that I use them, can talk about their utility and don't have any qualms about their quality.

Today was a rare wrenchathon - first I fixed the electrical gremlins on Walt Bolton's ST2. The culprit, once again, was the wiring harness junction near the headlight assembly. Water gets in the connector and shorts out several leads. It is a PITA to fix, but I was motivated to do so for the customer ... a replacement harness was $475. If you've got an ST, I'd advise disconnecting this connector, inspecting the junctions, and smearing a coating of dielectric grease between the halves to ward off water. While I had the fairing off, I upgraded his fan and installed my switch thingee. After I conquered the '98 ST2, I moved onto Bryan Jones' ST4. I just did some basic stuff - oil, fluids, fan upgrade and switch, wire in an extra brake light, and a new chain and countershaft sprocket. Now that these customer services are complete, I can move onto a few tidbits on my own bikes - a slave cylinder on my track bike, servicing my 999s, and prepping my Gran Canyon for the upcoming trip to CA.

9 June 2006 - Yesterday's post clearly illustrated that I'm not a good influence on other Ducatisti. My friends might take solace in knowing that whatever Ducati sickness they have is exponentially more potent in me. I have, on average, purchased a Ducati every year for the past 10 years. I used to justify my purchases by the fact that the bike filled a particular niche in my riding persona, or because I needed to include the bike in my next manual. I've got a new twist for you. About 6 months ago, I got a hankering for a Mh900e. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like the look of the stock bodywork. When I saw that Carbon Dream had made full carbon bodywork for the bike, I knew that I had to have one. Still, shelling out 12K for a used Mh900e was a little hard to swallow. So, I did the next best thing... I purchased the bodywork. Then I saw a used set of 5 spoke Marchesini magnesium rims for sale on Superbikeplanet. I grabbed the rims. Now that I had the bodywork and the rims, I did the next logical thing -- I bought a bike to put them on. Sounds perfectly normal to me. My wife has given up trying to dissuade me from purchasing more bikes. I love her for that. She thinks I'm kidding when I say that when I die, I want to be wearing my racing leathers. Before rigormortis sets in, I want to be bent into a racing tuck. I then want to be embalmed and placed in a glass case on board my '95 916. I don't want to be cremated or buried in the ground. I just want drag the ethereal knee for eternity. I hope God has some spare voltage regulators.

8 June 2006 - After meeting hundreds of fellow Ducatisi, I've determined that there is no one archetype that describes the typical owner. I am of the opinion however that I may not be a good influence on my fellow-duckheads. For instance, take Bryan Jones. I first met Bryan through the internet. He was an owner of a 900ss that needed some mechanical help. After I worked on his baby, I kept in touch with him and his wife.. a typical trend with my customers. Bryan doted on his 900ss, and is, next to me, the most anal Ducati owner that I know. Flash forward approximately 3 years. Bryan now as that same 900ss, but has recently added a 996 and an ST4 to the collection. Would he have that many Ducks if it wasn't for my fanaticism for all things Ducati? I wonder... Then there's another one of my friends, Brad Gaines. Brad never had a Duck until I convinced him to purchase a used ST2 from a friend we knew. Brad isn't as enthused as I am about Ducatis, but he knows how much TLC I spent on the bike to get it ship shape once he purchased it - a beautiful 2-ton paint job, redone electrics and bits customized for Brad's tastes. When a friend asked Brad if he was interested in selling the ST2, Brad responded "I'd sell it to you, but LT would kill me". I guess I get attached to customer bikes as well. Last, but not least is Gregg Kirby. Gregg had a sole 916 when I met him. Shortly after our friendhship began, he added an 888 and an ST4S. The moral of the story is that if you have a Duck, don't let me see it... I'll dote on it and I'll eventually convince you that a single Duck is never enough. To really experience the world of Ducati, you have to have multiple bikes. Only then can you appreciate how difficult it is to keep them all running.

7 June 2006 - We got a one day reprieve from the heat, so I rode yesterday. I appreciated the chance to ride during daylight hours - a rarity during a Florida summer. This was especially welcome because I had to test ride 2 bikes from a customer - a 996 and an ST4. The customer is on a budget when it comes to service, but he purchases bikes right. He finds Ducatis in excellent condition, with the aftermarket mods he wants, and with fresh services. I don't make as much off of him because I don't get to perform valve adjusts. That's okay though, because sometimes it's nice just to change the oil and replace chains, sprockets and tires.

I never got to go by the local Ducati dealer to put up my flyers to start a local Ducati club. I've been meaning to do so, but the dealer is in the city, and is a different direction from the way I usually go. I'm so busy nowadays, that I don't run errands unless I have to...which means a few times each week I venture out to mail out parts, get parts, and, of course, to the office to work.

I gave a call to my friend Bruce Meyers today. Bruce (formerly of BCM Ducati) is a great guy, and I try to keep in touch. He was up to his armpits in the bottom end of a 999r, so I kept the conversation brief. While I envy the level of expertise he has attained with Ducatis, I wouldn't trade places with him. Ducatis are fun for me because they are a hobby (and a little more). Without my other careers pursuits, I woudn't have as much fun working on them. I suppose I get bored easily doing any one thing day in and day out.

The last batch of parts came in today to make my new product, which I popped up early on the website BTW. For those of you tired of your Duck enduring the summer heat, my cooling fan upgrade kit is just the ticket. Now if I could predict demand for them, I'd be a step ahead.

6 June 2006 - I got a chance to watch the MotoGP race again at lunchtime today. It's a keeper! That race had more lead changes than any I can remember. A truly epic competition. One of the things that amazed me was the level of fan adoration -- color coded sections according to the color of the riders leathers/bike. Can you imagine that happening in the US? I go to Laguna Seca every year, and the fan support is great. But to call it rapid fan support is an overstatement. Yesterday I spoke with one of my students after class. He has lived in Spain. Even though he knows nothing about motorcycling, he knew the names Rossi, Hayden, Biaggi, Capirossi, Gibernau and Checa just from living there. He said that on the weekend discussions are about Soccer and Motorcycling. I was instantly jealous hearing such stories. The day when I no longer have to explain what a Ducati is, or identify who my racing heroes are would be a good day indeed, and one I am unlikely to realize living in the US. I guess I'll have to settle for living in the best country that doesn't have motorcycling as its #1 sport.

Tomorrow I start working on a '98 ST2 with no electrical readouts. If there is one that I hate more than electrical troubleshooting it's.... well, nothing. I never find the problem early enough to justify what Iittle I can charge, and I can never charge the hours of troubleshooting it will take. Still, its part of repair. Yet, the easy jobs are more than made up for my the nightmares, and nothing frustrates a Ducati technician more than chasing electrical gremlins. Oh well, it could be worse,,, I could be in Iraq again. Of course if I was there I'd still have to explain what a Ducati is and who my racing heroes are... and I can do that here in Pensacola.

5 June 2006 - Occasionally I'm asked why I don't carry specific brands of products. I sell what I use. This means that I am always looking for value. Take clutch pressure plates. I use and resell Paulimoto pressure plates because they are both cost effective and aesthetic. Are they as good looking as the cyclecat or speedymoto pressure plates?... perhaps not. But they are 1/2 the cost and have the same functionality. Likewise with most of the other stuff I sell. I spend a lot on my motorcycles, hence I am always looking for value. If you want the stuff because you want the absolute best, then you are going to pay for it. My business philosopy is called best-cost, meaning I offer products that aren't the cheapest, but they arent' the most expensive either. -- I provide value. Also, because I am a small vendor, I don't stock multiple brands for the same item. I sell what I use. I've got Paulimoto pressure plates and spyder retainers in Procutting baskets on all my Ducks. They look great and the price is unbeatable for the value they deliver. Now, every once in awhile I luck into a product that is both the best product and the best value -- the Procutting clutch pack fits that bill. I smile when I read what Ducatisti are paying for other clutch upgrades.

When I accept a product for sale, I have to test it and actually use it. That means product selection is important to me. I don't have the cash flow to carry stuff that I don't sell. This means that some slow-selling products, while still excellent products, must leave. I just sold my last set of 851/888 Axle plates. It took me a full year to sell a batch of 20 that I had made. That means a lot of money say idle on the shelf. Great product, it just didn't sell.

I spent the weekend installng and testing a new product that I'm gathering the parts for. The toughest part is determining the price for said products. A typical product will make a reseller 25-40%. Some resellers make up for smaller margins by charging more for shipping. Still, margin is everything. But time costs money as well. I probably will have several days worth of time into developing my next product by the time it comes out... but am still shooting for a 40% margin. That makes me wonder why I'm taking more time to develop a product when I can get the same margin by just carrying somebody else's product. The answer to that question is that if there was a product that fit me needs, I wouldn't have had to develop one in the first place. Its all a vicious circle. ...

Tomorrow I'll chat a bit with you on my thoughts after watching the MotoGP race in Tivo last night.

4 June 2006 - Another weekend of racing, and another weekend I focused on non-AMA racing. If I rode a Suzuki, I'm sure I'd enjoy the Suzuki cup races in the AMA, but other than seeing what Miller Motorsports Park looks like, I'm skipping the season. The only hopes I have are that Ben Spies takes the title and gets offered a World Ride (I'm sure Mladin wishes for the same thing).

Why am I not surprised that Rossi took the win? Well, for one thing, he no longer has the distraction of an F1 ride looming for next year.... It's Yamaha for the foreseeable future. Second, he's pissed. Rossi has more competitive drive in his pinky than I do in my entire body. He absolutely hates to lose. He also possesses more talent than any other rider, regardless of the skills of the Young Turks. If the Yamaha is within a second of the Pole and manages to stay together all the races, he'll win the title.

Note: This Daily Desmo was typed up Friday night, before the qualifiying practice even took place. How did I know Rossi would win? Simple, I've seen it happen for the past 5 years.

3 June 2006 - I'm a day ahead of myself, so forgive me. I saw the press photos of the Desmodecici yesterday. It is what I expected. The exhaust is under-the-seat, but I can't see the exhaust canister. Hmmm. The bike includes a dual-headlight setup that would look splendid on the next generation superbike. Other than that, I don't find it particularly inspiring. After all, the MotoGP bike has been out a few years now, so I guess I'm jaded. Remember when the Benelli Tornado concept bike was first proposed, and then we finally saw it a few years later in the flesh.... it didn't look quite as stunning. It would be like finally getting to date that prom queen that you were drooling over for years in between popping zits and wanking off. And when you finally got to date her, you realized that she was a bitch and couldn't care less about your pitiful existence... but I digress.

Yes, the motoGP bike is gorgeous. I just don't see anything revolutionary, at least revolutionary enough to justify 65K. I printed out a pic of the MotoGP bike and took it out the showroom, looking at it in line with my 888, 916 and 999. It would fit in nicely, but it wouldn't look revolutionary. Now compared to a 65K custom cruiser, I'd take the MotoGP bike, but that's because I'd rather be boiled in oil than buy a custom chopper. All the components are what I'd call first rate, but I know that if I owned the bike I'd still be modifying 1/2 of it. But that would piss off the purists... like the ones that reel in horror after seeing what I did to my Mh900E.

And then there's the 200+ horses. I can't imagine having that much power, but it's amazing how we grow accustomed to horsepower... too much is never enough. In fact, 4-valvers already have 30% more horsepower than the first 851 did back in 1987. I'd expect a 1200cc superbike would satisfy the whims of the horsepower impaired. To be honest, I'm quite satisfied with the 127 ponies my 999s puts out.... and the 102 of my 916, 97 of my 888, and 92 of my 748.

I know most of you will disagree, but if I was going to spend that kind of cash, I'd rather have a Bimota Tesi 2D. Call me a mechanical purist. What is neat about eyesight is that we see things through our own filters. I love the sleek lines of Ducati superbikes -- the visual design cues that make the bike look like it is moving while standing still. However, I also like the mechanical aspects of Ducatis. I love my Monster because you can see the engine and the components. For this reason, I love the Bimota Tesi 2D.. and its a relative bargain at only 45K.

So Ducati, put that front fairing and mirror setup on the next superbike, ditch the slab of a swingarm (MotoGP bikes need ultra stiff swingarms, but I doubt if the rest of us need one that stiff), and do what you want with the tank and side fairings. So long as the wings and stacked headlights go, the bike will sell. On the other hand... let's see, how long would it take for the Desmosedici to depreciate to the point where I could afford one? I don't think I'll live that long. It's a shame that most Desmosedicis will only see daylight through the windows of a house. If I had one, the first thing I'd do is put on the race exhaust and computer and smoke a black strip down my driveway. That's what that bike was meant to do. Unfortunately, the average age of ownership will be around 50 (most GenX or GenYers don't have 65K laying around), making such hooligan behavior doubtful. Maybe a squid like me should buy one just to ride it like I stole it. Hey, as long as I'm dreaming, make it a two-seater and add Jenna Jameson on the back... not that I know who that woman is. Come to think of it, I'd rather have my wife on the back (she occasionally reads the daily desmo) :-)

2 June 2006 - I added a few key maintenance items to the inventory - quick disconnect orings and wellnuts. They are things that I rarely need, but when I do, I can't whip over to the local Home Depot and pick them up. I'm going to add quick disconnect elbows at some point. Sometimes customers break them when trying to remove the tank on superbikes. I've never had it happen, but I've heard it can happen.

I'm awaiting parts to service a customer's 996 -- new tires and some carbon fiber stock that I use to fashion brackets. I'm using the stock to develop my next product. As usual, the product is being delayed by parts suppliers. I don't announce upcoming products any more on the website. When I do, Ducatisti bombard me with emails asking when will the product be ready. When I have stuff ready for distribution, I'll pop up the products. I will say that my next product is a kit, and includes a switch and wiring.

The summer heat has descended on us in good old Florida. That means a heat index of 95 every day from June to September.... Sounds like the perfect time to prepare the touring bike for my trip next month to California. My Gran Canyon is all ready except for the chain oiler that I have to install. I'll also give the bike the once-over looking for possible trouble spots. I haven't ridden the bike much since conducting a full service on it last fall. That's a shame, because the Gran Canyon is an excellent all-around motorcycle. I've wanted to keep the tires fresh though, as the trip in July will include about 7000 miles of activity. The neat thing about the tires I'm running on the GC (bridgestone dual-sport) will last about 10000 miles. I wish my other tires lasted that long. Here in Florida, tire longevity is reduced by flat-spotting. The roads here are so straight that tires wear flat. When this happens, a Duck will turn in even slower and handling will be compromised. A typical bike shows up at my shop with flat stale tires. What are stale tires. Well, tires age just like we do. After about 4 years, the rubber has hardened and the tire no longer has the same traction coefficient as when it was new. Have you ever noticed how a bike rides better on new tires. That isn't just because new tires are nice and round. The rubber also absorbs road imperfections. In essence, the tires have more give when new. Plus, if you sniff them long enough, you can get a cheap high...or so I've been told.

One final tidbit for today. I heard that Greg's Garage was cancelled from SpeedTV's tuesday night lineup. Hooray!!!! I had one encounter with the host of that show. About 5 years ago I was at the Atlanta Powersports Show and was paying for some trinket that I purchased at a booth. Behind me was the host of Greg's Garage. While paying for my part, he noticed that I had a wallet made of carbon fiber. I heard him mumble "squid" to somebody. I responded by calling him a series of 4-letter words that, while totally unprofessional, made me feel much better... and all was once again right in my little world.

1 June 2006 - Wow, the Daily Desmo is over one month old. Who would have thought that when I started this blog, I'd have a legion of ..... several. Go figure. I'm humbled by the comments that I've received about the blog. Thanks for taking the time to read it.

Yesterday I placed a few orders for parts. Well, at least I tried to. Yes, you guessed it, more problems with suppliers. First, I called D%smo*a%t@ for some stuff. I decided it was time I stocked their gaskets, so I gave a call. I was told that they were really busy and asked if I could call back next week. I asked them if they could take my name and phone #, but I was told they were too busy to do that. Guess what D%smo*a%t@, it will be a cold day in hell before I stock your stuff now. I'll get the gaskets somewhere else. Then I placed an order through my Lockhart Philips rep, only to be told that about 1/3 of the stuff is so backordered that I'd have a greater chance of order fulfillment if I ordered the Holy Grail. I've got to tell you folks, we may be living in an era of Just In Time Inventory and complex managerial models, but in my book if you can't fill an order you ain't worth a shit.

Now, onto an area that I haven't already beat up in previous posts - Used Part Purveyors. I have yet to sell any Ducati that I've purchased for my own use. The simple reason is that I'm buried in them financially. I'd have to strip any bike I sold down to the frame and sell off the parts individually before I'd come close to an acceptable return on my hard earned investment. Some people do that. If you look on eBay, or Speedzilla, or the Ducati Index, you'll find people who buy Ducatis, tear them down and part them out. I know there are all kinds of ways of making money, but damn.... tearing apart a Duck and selling the parts is harsh. I've rebuilt several salvage-titled Ducks, and take pride in the fact that I've resurrected Desmos bound for the scrap-heap. To me, such endeavors are worthwhile. However, parting out Ducks as a business does provide a necessary source of parts for Ducatisti in need. Of course, it depends on who you're buying from. Several of the individuals who offer such services have deservedly bad reputations. I won't name names, but they're out there. When purchasing used parts ask the following: - the exact condition of the part, any marks or deformations of the part, a description of the part (remember that corse intakes won't work with a stock airbox, etc), whether the part is in stock, the shipping costs (resellers love to make money on shipping), and return policies. I've had much better luck by purchasing from individual owners. The last 2 parts I've purchased used parts from strippers were a front axle and a set of calipers. The caliper half bolts were stripped, and the axle was bent. Both parts were purchased on eBay. By the way, eBay's rating system is a POS. I have a perfect eBay rating. So, I know that if I flame a seller for misrepresenting a product, they will in turn flame me, thus ruining my perfect rating. The answer is to create an alter-ego eBay identity that you use to purchase things with. That way you can flame the butt-pirates, and not damage your selling reputation. Of course, the unscrupulous sellers do the same thing.

Desmo Times

555 Childers St

Pensacola, FL. 32534

www.desmotimes.com