A
alane
Just visiting
First off - apologies - I got an invite to go to Woods at Abergele to see their three new demonstrator bikes - and I forgot to post the details here before the event. Sorry everyone but it was a last minute rush for me and I just plain overlooked it. But anyhow, here's what I subsequently posted elsewhere and now I feel thoroughly rotten at not having let you all in on the details beforehand, specially as I have only just recovered and now have my hearing back - if only those kids would stop blowing them whistles.
But....if you want to get up close and personal with the Ducati, I believe it may be one of the demonstrator models at Woods after 1st February.
Got an invite to Woods to go and see the new demonstrators that had just arrived - (plus the offer of a free chip barm and brew didn't sway me one bit - honest)
What can I say - as welcoming as ever.
The drinks were flowing (alcoholic for the passengers and a coke for me the chaueffeur).
There was me just wandering around minding my own business with chips and jumbo sausage in one hand and drink in the other when I got accosted by.....Gill and Phil.
Nice to see you both and have a chat.
But back to the bikes:
three bikes fired up in the service area and were rode through to the shop.
Triumph 675 - mate of mine has one on order so was especially of interest to him. Looks stunningly like a.n.other jap machine but looks basically....stunning. Think it'll attract a lot of the monies that would otherwise find there way to mid range jap pocket rockets. Very strange exhaust note and loads seemed to comment on how it whistled on throttle.
Yam R6 - Stubby exhaust, radial brakes(?), redlines at - 17 and a half thousand rpm!!!!! How mad is that? Talking to Dave who luckily got to have a ride on the bike earlier, extolled it's virtues but did say it needs plenty of wrist action to work the engine and get it going. Good looking bike none the less.
and finally, the last bike to be started:
Ducati 1000 sport in dashingly strange yet alluring orange/yellow thingey colour. For those of us old enough to remember it reminded me of the Ducati 860 with (what seemed to me at the tender age of ,oh...blah blah blah ) a massive tank which "bled over the frame" and shielded the engine top. Dropped norton-like clip ons and a pair of termi exhausts. When the bike was driven through the shop I was kind of dissappointed slightly in the sound it made, but the retro-ish type styling and old style swing arm adjustments and wire wheels made it somehow "wantable". I NEED that bike.
Well, after a good amount of time wandering round some of us were kind of gravitationally drawn to the Ducati like it was calling us and telling us to start it. So one of us did. Bike didn't sound to brill with a muffled strangled but loud-ish noise from the exhaust. Richard (he of a lot of Ducati knowledge) seemed to take it upon himself to put matters to right and with a bit of deft mechanicing with allen key and pliers he removed the loathesome spiteful baffles and suggested we try again.
I was scared, I knew it would be loud but was unprepared for what came next.
Richard jabbed the starter button and the world ended. I kid you not - a small child of about 6 or 7 cried out "turn it off" and ran to his father (I think) with hands clutched over his ears. Testosterone went into overload and the surrounding persons stood around grinning and daring each other to blip the throttle. I did and I enjoyed every last thousand rpm second of it. The noise obliterated every other conversation in the shop and those who had up till that point been slavvering over triumph and jap newbies were inexplicably drawn to the beast.
My mate Mike held his hand about a foot from the exhaust and was immediately frightened by the hot exhaust gas thrust out at near supersonic speed. Some other guy played "blip the throttle till that guys hair is parted" whilst an innocent bystander stood some 10~12 feet in the line of fire.
I was dared to hold my hand near the exhaust whilst Mike blipped the throttle and it was awesome - I promised not to wash my hand for a week (or some other such perverted comment).
It was then that the child in me took over and I held a plastic cup about six inches from the top exhaust opening as if to catch the liquid noise - but Mike again blipped the throttle and the cup was forcibly launched like an exocet toward the hair parting guy and he caught it at chest level.
A bit of fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
With that we bade farewell and departed back to Cheshire.
So, thanks to Woods and the staff (and the dogs for not nicking my sausage). Paul asked me how the bike was doing and said he hadn't seen me for a good few months - well thats because the bike (999s) is tickety-boo and in fine fettle but I'll no doubt call in in the spring on the way to the curvy bendy roads..
Last thing we saw was the 6 year old in his dads arms and still clutching at his ears - no doubt in a good few years time he'll be bragging how a Ducati nearly made his ears bleed.
But....if you want to get up close and personal with the Ducati, I believe it may be one of the demonstrator models at Woods after 1st February.
Got an invite to Woods to go and see the new demonstrators that had just arrived - (plus the offer of a free chip barm and brew didn't sway me one bit - honest)
What can I say - as welcoming as ever.
The drinks were flowing (alcoholic for the passengers and a coke for me the chaueffeur).
There was me just wandering around minding my own business with chips and jumbo sausage in one hand and drink in the other when I got accosted by.....Gill and Phil.
Nice to see you both and have a chat.
But back to the bikes:
three bikes fired up in the service area and were rode through to the shop.
Triumph 675 - mate of mine has one on order so was especially of interest to him. Looks stunningly like a.n.other jap machine but looks basically....stunning. Think it'll attract a lot of the monies that would otherwise find there way to mid range jap pocket rockets. Very strange exhaust note and loads seemed to comment on how it whistled on throttle.
Yam R6 - Stubby exhaust, radial brakes(?), redlines at - 17 and a half thousand rpm!!!!! How mad is that? Talking to Dave who luckily got to have a ride on the bike earlier, extolled it's virtues but did say it needs plenty of wrist action to work the engine and get it going. Good looking bike none the less.
and finally, the last bike to be started:
Ducati 1000 sport in dashingly strange yet alluring orange/yellow thingey colour. For those of us old enough to remember it reminded me of the Ducati 860 with (what seemed to me at the tender age of ,oh...blah blah blah ) a massive tank which "bled over the frame" and shielded the engine top. Dropped norton-like clip ons and a pair of termi exhausts. When the bike was driven through the shop I was kind of dissappointed slightly in the sound it made, but the retro-ish type styling and old style swing arm adjustments and wire wheels made it somehow "wantable". I NEED that bike.
Well, after a good amount of time wandering round some of us were kind of gravitationally drawn to the Ducati like it was calling us and telling us to start it. So one of us did. Bike didn't sound to brill with a muffled strangled but loud-ish noise from the exhaust. Richard (he of a lot of Ducati knowledge) seemed to take it upon himself to put matters to right and with a bit of deft mechanicing with allen key and pliers he removed the loathesome spiteful baffles and suggested we try again.
I was scared, I knew it would be loud but was unprepared for what came next.
Richard jabbed the starter button and the world ended. I kid you not - a small child of about 6 or 7 cried out "turn it off" and ran to his father (I think) with hands clutched over his ears. Testosterone went into overload and the surrounding persons stood around grinning and daring each other to blip the throttle. I did and I enjoyed every last thousand rpm second of it. The noise obliterated every other conversation in the shop and those who had up till that point been slavvering over triumph and jap newbies were inexplicably drawn to the beast.
My mate Mike held his hand about a foot from the exhaust and was immediately frightened by the hot exhaust gas thrust out at near supersonic speed. Some other guy played "blip the throttle till that guys hair is parted" whilst an innocent bystander stood some 10~12 feet in the line of fire.
I was dared to hold my hand near the exhaust whilst Mike blipped the throttle and it was awesome - I promised not to wash my hand for a week (or some other such perverted comment).
It was then that the child in me took over and I held a plastic cup about six inches from the top exhaust opening as if to catch the liquid noise - but Mike again blipped the throttle and the cup was forcibly launched like an exocet toward the hair parting guy and he caught it at chest level.
A bit of fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
With that we bade farewell and departed back to Cheshire.
So, thanks to Woods and the staff (and the dogs for not nicking my sausage). Paul asked me how the bike was doing and said he hadn't seen me for a good few months - well thats because the bike (999s) is tickety-boo and in fine fettle but I'll no doubt call in in the spring on the way to the curvy bendy roads..
Last thing we saw was the 6 year old in his dads arms and still clutching at his ears - no doubt in a good few years time he'll be bragging how a Ducati nearly made his ears bleed.
