Becoming a URAL Adventurer

The 2012 URAL Patrol is a perfect drug for my addictive desire to explore.  With hand over my heart, I believe this thing will go anywhere I want to go and not lead to my untimely demise in the process. This conclusion was derived after 200 kilometers of experimentation on the road and some hours of mental gymnastics with my backside firmly ensconced in a big easy chair.

For those reading this review who have never ridden a motorcycle with a sidecar but plan to try one out in the future I offer these words of advice -- give it some time.  It's not what you expect and it's not a motorcycle.

The first day of riding consisted mostly of getting a feel for the machine on the road -- gaining asense of how wide it is so I didn't run the rig into a post or have it drop off the side of the road into a drainage hole.  With ample open roads around I had a lot of good practice routes.

One of the first things I noticed is that I would spans ditches along the side of the road or navigate uneven surfaces without trouble.  The motorcycle and sidecar wheel are far enough apart that I could negotiate obstacles or run through them without fear of falling or getting stuck.

 Last Sunday morning I left early to determine how well the URAL would perform on the endless miles of gravel roads in the Pennsylvania forests and what kind of gaps existed between the motorcycle and my riding skills.  This picture was made after about 10 miles of gravel.  Two things surfaced -- first, I felt a bit anxious when the URAL drifted left on uneven stretches of road or when the traction differences between loose gravel and hard packed gravel would cause the machine to move one direction or the other.

A motorcycle without a sidecar feels fluid and moves along a line in a relatively smooth and easy manner compared to the URAL.  The sidecar rig tends to move back and forth, at least it feels as if it is moving back and forth on the road controlled by unknown forces for unknown reasons.  Because of this I kept my speed to 25 to 40 mph depending on specific road conditions.

After 20 miles of gravel roads I had to stop for mental reasons.  I needed some time to process what was going on with the machine.  I wanted to understand the forces at work and allow myself the chance to drop into a more intuitive riding experience.

Physically the machine was extremely comfortable.  After six hours on the road I found no issues at all with the seat or riding position.  

Through the power of photography I was able to diminish the size of the URAL.  Through a few minutes of relaxation and a couple of chugs of water I did the same things mentally.

Looking the machine over you can't help but notice the relative simplicity of construction compared to almost any other modern motorcycle.  The speedometer provided indicated speed, odometer, trip odometer and a couple indicator lights --nothing fancy at all.  Add to that a four speed transmission, electric start, front disc brake and a reverse gear and you've pretty much summed up the available technology as far as I was concerned.

And there is a kick starter too.  Didn't try it but would be nice to know there was some chance of moving on should the battery or starter die.  And there is a nice URAL tool kit in the trunk along with a spare tire.  And the carburated motorcycle was of simple enough design that it appeared entirely possible that a rider could learn to do some real roadside service.  No computers or sophisticated technology necessary to keep this machine running.

The URAL had no trouble running up and down the mountain roads and with each mile my comfort level grew that I would not suddenly burst over the edge of the road and on into oblivion.  I could see myself riding up here in the snow.  This URAL is a 2WD version which means the wheel on the sidecar has power when you want it -- just engage a level and you're in business.  A fine winter time feature.

Amidst the riding and familiarization process I kept noticing how much I like this vintage look.  Along with the vintage look though comes some vintage processes.

Not wanting the URAL to roll down the road and over the cliff if the thing popped out of gear.  I learned later that the rig has a parking brake but I opted for the tried and true rock behind the wheel solution.

I'm clever that way.

Looking at the mufflers in the picture I want to say the URAL makes a wonderful sound.  Not too loud but definitely a barrel chested rumble that inspires some confidence that the engine can deliver what you need in terms of torque.

Forest roads around here are often no more than glorified jeep trails kept open to allow fire control vehicles into areas in an emergency.  They're not very wide and steeped than they look.  I descended this one with care trying to decide where to put the motorcycle wheel to provide the most stable line possible.  Any sudden veer or swerve could have me riding in places I wouldn't want to ride.

After 30 miles of gravel I felt pretty comfortable with the changing surface, the response of the URAL, and my growing abilities in regard to throttle, steering, braking and shifting inputs.  Riding a URAL is like a dance and you need to know all the moves.  You can get away with some sloppy things on a motorcycle but on this rig it really helps to expand your skills.

I was able to spend more time looking at the landscape and exploring with the camera as the URAL and I came to terms.

So many beautiful places to ride.  A stop for a picture, a slurp or two of water, and a bite of a ham and cheese sandwich, all stored nicely in the sidecar.

The only pain related to this ride came while making this picture.  Picking my way up through the rocks I keep twisting my ankle in the loose rocks that lined this dry run.  It's a picture I will only make in the cold weather.  On warmer days I would have to spend too much time looking for rattlesnakes.

By the time I hit pavement I felt like an enthusiastic amateur URAL Patrol pilot.  The rig feels amazingly stable after nearly forty miles of gravel roads.  For anyone acquiring one of these I highly recommend some gravel riding to hone your skills.

Since the URAL doesn't have a fuel gauge and I didn't take the time to figure out how much fuel it carries I pointed the bike to the closest fuel stop.  I thought it appropriate that the place had a certain central Siberian feel to it.

While here a had the first of a few people approach me to ask questions about the URAL.  "How old is it?" and "That's a beautiful motorcycle." were the most common comments.  Spend anytime with one of these and you'll meet a lot of people.

The 749cc, 40 horsepower engine is plenty of power to push the URAL along secondary roads but if you think you're going to love touring along on the freeway things again.  This bike was designed before freeways were common.  The engine and transmission setup will have you straining to cruise at 60mph.  It's bred for winding twisting backroads in all weathers and conditions.  It's for adventure, not for traveling at 80mph all day long on the superslab.

I had to stop at my friend Dan's house.  I'm no longer allow to pass through his county without paying a visit.  The rig looked nice in his driveway looking off towards his barn.  He says it's 700 yards away and the green grass strip serves as a driving range for he and his son.  He thought the URAL had a lot in common with his Kuboda tractor.  Must be the color scheme.

There's something neat about being able to bomb down the road and just pull over and not worry much about the condition of the berm.  The URAL is like a tractor in the regard.  Just do it. And if you sink in somewhere or get stuck -- engage that extra drive wheel.

The URAL is so stylish in its un-stylishness.  And those shocks make it seem even more tank like.

One of my last side trips into a Siberian landscape, or at least as close as I could get on this day.  The rig is all about transportation, getting from here to there, and not allowing much to stand in your way.

Later in the evening I decided to take the URAL to the grocery store -- a chance to ride through town and a chance to test further its utilitarian capabilities.  I rode back and forth through State College through streets and alleys finding people pointing and waving.

Fun.  It has some pure fun possibilities.

Discovered a couple things at the grocery store.  First, the URAL had no trouble hauling $300 worth of groceries.  The sidecar is huge and there is a locking trunk at the back.  Didn't even need to strap anything onto the rack over the spare tire.  I could have easily carried another $150 worth of food.

Or a couple pigs or a goat.

And by the time I left it was dark.  The URAL has a nice big profile and is pretty well lit up.  Certainly more visible than my Vespa.  It was sad to take the keys out of it when I got home.

 

It was raining when I took the URAL back to Kissell Motorsports.  I tried a few times to get the rig to slide or spin on the wet pavement but it just kept tracking along without a care.  As the weather grows worse and we find some snow on the ground I'll have to talk to Craig Kissell about some further experimentation.

I can see why a lot of riders swear by these rigs.  They're a collection of traits and character that is unique in the motorcycle world.  I found myself thinking about the URAL all week.  Wondering where I could go and little concerned with the weather.  Or at least not as concerned as I am on the Vespa.

It's definitely not for everyone and in my case an acquired taste.  And something you have to try out.  Kissell Motorsports is going to keep this one as a demo bike.  Pay them a visit and try it out.  You never know if you might be cut out to be a URAL Adventurer...

Surrender to the URAL

Craig Kissell sent me an email this week:  "I have a new URAL ready for you to try."  His messages are always short and to the point. When I arrived at Kissell Motorsports this morning the URAL was glowing in the sunshine as Craig checked me out on the machine making sure I knew where the reverse lever was, the lever to engage 2WD (it has the option to have power to the sidecar wheel), chokes -- basically all the things a modern Vespa rider doesn't have to worry about.

I've been thinking about the URAL all week wondering how a brand new one would compare to the short ride I made on one last spring in Colorado courtesy of Redleg's Ride author Dom Chang.  And it certainly had to be superior to the MP3 sidecar rig I rode last year.

The weather got cold this week and snow was in the air, all of which fueled plenty of adventurous fantasy of grinding through the elements in the URAL as the central Pennsylvania landscape transformed in my mind to central Siberia with me and the machine against the world.  As I put the license plate on the rig I try not to drool on the fender.

The URAL engenders a strange form of riding excitement.

Task and chore and all things adult  would force riding to a meandering trip home, just enough miles to adapt to the big difference between a scooter or motorcycle and a tug with a sidecar.  Even with a brand new Brembo disc brake up front and two drum brakes on the back I didn't expect much in the way of stopping power.

I'm here to report that this URAL pleasantly surprised me in the braking department.  While demonstrating nothing like the stopping power of a modern motorcycle it does stop when you ask it to.  Just give yourself more distance to make it happen.

Under blue skies and warming air I wandered about testing the brakes and other important control characteristics of the rig before venturing off on a longer ride tomorrow morning.  The URAL had me by this point, I'm lying in the road to make this picture, dreaming of conquering wind and rain, snow and ice, adversity and misfortune astride a URAL.

I can't figure it out yet but this odd rig triggers some instinctual drive to persevere and stubbornly resist failure.  Weird.  Must be me.

The URAL is kind of dazzling with its orange paint job.  I received more looks and waves today than any machine I have ever ridden.  One little girl in the back of a minivan seemed to lose her mind as she frantically tried to get everyone else to crane their necks to see the sight, seemingly something to her as miraculous as seeing Santa Claus.

On my way into Boalsburg I extended my hand to acknowledge an approaching, fully loaded, BMW R1200 GS only to see the return signal not the casual wave many riders engage but a full gusto laden thumbs up.


The URAL attracts attention.

Parked along Main Street in Boalsburg the URAL looks oddly at home in front of Duffy's Tavern.  More commonly one would see a string of Harley's here but at this time of year it's more likely my Vespa.  Or a URAL.

The URAL is sitting in the driveway while I type this note.  Junior is nosing around, angling to some tennis ball action but I'm thinking I need to go for another little ride as the sun goes down.

I need to surrender to the URAL.

Chasing Simplicity

Balmy air flowed through the vents in my helmet on this glowing, late fall morning, a riding gift that grows more rare as winter edges closer.  Soon the riding rituals will become a deliberation of gear and clothing, assessment and decision as the threat of frigid weather sweeps away the simpler joys of riding.

Riding a Vespa is a simple joy, one that I found late in life.  Riding has allowed me to explore the notion of a simple life, at least for those moments on the road where little matters save the road unfurling ahead and the decisions and actions required to keep the scooter flying along safely.

I was riding into town to see my friend Gordon when I stopped to make this photograph, listen to the leaves rustle underfoot, watch the light dazzle thought the yellow leaves, and give thanks for just being able to stand there for a few moments.

It's been that kind of week.

At Saint's Cafe between sips of hot chocolate and bites of a bagel I read (again) on my iPhone something called the 100 Thing Challenge.  A challenge to reduce your worldly possessions to 100.  An arbitrary number but the idea is there is some value in untying oneself from weight of things, and more importantly from the desire to acquire more.  I understand.

Yesterday brought a new Orvis catalog, another from LL Bean and one from Eddie Bauer.  They were destined to join ones from B&H Photo, Aerostich, and a host of others already on my desk.  Each offering songs of delight and desire for things that, well, I just don't need.

So they're all on their way to the landfill.  I told Gordon how nice it would be to think about buying or shopping only when I actually need something.

I've been taking some tentative steps towards simplicity -- getting rid of things I don't use, don't need, can't remember why I have.  And there is a lot of stuff.  Don't know how many things I have but I'm sure I have to be closer to 10,000 than to 100.

One hundred isn't important.  What's important is slowing removing the extraneous things that collect so easily.

At least that's the plan.

I showed up without any prints this morning.  Gordon had a bunch including several portraits he made of me.  I'm always behind the camera so the only time I have my picture taken is when I pass near another photographer.  We all understand our predicament.  We quickly create mutual admiration societies.

So the chase continues.  I need to visit my basement workbench.  I think there are 25,000 left over pieces of stuff from 20 years worth of projects.  I wish it would all go away.

The Triumph Tiger XC Experience

When Craig Kissell of Kissell Motorsports asked me what I thought of the Tiger after spending a few chilly days with it I told him it has moved to the top of my list.  It's pretty, it's fast and it is one of the smoothest shifting motorcycles I have had the pleasure to ride.  But there's a lot more of interest to me with the Triumph Tiger XC.

The weather played a role in this review -- specifically snow and cold.  The first day the Tiger sat in the garage while I watched eight inches of snow fall on the ground.  It was a heavy, wet, big snowflake kind of snow that covered the ground but for most of the day left the road wet with just a few areas of slush.  I would not have hesitated to take the Vespa for a ride but restrained myself from taking the shiny new Triumph out into the salt and slush.  Periodically through the day I visited the Weather.com site on my iPhone trying to speed the storm front along and bring more suitable riding conditions.  Sunday morning found temperatures below freezing with areas of ice and slush near home.

So I waited.

And waited.  Until finally, by mid-afternoon I deemed conditions acceptable to go for a ride.  Morning sunshine and temperatures above freezing during the previous night quickly dispatched the snow.  The very first thing I noticed at 28F was there was a surprising bit of wind protection on the Tiger.  The windscreen sent a large portion of the frigid air up and past my chest and the hand guards did an excellent job of keeping my hands and fingers limber and almost warm.

The Tiger is easy to ride.  One of the few bikes I've ridden where I felt completely at home almost instantly.  That's saying a lot when you consider the jump from Vespa to Tiger.  Riding position was comfortable and so was the seat.  I was able to tear around the countryside in much the same manner I do with the Vespa -- start and stop at will, make U-turns easily, and navigate a wide range of surfaces without anxiety.  All important things to me.

Everyone rides for a different reason.  I like to see things.  New places, new roads, new views.  The ordinary places.  No need for me to make grand excursions or trips.  There's magic everywhere.  The Triumph was an amazingly inviting ride.  Moving through the backroads of Pennsylvania I felt as if I had been riding this bike for years.

After about an hour on the road I could feel my fingers beginning to flicker with the beginnings of numbness when I decided to stop and enjoy the view as I crested a ridge and headed on towards the Allegheny Plateau.  The Tiger has a wonderful engine sound through a nice big muffler.  And while well shielded to make riding pillion enjoyable Triumph must have kept riders like me in mind by making sure there was ample accessible hot metal to warm a poor rider's cold hands.

I think it was here that I was wishing for heated grips.  I hate having cold hands.

There was still snow along the higher stretches of Interstate 99, a part of the ride I chose to try out the Triumph's freeway capabilities.

No problems on the freeway.  At 75mph the engine hums nicely at 5000 rpms.  And at 80mph the motorcycle flows effortlessly.  I believe I could ride this bike a long way.

 A short pause for food and drink.  I have simple tastes that are easily satisfied by a cheesedog.  I can tell cold weather has arrived by the looks and comments I get from people who thing it is utterly insane to be riding on a cold day.

The hot dog doesn't help onlookers make sense of the whole cold weather riding thing.

Speaking of cold weather riding, the landscape and riding routes are so beautiful this time of year that I am loathe to deny myself the pleasure purely because the temperature has dropped.  The Triumph is a great partner for cold weather riding when the roads are clear.  And with the addition of an outlet for my Gerbing Electric Gloves I'm certain I could navigate through most of the winter.

Riding through a shaded valley along the creek I could feel the air chill enough that I figured it was time to head home just 20 miles away.  Farther if I wandered a bit.

The worst part of the ride was when I found myself heading directly at the sun as it neared the horizon.  Riding with one hand on the throttle and the other up shielding my eyes from the glare was tedious at times but not difficult on the stable Tiger.
.

At home I've already pictured this machine in the garage, a frequent choice over my Vespa for a variety of riding adventures both large and small.  The bike feels safe, reliable, like we're working together.  It's got enough power to go anywhere and do anything I can ever imagine doing though keep in mind I pretty much feel the same way about my much smaller Vespa GTS 250.

So to be thorough I decide to take the next morning off to ride a bit more before making any final claims or decisions.

THE NEXT MORNING

Warmer temperatures and the promise of clear skies had me out early on the Tiger.  Early enough to pass through a few patches of lingering fog in some of the narrow passages that allow easy passage between the mountains in the ridge and valley portion of Pennsylvania.  My comfort and ease with the motorcycle must have grown in my sleep allowing me to make U-turns at will on even the narrowest of roads -- something I can't say for every motorcycle I've ridden.

A lot of riders judge motorcycles in two ways -- how fast it will go, and how fast it will go a long time.  For me, how easy it is to maneuver at slow speeds is a really important quality for a machine intended for frequent commuting, errand running and all around riding.

But I suppose if you plan to ride a long way in a straight line any big bike will do.  And the Tiger will do that just fine by the way.

No motorcycle review is complete in my mind until I know how well the machine transports me to breakfast.  The Sunset West Restaurant provided the location and the Tiger delivered me there without incident.

 

Breakfast consisted of the usual fare for me and I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of crispy bacon, an obvious omen of support for the Tiger.  Who actually likes those limp, greasy strips of hog fat that often appear unless you ask specifically for the cook to keep them near the fire a bit longer?

I really wanted to pound some gravel roads with the Tiger but it was just too shiny and new for me to bring myself to put it at risk for a fall.  Not sure why since I had ridden other machines up and down powerline paths.  I must be getting old.

Despite concerns and tires better suited for the pavement I did test the Tiger in a few off road environs and found it capable beyond my skill or temperament.  And it easily managed a number of explorations to what I like to call sylvan treasure sites -- those old out of the way depositories that people too busy to make it to the dump use for their personal detritus.  I can spend a lot of time looking around in these places.  I never find anything useful but the potential is seductive.  I suppose it's what drives Powerball ticket sales.

 

The Triumph Tiger XC is a go machine.  Go now, go fast, and go far.  Anytime.   And it is forgiving enough to go slow, go to the store, and do all the things I like to do.  I stood along the road with my camera thinking, "I want one of these."

I do.  I want one.  And Craig Kissell would be delighted to sell me one.  Or any number of other motorcycles for that matter.

If you're in the neighborhood the Tiger is certainly worth a look or even a test ride. 

First Ride on the Triumph Tiger XC

Just a few quick observations from a short ride home tonight.

"Dead sexy"  I'm thinking as I look down at the handlebar assembly of the Tiger XC.  There's a combination of metallic texture, machining, fasteners and form that come together in a mechanical object that almost makes me drool.  Maybe it was a long week at work or a general lack of riding recently but when I sat on the Triumph in the parking lot of Kissell Motorsports late this afternoon I was primed and ready to roll.

Two days ago I thought the weekend would be sunny and cold.  When I checked the weather report in the parking lot the forecast called for 6 to 10 inches of snow overnight.  Not exactly the best riding conditions. While I might venture out in some snow on the Vespa I won't be taking a brand new motorcycle out for any test rides.  The ride home would have to recharge my riding batteries at least enough to get to Sunday and the promise of clear weather.

Triumph makes a nice motorcycle.  The engine is smooth, powerful and seems to offer endless torque creating a forgiving environment for a rider. Regardless of what gear I was in or how fast I was going the motorcycle just kept going without complaint.  And the transmission was flawless.  Smooth shifting and just, well, almost invisible.  Every Triumph I ridden had this same smooth transmission.

My original plan called for an early Saturday morning departure for points north.  The plan at the moment is to stay in bed as long as possible or until Junior insists I take him out for a walk.  The Tiger will probably spend the day in the garage unless things change dramatically overnight.

The Triumph is easy to ride.  While I would not characterize it as a beginners bike (it's tall) anyone who already knows how to ride would probably find their comfort zone with this motorcycle after a few minutes of riding.  Seating position, pegs, brake and shifter levers, everything just felt like it was exactly where it should be.

Minutes after I took this picture and headed down the road I crossed through some of the thickest water/limestone guck I have seen on a road.  The quarry usually hoses the road off several times a day to keep the dust down.  Someone must have been out sick today.  In case you're reading this Craig I washed the bike off as soon as I got home.  I didn't want your motorcycle looking like my Vespa which was last washed in 2010.

At the local firehall I wondered in the Tiger XC would be a good trial bike and if I could manage to ride over an old car.  I wondered this stuff.  There was never a time in my life I would have attempted such a thing.

But it is nice to daydream.

And that's what tomorrow will bring along with the snow.  If all goes well I should be able to take this motorcycle out on Sunday for a more informative ride.  I'm certain the Triumph will be a delight to tour through the sticks on.

How to Get Your Head Around Cold Weather Riding

How often do you stop along the road to look.  To see.   I ride a lot but I look a lot too.  The fog hanging over the hills, the color of the leaves in the early morning light, the puddles of water that glow at my feet. It's quiet and I'm the only one stirring.

There's too much to see (and photograph) and experience for me to stop riding when it gets cold.  While many, if not most, riders hand up their jacket when the thermometer dips below 60F, or worse, because the calendar page turns to September and a programmed response occurs to drain fuel and get out the Battery Tender.  With a little work a rider can question all the missives about motorcycles and cold weather and perhaps find new magic a cold day.

Let's get the most important point out of the way first -- with cold weather riding comes more risk.  Risk of falling due to loss of traction for all kinds of reasons, risk of bad decision making due to being cold, and generally a risk related to applying all those warm weather skills and habits to an environment that is genuinely different.

All of these things can be managed IF you accept them.  And take steps to deal with them. 

This past Sunday morning was the first cold day of the riding season for me when I rolled out of bed and saw the temperature was 31F.  As much as I ride in cold weather you would think this is all automatic, that I would have a pilot checklist in my head, or better yet on paper.  But I don't. 

I'm not an organized man.  Yet.

While Junior is munching his Purina Pro Plan I'm thinking about riding gear, whether I need the electric gloves for the short ride I plan, time for the ski mask yet.  In general I'm trying to remember what 31F feels like.

By the time I'm on the road the temperature indicator on the Vespa says 33F.  I don't know how accurate it is but I do know from experience that the temperature changes drastically in the area as cold air flows in rivers from the mountains down through the valleys.  You can feel it change as the air flows through your helmet or seeps inside your riding gear to touch unprotected skin.  On mornings like this you have to accept the possibility of ice and adjust your attitude and riding style accordingly.

If you have only one riding style, or if you don't understand why the possibility of ice requires an adjustment, or if you are adherent to the "I ride the way I want and let the world stay out of my way" style of riding, well perhaps you shouldn't rush right out in cold weather.  Not until you have some time to re-evaluate things a bit.

There is a lot of water flowing around this part of Pennsylvania and in many instances it flows across the road creating hazards for cars and nightmares for motorcycle and scooter riders.  The Commonwealth does a good job with signs for a lot of known occurrences of water on the road but they can't sign them all.  That leaves each of us with some decisions -- park the bike for the duration, or learn how to manage this stuff.  And assume the heightened risk that you may miss something and you will need to know how to respond to the sudden appearance of ice on the road.

I simple terms it means slowing down, particularly on curves so that you have enough time to stop within you visual range of sight.  Most riders don't know how slow this actually is on little country roads.  I only lean hard when I can see a long way off when the temperature is near or below freezing. 

And you have to remember that even on absolutely dry roads the low temperature affects your tires and the amount of friction available to keep the machine tracking along nicely.  Straight lines aren't much of a problem unless you need to stop fast and you find out your summer stopping distance computer between your ears doesn't apply to these new circumstances. 

And if you are under dressed, teeth chattering, hands numb, and the response time from seeing a hazard, convincing your body to move, and then actually executing a maneuver has diminished, well, that's not a good thing either.

All of these things can be managed.  Takes some thought, some humility, and ultimately desire.  And desire is the fuel that keeps me going. 

I keep riding because I love the experience, the sights, the places that appear on the road.  My Sunday morning trip into town is long enough for me to get lost in the magic of the ride -- present, aware, mindful.  Almost a spiritual place.

Stopping on another gravel road to watch the sun rising over the fields and being happy to be alive and walking on the earth.  It's a simple feeling but one that isn't easily gained.

Every rider is different but I particularly relish the transition from cold to warmth, in this instance a cup of hot cocoa in a warm cafe.  I'm not sure why but when I repeat this simple trip in a car I don't stop, don't see much, and just wolf down the cocoa.  If I even stop to have it. 

There's no magic in a car ride.

As my hands start to warm and I'm sitting at the table staring at a bagel it seems special.  Special enough to make a photograph and important enough to share here.
 

There are a lot of cold days where the road is dry save for those places where it isn't.  It's worth it for me to learn how to deal with the cold and keep riding.  On some days it takes work for me to get my head around it all but when I do I am pleased with the results.

It's won't be too much longer until I put the winter tires on the Vespa.

Ducati Riding

That's me, a dumbstruck tourist with a Ducati.  The Ducati Diavel to be exact.  Fresh off a Vespa pushing 22 horsepower to a power cruiser with an additional 140 horsepower.  That's 162 horsepower for those of you who ride K bikes.

This was how an evening ride with the owner of Kissell Motorsports began a few months ago.

Actually this ride began many months before that when Craig Kissell announced the new Ducati and suggested he and I should take a ride together and take notes.  Sounded like a plan to me.

We left the shop with Craig on the Multistrada and me on the Diavel. The last time I was on a Ducati was a ride on the Hypermotard. Another experience in the meaning of contrast between a Vespa and something with power far beyond my imagination.  I'd read about the Diavel and forged a healthy respect in my head.  It seemed to be an engine on wheels, and one of those wheels, the rear one, was eight inches wide.

I chose to start with the Diavel figuring I would face my fears and inadequacies right away, and also take advantage of the freeway leg of our ride -- smooth pavement with gently sweeping curves.  The easiest landscape to ride.  At some point it occurred to me that Craig might be checking up on me after having woken up in the middle of the night wondering what possessed him to just start giving me motorcycles to ride.  He needed to see first hand that a Vespa rider could handle something that required more than twisting a throttle.  If he did have concerns he never voiced them.

If someone had asked me to describe the Ducati experience at that moment I would have said, "Powerful, finicky, mechanical."  When you are riding a Ducati you know you are on a machine.  That's how I felt after the Hypermotard.  And all the Ducati riders I knew would get a faraway look in their eyes when they talked about their motorcycles and the sounds they made.

I expected more of the same with the Diavel.

I was wrong.

Craig Kissell is pretty laid back.  At least he seems that way when you seem him at the shop or out in public.  He seems that way when he rolls an expensive motorcycle out of the showroom, hands me the keys and says to have fun.  I've watched him talk with customers in the same easy manner that we talk.  He lets you decide what you like and what you don't.  I didn't think I would like the Diavel.  He didn't care, just said to write whatever I wanted.  I suppose he knows everyone has favorite motorcycles and others they don't care for.

We had less than two hours to ride.  Not enough time to ride, sit down and share opinions and have me take any kind of notes that would be a rigorous comparison of the two Ducati motorcycles.  So I'll just share my general response to both.  If you want to know what Craig thinks stop by and see him.

The Diavel was one of the smoothest motorcycles I have ever ridden.  Shockingly so.  And the engine sound and smoothness was definitely un-Ducati like in my estimation, misguided as it is.  And the bike was powerful, fast, comfortable and easy to ride.  After 25 miles I was smiling and pleasantly surprised by the performance.  No bad words from me about this bike though definitely not something that fits into my riding life.

Now it was my turn on the Multistrada, a Ducati that I had my eye on for a long time, one that I felt would definitely fit into my riding life.  A mile down the road and I'm telling myself, "This is a Ducati".  Touchy power, the mechanical clatter I associate with a Ducati engine, and a harsher suspension than I expected.  Riding a Vespa GTS spoils you when I comes to road comfort.

We got back to Kissell Motorsports at closing time in a rush, a rush that those two motorcycles embraced easily.  Before I pass judgment on the Multistrada I need to ride it a bit longer.  And take a few more pictures.

Until then, all I can say for sure, is that riding a Ducati is fun.