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November / December 2009 #41 DESMOPHILES

www.ducatiart.com

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DESMOPHILES

The Newsletter of DOCNZ

Ducati Owners Club of

NEW ZEALAND

November / December 2009 Issue 41

COMMITTEE PRESIDENT Chris Marer 027-447-4299 SECRETARY Lynda Blair 027-454-5373 TREASURER Nick Brandon 021-974-487 EDITOR / PUBLISHER Chrissie Whitfield 021-769-826 WEBMASTER / EMAIL COORDINATOR Greg Monahan 021-851-916 SOUTH ISLAND EVENT COORDINATOR Stu Jordan 021-062-5239

NORTH ISLAND EVENT COORDINATOR Bill Myers 021-890-006

REGIONAL CONTACTS Auckland Chris (Haldane M/C’s) 09-303-0624 Wayne Lyons 027-4728-343 Waikato Heath (Hamilton M/C) 07-849-1919 Garry Robinson 07-855-9370 Manawatu Trevor Smart 027 727 1883 Hawkes Bay Nigel Taylor & Claire Miller 021 273 9450 Wellington Todd (Motomart) 0800DUCATI Chris Marer 027-447-4299 Motueka Richmond Grant 03-528-0086 Nelson Greg Monahan 021-851-916 Marlborough Graham McDonald 03-578-2490 Christchurch Craig (Casbolts M/C) 03-366-4401 Phil (Desmocycle) 03-344-1916 Dunedin/Deep South Gary Winter 03-476-7515 021-206-9866

the above members and also the

All Magazine contributions and Membership Enquiries to:

DOCNZ P.O.Box 27203 Marion Square

Wellington 6141 NEW ZEALAND

Email: secretary@docnz.co.nz

www.docnz.co.nz

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Well, What happened to this year? One minute it was all here and the next minute it is almost over!! I had a list of things to do and plenty of time to do them in (or so I thought) and now I am scram-bling around a wee bit. I am sure that it takes me twice as long to do half as much these days! I have treated myself (as I do every year), to an early Christmas present. Whilst not totally bike related, I did pursue the purchase early to en-able delivery before the Tri Series is upon us. Yes most of you that know will have already guessed that I have bought a new camera! Get-ting in plenty of practice is now my aim before the Cemetery Circuit in Wanganui. Hopefully by the time you are reading this, all your Christmas shopping will be completed, and you will be basking in the afterglow of knowing (hoping?!) that your dollars are well spent and enough Ducati / bike accessory catalogues have been left lying around in conspicuous places early enough to guarantee a very happy holiday. I have been out and about a wee bit of late on my two wheels, and struck by how many glori-ous looking Ducatis there are out there! Last night a white 848 chortled past me—teasing me with a flash of underbelly as it came around the roundabout and off up the road leaving me in the wake of its roaring exhausts and very happy that I wasn’t wearing earplugs. Fantastic! Like Chris, I also had a chance to be a part of the BIKEOI here in Wellington. What an unbe-lievable turnout! Although I wasn’t part of the ride (I was up on the steps of Parliament, camera in hand) I was blown away by the mass of people in front of me, only to be told that bikes were still arriving at the stadium. Wow! For this edition we have Part Two of Andrew Gilligan's write-up on his lovely 851, and we also have a test ride report from Jamie Littin on both

the Streetfighter and the 1198S along with some photo’s to get the taste buds working! Thanks guys. Last—but definitely not least, Eymard Bradley is the next member to provide us with an insight into a fellow DOCNZ member and has kindly provided his ‘member profile’ for your reading pleasure. Well that is all for me for this year—I have to say that I really enjoyed my stint as your DOCNZ magazine editor, and really appreciate the effort that a lot of you have put into your articles, com-ments and emails—but like all good things they have to come to end. Unfortunately , life has become rather hectic of late and one or two changes means that I am unable to give the magazine the attention it de-serves, and will therefore hand on the ‘DOCNZ Editor’ hat at the AGM next year. If anyone is interested in becoming the Editor, email me with any questions at editor@DOCNZ.co.nz. Merry Christmas everyone:) Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable time. Cheers, Chrissie

EDITOR’SSAY

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6 Colour Page here

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Hi everyone. Here we are at the beginning of summer and I hear in the weather forecast a few days ago that there’s snow to 600m in the bottom of the South Island…what’s happened to our weather? We headed up to Clive recently to have a nosey at the venue for the NDR - it’s a great venue, all the sites are very close to one an-other - literally across the road from one an-other. Don’t forget that if you’re planning on attending what we expect will be a great event, you will need to get your registration to us. I’ve enclosed a form with this issue. Don’t forget we’ve got our AGM happening at the NDR. This is your time to come along and tell us what you would like from your Club. On that note, I’d like to announce that I won’t be seeking re-election at the AGM. It’s been a really difficult decision for me, as I really love working for the Club. However, after much thought and deliberation, after being your secretary for six years I’ve decided the time has come when I need to hand over the reins. So, what do I do? The main component of the role is managing the membership, and keeping a database of members, plus dealing with general corre-spondence and enquiries from website. If you’re interested in taking over the role, and you’d like to have a (no obligation, honestly) chat, please feel free to contact me. Hamish and I have done a few rides on the odd fine weekend, one of which was to Clive (see above). It started out a great ride, but by the time we were heading back home (we went up and back the same day) the wind had got up and around Dannevirke was blow-

ing us around quite a bit. We decided to head home through the Manawatu Gorge and Levin instead of through the Wairarapa, which proved a wise move. Christmas is fast approaching along with the summer racing series. For the first time in many years, we’ve both got two weeks off work over Christmas. So apart from the bike racing, we’re hoping to head off on the bikes wherever the fancy (and the good weather!) takes us. If anyone’s going to the racing at Manfeild on Dec 19th; Wanganui on Boxing Day; Taupo on 27th/28th December or Nelson on 2nd Jan, keep a lookout for me - we’ll be at all of the above meetings. Every now and then we get bit of a reminder to stop taking ourselves too seriously and to enjoy the simple things in life. Theo’s story in this issue is a very touching, personal ac-count of what he’s been going through this year. Thank you for sharing your story Theo, and we’re all looking forward to hearing about how much you love your new bike once you’re back riding (after all, you will love it, it’s a Monster!).

SECRETARY’SREPORT

8 SECRETARY’SREPORT

Despite the fact that I still can’t believe we’re so close to Christmas, I have been frantically putting yellow stickies over the ads in the bike magazines, as a hint for Santa. You never know when he’s going to idly pick up a mag and take the bait…!! Take care everyone, and have a happy, re-laxing, and safe festive season. Lynda

ED: Really sorry to hear this Lynda—all the work and energy that you have put into every-thing even remotely associated with DOCNZ has been really appreciated by all of us.

9 Treasurers Report

In the interest of achieving a high level of transparency in respect of financial matters, this report incorporates a summary of the last two months income and expenses – just thought you may want to know how our cash flow is going.

We have already received a number of entries for the NDR from some of the keenest club mem-bers and a few early membership renewals as well. The Secretary has included a membership form in this issue of Desmophiles to encourage you to renew your membership and keep the finances in good shape. The Club will need to spend some of the funds in the account in advance of the NDR to cover fixed costs, with entry fees progressively offsetting those expenses. The latest budget for NDR2010 predicts a loss of approximately $2,500, which your committee considers to be an acceptable outcome. The Club does need to retain a “float” in the bank account to allow it to fund upfront expenses for major events. Early in the New Year I will prepare the Club’s accounts for circulation at the AGM. I will endeav-our to separate out the one-off extraordinary income and costs asso-ciated with the Turismo and NDR, although this is difficult when the income is received in a different accounting period to the bulk of the expenses. Anyway if you attend the AGM (held in association with the NDR) next March you will have the dubious pleasure of considering my rudimentary accountancy skills at that time. Keep the rubber side down.

Balance of account as at 1 Oct 2009 $ 9,358.01

Less expenses for October Nil

Add income for October $ 890.00

Closing Balance 30 Oct 2009 $ 10,248.01

Opening Balance as at 1 Nov 2009 $ 10,248.01

Less expenses for November ($ 50.00)

Add income for November $ 639.99

Closing Balance 30 Nov 2009 $ 10,838.00

10 PRESIDENT’SPRATTLE

Well what a fantastic spring!!!.....not (unless you are a duck of course) Being the owner of a Roofing business its weather like this that people appreciate our product, but it sure as hell plays havoc on your patience when you are trying to program work. However we did have one brilliantly sunny day on the 17th of October, yes the BIG BIKOI !! WOW what a turn out, I’m not sure how many club members managed to take part in this, I was lucky enough to be able to exercise my democratic right to protest against the proposed ACC increases. I left home in Waikanae (on the Kapiti Coast 60k’s north of Wellington) straight out on to SH1 in the midst of a group of 200-300 bikes on their way to the rendezvous point at the Police college, I peeled off at Plimmerton to join up with my group. We rode on down SH1 to join in the middle of the already departing mass, never in my 35 years of riding have I ever ridden with such a large number of bikes, it was one hell of a buzz! The public support was phenomenal, all the overpasses were packed, people stopped on the grass verges on both sides of the motor-way waving, colleges who’s fences backed on to the motorway seemed to have the entire school out cheering & waving, Fantastic!! We have all seen the media coverage of this event but they didn’t show the speech deliv-ered by Professor Charley Lamb from Lincoln University. We had our Wellington Club that evening & were lucky enough to have Charlie as a guest to give us more of his wisdom. He has been studying this ACC thing & lots of similar systems in many other countries around the world for years. He presents a

very valid argument against the proposed levy hikes. I don’t want to harp on & on about this subject, but I feel very strongly about it, so if you get the opportunity to voice your opinion don’t miss it!! ‘Cos if it becomes law we will all suffer, not just motorcyclists!!

On a lighter note I have been busy beavering away in the shed fitting some more parts to my bike that I picked up from NCR when I was in Italy in September. I think I will have to stop buying soon. I have almost ticked all the boxes in the accessory catalogue that I could-n’t afford to tick when I first got the bike & besides I don’t want it owing me more than my mortgage!! To be honest I just want to get out & ride it, Wanganui is coming up & a possible trip to the South Island in late January then of course there is NDR in March, I hope you have all booked. See you there!!

Ciao Chris

11 DUCATI.com News (SBK) www.ducati.com

rently third in the championship and I’ll continue to give my all in the final three rounds. At Imola I’m going to go on fighting my own battle, and then we’ll see how Nori and I are placed… I’ll perhaps change my strategy for the last two races, if need be, in order to assist Nori. Next year I won’t let anyone get ahead as quickly as Nori did this season and I’ll be doing all I can to be near the top of the standings right from the start of the championship.” Filippo Preziosi – General Director Ducati Corse “Nori and Michel are both racing, and bringing home extremely satisfying results, in what is a very close-fought championship and so Ducati is proud to be able to confirm them both for the 2010 season. The experience they have accumulated this year will surely contribute to even stronger per-formances in the future. My compliments to the entire team, for the professionalism and pas-sion with which everyone works each weekend at the tracks.”

CONTRACT RENEWAL FOR THE TWO DUCATI XEROX RIDERS HAGA AND FABRIZIO Bologna (Italy), Monday 21st September: just a few days prior to the Imola Superbike round, taking place from 25th to 27th Septem-ber, Ducati confirms that both the Ducati Xerox riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabri-zio will stay with the team for the 2010 racing season. In the last week Ducati’s management have reached an agreement with both Noriyuki and Michel, meaning that the two talented riders, currently second and third in the World Su-perbike standings, will remain on board for the coming year. This important renewal will allow for a continuation of the great work that results from such close collaboration between the technical staff and the riders. For the 34-year old Japanese rider this will be his second consecutive season with the Ducati Xerox squad and is the third for 25-year old Italian Michel who debuted with the team, alongside Troy Bayliss, in 2007. Noriyuki Haga “I am very happy that this great team contin-ues to believe in me! I thank Ducati, the team and everyone that was involved in making the decision. I have a great relationship with my team and with Michel, and so I am more than happy to stay here in 2010. We don’t yet know how this year will end, but what is certain is that I will continue to do my best, as I do every weekend. Knowing that I have a job for next year will surely spur me on; I will give 200% in Imola this weekend, and then if that’s not enough I’ll redouble my efforts at Magny and Portimao!” Michel Fabrizio “I’m very happy, I received confirmation of the renewal the day before my birthday and this news was a great end to the week. I’m cur-

12 Ducati Test Rides

Streetfighter and 1198S I've had the good fortune in the last few weeks to sample Ducati's latest releases of the Testastretta Evoluzione engine (thanks to Heath at Hamilton Motorcycle Centre) - the Streetfighter (1099cc engine from the 1098) and 1198S (1198cc with race ECU, air filter, and carbon-fibre Termmmmmignoni mufflers). Both bikes look and sound great (especially the 1198) and are completely different ani-mals to ride. Here's a quick summary of both based on my experiences, and compared to my 1098 (stock exhaust and ECU, K&N air filter). Starting with the 1198S, which is the most similar to my 1098, visually at least: the differ-ences are very few actually. The ride is a little plusher thanks to the gold Öhlins hardware, but every else feels oh-so-familiar. Which is good obviously, because I love the way my bike handles. If anything the 1198 is a little less nimble, and requires a little more effort to steer, but these and every other difference would be easily fettled to the rider's prefer-ence. That just leaves the motor, and this is where the real difference is. The 1198cc L-twin (with race ECU and ex-haust) kicks! Throttle response is instant, and after pulling your arms out of their sockets from a standstill, well, it just keeps on pulling. There is that same rush you get at higher speeds from the big Zooks and Kwakas, but you also have that rush getting to the higher speed. There was no waiting for it to arrive, it was always there!! There's roughly 10% more motor compared to the 1098 (plus racy bits), and it does feel 10% stronger. That doesn't sound like much I guess, but 110% of a lot is an awful lot. And it's awfully easy to fall for. If you've already got a 1098 (or 1098S) I don't think you'll feel the need to upgrade, because after all the 1098 is still a lot of bike. You might be better off spending 20% of the difference you'd pay to upgrade on a new ECU and exhaust, which might get

you that instant throttle response which would bring them pretty close. If you're on an older Ducati Superbike - even a 999 - you might want to try an 1198. Everything you like about your current bike is in there, they've just added an excess of power, style, handling, and fun. The Streetfighter is a different animal as I said. While the motor is largely the same as the 1198 (and more-or-less identical to the 1098) it's character is different enough in its Streetfighter guise to make it feel like some-thing else. The Streetfighter's engine, with it's stock exhaust and electronics, doesn't rev as freely, but it's got some torque! And that's what you want on a bike like this. Because you'll go hunting for corners on it, and grunt it out of all of them. The straights aren't so much fun, like most naked bikes you're up in the breeze. But you won't care about that because you'll be focused on the corner that you can see at the end of the straight! I think "Streetfighter" is something of a misno-mer for this bike. It loves the open road, the twisty, windy, open road. It works around town, perhaps better than a Monster (though I haven't tried the latest generation of that model), but it really is one of the best bikes I've ridden in the tighter, twister stuff. Brakes, suspension, etc. are the same as the super-bikes, so you really can push it along. Brake hard, haul on the wide bars, gas hard. Cor-ners are as easy as that. It's not as nimble as the 1098 - the longer swingarm and rakier forks see to that - but the wide bars make it easy to put exactly where you want it in the corner. And it has the usual Ducati stability when you're cranked over. I'm kinda’ glad I'm not looking to buy a new bike right now, because it really would be hard to choose between these two. Both are a heap of fun, but offer very different ap-proaches to open road riding. I think I'd probably lean towards the 1198, because while the Streetfighter is probably a better option 90% of the time (especially in town,

13 Here is your opportunity to make your magazine work for you. Comments, sugges-tions, feedback and questions all welcome.

By Jamie Littin

and on the twistier, bumpier New Zealand roads), that other 10% - where the 1198 really shines - is the stuff I enjoy the most. If you're lucky enough to find yourself making just such a deci-sion this summer I think you'll find you're more than happy with your choice, whichever one it is.

Jamie.

DISCLAIMER Unless expressly stated, the opinions and comments in this newsletter are those of the contributors only, and are not

club policy. Nor does the club guarantee any advertisers products or servicing suggestions made. Although all material is checked for accuracy, no liability is assumed by the editor or DOCNZ.

Our Advertisers and Sponsors Support Us Support them and Support your Club

Whenever you see the services of one of our advertisers (and isn't that all the time?) let them know that you saw the ad in DESMOPHILES. That way they will know that their advertising dollar is being spent wisely. It will help your club, the service provider and above all it will help you (there may be a

14 Ramblings of an 851 (Part 2)

Superbike, that's what she is, not a Super Sport, not a Sports Tourer and certainly not a model built for the masses, it's a bike de-signed with one goal, to win races. To comply with the WSBK race homologation rule 2.9, There had to be a minimum of 1000 units produced. For no other reason than this do these bikes exist! When Cagiva owned Ducati they didn't have massive budgets and in the early days, they only ever made a hand full of Superbikes. The launch list price for an early 851 was over $US20,000! Each model is rare and back in those days, they simple didn't have money to throw around, it was revival / survival mode for Ducati and it wasn't until many years later, that the massive budgets appeared.

The Honda RC30 won WSBK in 1988 and 19 89, whereupon Ducati set too and destroyed Honda's domination on this event for eight long years—and the 851 is where it all started. At the same time, the other half, Cagiva, attempted to do the same in 500cc GP racing. The 851 and 888 models started to motivated the global masses with a common goal of desiring a Ducati WSBK winner. -1990 851 Raymond Roche -1991 888 Doug Polen -1992 888 Doug Polen From there it was onto the 916 and 3 years of winning, closely followed by the 996 and an-other 2 years of winning. Early Superbikes 851-888 1985 Original 851 16” tri-colore model 1989 revised 851—radical changes were made and the S model was born 1991 888 - Same frame, wheel base, same engine but the CC capacity was increased and the 888 was born. My 851 Superbike She's an old girl with an important place in Ducati's history and nearly twenty years of

15 By Andrew Gilligan

ownership and owner abuse has taken it's toll on her. When I first laid eyes on her, I was pleased, certainly pleased to see she wasn't in too bad a shape, sure there are little things that's wrong, but I expected these! After all it's not easy to keep anything looking new over twenty years. I didn't expect new, just looked after or at least some signs that the previous owners had cared for her as she aged. I enjoy bike maintenance, always have and find it very therapeutic, spending hours if not days doing anything on my Ducati. If not cleaning, then just pulling something to bits to clean / grease / service and then put it all back together again. All those years of gardening, growing toma-toes and the like, were no substitute for the pure pleasure that working with bikes gives me. Bike ownership and the lack thereof, have proved to me I had something missing in my life and I have the 851, I now know what is was. I have no problem delving into any part of looking after a bike and will tackle most things, so she's in good hands! When I first looked her over before my first ride I made a little ‘tTo Do’ list: • Wheels / bearings /tyres, ok but dirty

rims, bearings ok, tyres good • Chain / sprockets, stuffed chain - sprock-

ets avg • Rear sprocket cush drive buggered

front / rear discs, within tolerance and very little run out

• Front / rear pads, front ok, rear buggered • Brake / clutch / lines & fluid, has not been

bled in ages (black)

• Engine oil / filter, Engine oil black • Coolant level / condition, Buggered -

water only!! • Cam belts and tensioners, Ok • Spark plugs, Ok • Radiator condition, Ok • Bolts / fasteners, tension checked Ok. Before I even took it for a test ride I changed the oil / filter, flushed the coolant system and put in some anti-freeze / ali coolant, bled the brakes, oiled the chain and finally a quick general check over! One of the true pleasure in owning a Super-bike is taking it for a test ride. If it's not in the pure pleasure of riding a Superbike it's got to be the sounds that emanate from the stain-tunes, in stereo. On or off the throttle it makes no difference - there's no mistaking it for a Ducati, hell I'm in love all over again! Specifications of the Race version. ENGINE Type 4-stroke, 90-degree L-twin-cylinder

Bore and Stroke 92x64 mm

Total displacement 851 cc

Compression ratio 11,6:1

Timing system Double camshaft, 4 valves,

desmodromic system

Lubrication Force-fed with gear pump

Cooling system Water

Injection Weber electronic fuel injection

Transmission Six speed

Primary drive By gear

Final drive By chain

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Ramblings of an 851 (Part 2) Continued

Clutch Clutch multi-plate, dry

CHASSIS Frame Tubular trestle frame

Front suspension Hydraulic fork

Rear suspension Single shock ab-

sorber, progressive-type

Front brake Twin-disc Ø 320 mm

Rear brake Single-disc Ø 240 mm

Front tyre 120/70 VR17

Rear tyre 180/60 VR17

DIMENSIONS Seat height 760 mm

Dry weight 148 Kg

PERFORMANCE Maximum power 128 HP at 11,500 rpm

Top speed Over 280 Km/h

17 Annual General Meeting

Annual General Meeting—2010

Our AGM is being held in conjunction with the NDR, on the 6th of March.

The roles of Secretary, North Island Ride Coordinator and DOCNZ Newsletter Editor are up for

grabs as Lynda, Bill and Chrissie (respectively) will be standing down from their roles. The rest

of your current Committee members are all happy to stay in their respective roles for another

year.

This doesn't mean that you can't be nominated, or nominate someone else, for any of the roles -

so have a think about whether you might be interested in taking on a role, or have someone in

mind to nominate for a position.

If you are interested, or would like to nominate someone for a particular role, any of our Commit-

tee members would be happy to talk with you about what's involved with their roles.

Note that if you wish to nominate someone, they must be agreeable to being nominated for that

role.

18 Bits and Pieces

DUCATI SPECIALIST Dave McDonald

NZ agent for ‘Vee-Two’ performance parts Bel-Ray and Penrite Motorcycle Oils Over 20 years Ducati experience and

expertise! Bevel Drive and

Belt Drive Two Valves a specialty 28-30 Joseph St

Palmerston North 027-682-7083

Volunteer/s required!! Due to other commitments, Lynda is unable to organise the 2011 South Island Turismo. While it seems a long way off, accommodation in the South Island in March is at a premium and already some venues are booked out for March 2011. So we are looking for one (or more) volunteers to organise and help run what has become a great event. The organiser/s need to be able to join the Turismo. Stu Jordan (resident in Christchurch) is still happy to be involved with sussing out venues, route suggestions etc. Lynda is happy to dis-cuss what is involved with anyone who might be interested in knowing more about the job, on a "no-obligation" basis. Membership Renewals Membership renewals are due at the end of January, which as we all know will be here as quick as a flash. We've enclosed a membership form with this issue if you'd like to renew your sub early.

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20 SUPERBIKE Calendar 2010 (Provisional Dates)

February 28 Phillip Island Australia

March 28 Portimao

Portugal

April 11 Valencia Spain

April 25 Assen Netherlands

May 09 Monza Italy

May 16 Kayalami South Africa

May 31 Salt Lake City USA

June 27 Misano Republic of San Mar-ino

July 11 Brno Czech Republic

August 1 Donnington Park Europe

September 5 Nurburgring Germany

September 26 Imola Italy

October 3 MagnyCours France

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22 BIKEOI (ACC Protest)

23 23

Wellington

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25 MOTOGP Calendar 2010 (Dates Provisional Only)

11Apr Losail Circuit Qatar Grand Prix Of Qatar

25Apr Motegi Japan Grand Prix of Japan

02May Jerez Spain Gran Premio De Es-pana

23May Le Mans France Grand Prix De France

06June Mugello Italy Grand Primo D’Italia

20June Silverstone Great Britian British Grand Prix

26Jun Assen Netherlands TT Assen

04Jul Catalunya Catalunya

18Jul Sachsenring Germany Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

25Jul Laguna Seca United States

15Aug Automotodrom Brno Czech Re-public

Grand Prix Ceske Re-publiky

05Sept Misano San Marino GP Di San Marino E Della Riveria Di Rimini

19Sept Balatonring Hungary

10Oct Sepang

Malaysia Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix

17Oct Phillip Island Australia Australian Grand Prix

25Oct Estoril Portugal

07Nov Comunitat Valencia Valencia Gran Premio De La Comunitat Valencia

26 A Birthday Ride Report

I push the starter and the Bike roars into life and settles to a steady idle as I gear up, origi-nally I’d planned on a early start and a lei-surely ride up with several stops on the way but decide to let the day warm up a bit first so I’m not pulling out the driveway until 9 which still leaves more than enough time to meet “The Boat”. A quick stop at the Caltex and the tank is filled to the brim, I’ve always thought I could make Picton on one tank from home and to-day I’m going to find out! I avoid SH1 wherever I can so I head out through Ashley, Sefton, and Balcairn I’m only a few minutes into it when I realise my race gloves aren’t going to be up to the job. I’d spent 10-15 minutes looking for my winter gloves before I left with no luck so cold fin-gers and all I push on. Rather than turn off into Amberley I carry on down Reserve Road onto Douglas and then into Mt Brown Road, turning onto Georges Road which pops me out onto SH1 at Waiapra opposite the Mudhouse and thus avoids a reasonable section of SH1 and the traffic associated with it. I’m maintaining a steady 110kmh until the Omihi School when I turn it up a notch for my favourite S bend over the railway line. Back in the late eighties with my brother on the back, I had him closing his eyes as we ap-proached this corner as he was sure he was going to die. Into Cheviot and I stop for a few minutes at Dad’s place and borrow his winter gloves and carry on as I try to convince him to join the Mods and Rockers run the next day, but with the clutch in his BSA apart and waiting for parts ,t’s a ‘no go’. As I’m leaving Cheviot I notice the local copper parked at his house, which means I can travel a bit faster than I first thought would be prudent. Coming down off the Hawkswood cutting and

I hit another favourite bit of road with the run around the Conway river and up into the Hun-dalees. The Welly guys go on about how great the Rimutaka Rd is but the reality is the Hundalees leave it for dead!

I push past a couple of drivers getting in the way and have a pretty much traffic free run through to the Oaro side where I have to stop for roadwork’s near Glenstrae farm. I haven’t been out on the bike for months and I’ve done very few km on it since I got it last September and it shows with my lines and braking. Not that I’m pushing hard or any-thing, but I’m struggling a bit to get a good rhythm going. Onto the coast at Oaro where someone de-cided an 80kmh limit would be a good thing and remembering past days and a line of BMW’s going through here at a pace which would see you in court today and walking for a considerable period of time. The obligatory blip on the throttle as I pass through the tun-nels and the Conti music fills the air Peteka and back into the 100kmh zone through to Kaikoura for a quick stop for a snack and a drink. I’m looking at the Kaikoura ranges covered in snow and think-ing while it looks very picturesque it also looks very cold! 160 odd km down and about the same to go so it’s back on the road again Past the Hapuku tree huts (where I once con-sidered staying but one night there was worth 2-3 night accommodation anywhere else), and around to Mangamaunu where one has to watch for Surfies casually wandering across the road. Their tunnel vision looking for that next wave seems to leave them deaf to the point one was hit by a train a few years back while he walked across the tracks. I’ve done pretty good at keeping the speed down more in fear of the Police presence that I’ve so often seen along this stretch of road than for any other reason. Once north of

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Kekerengu and another short section of road I like, I give the bike a bit of a trashing into al-most licence loosing speeds until the Church at Wharanui which was once the Southern Terminus for rail out of Picton and Blenheim and where I back it down again. I take it easy the rest of the way through to Seddon where one of the biggest improve-ments in the last few years on SH1 has taken place with the two lane bridge spanning the Awatere River being finished a couple of years back. Into the Hills outside Blenheim where Bucket Racers past have been know to hold there own races up and down the winding road and the first leg of the journey is nearing comple-tion, not long after I’m riding down the hill into Picton and pull into the Challenge station to fill up Showing 325km on the odo and taking 21 litres to fill, meaning I should be able to do 370 to empty at the 15.4 litres per km I’m getting A txt from Jim tells me they have sighted Pic-ton so I wander down to just outside the check in area and wait and before to long I hear the note of Paul’s Trophy, within a min-ute of two we're back on the way home and I’m on point, in deference to Paul’s age or was it that of his bike? The speed is kept to the legal limit which means I spend 95% of the time in 4th gear apart from a short squirt on the northern side of Kekerengu Because apparently not all bikes can do over 300km to a tank of gas we stop off at the Kaikoura BP for Jim and Paul to fill up and then go in search of coffee Paul leads the way out of Kaikoura and al-though there’s a few ignorant car driving peasants getting in the way around the coast it’s a relatively traffic free run back through the Hundalees listening to Paul give the tro-phy some throttle and the throaty bark of the

triumph twin Coming off the Hawkswood cutting and there’s Mikkel on the Kwaka come to meet us, a kindly motorist gives us the flash of the lights to warn us of the copper ahead so once we’re past him I dial it up from Parnassus to Cheviot a very brief wait in Cheviot and a quick chat and we’re on our way again While Paul and Mikkel carry on myself and Jim turn off at the Mudhouse at Waipara to take the back road home and the first section is at a much increased speed I ride the last part with my visor up as it’s got all dark on us and I’ve only my tinted visor but some 646 km later I’m pulling in the driveway at home.

Saturdays another fine day although slightly cool and it’s early afternoon before we’re ready to head out again, Mikkel turns up and we take the same roads back out that I trav-elled twice the day before, but turn off at the Waiapra Junction to head through the Weka pass, fortunately a slow car holds me up so I don’t get any attention from the forces of the law who already have a victim in a Subaru driver pulled up on the side of the road I find the run from Waikari to Rotheram fairly tedious but once past Rotheram there’s some nice fast flowing corners and before you know it we’re hit Waiau where we stop off for a drink and a snack Now the Leader road isn’t on my favourites list which is probably a result of being a rider of one of three bikes that were all written off in the same accident back in 1989 after we were cleaned up by a van so I’m taking it fairly easy through here Despite the warning signs of grit there isn’t much to be seen and we stick to a fairly se-date pace past Mt Parnassus where I had my first school leavers job taking on the noxious

By Warwick Demmocks

28 A Birthday Ride Report

weed Nasella tussock with a grubbers Back at SH1 and Mikkel and Jim swap bikes, I’m leading the way and when I can’t seen any lights behind me slow right down, it takes a bit but once they appear we motor on through to Cheviot Jim leads the way out on Mikkel’s bike while I tag along at the back, as we approach Greta Mikkel takes point and turns down the Scargill - Waikari rd which is about 25 km of nice flow-ing road also with the grit signs out but the best bit about taking it that you get to ride through the Weka twice It’s not far from home and it’s the same back way I’ve taken so many times before and a quick shower and change for the night ahead I would highly recommend Tutto Bene on

Papanui rd for anyone looking for a good feed, the portions are generous and not to highly priced and even though they are an Italian restaurant they also do a good steak We’ve got around 20 people attending and our table gets the slow service because we have to many meat eaters and the chef can’t keep up but a great night is had by all and I’m stoked that the likes of Paul, Jim and Chrissie have made the trip down and owe the lovely Joni an awful lot for organising it and making it happen.

29 By Warwick Demmocks

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But, to prove them wrong I am walking again, and riding my push bike again, and as soon as I can get my “clutch hand” working I’ll be aboard that new Monster 1100s, with the gold Ohlins up front. The 1098 just wouldn’t have worked, but crikey riding the new Monster is hardly going to be a penance! At least once a day I slink down to the garage and have another gaze at it, and even resist the urge to start it up. This gives new mean-ing to the word patience I can tell you. Someone said the other day summer is com-ing, but I reckon the rugby world cup might get here first. Looking at the new toy while it is still cold and wet outside makes it a little easier to bear for a while… I guess after be-ing in Burwood and looking at some of the people there who were victims of motorbike crashes I have to be honest and say I will be adjusting my riding style a bit in the future. From now on arriving last at the first stop won’t matter too much to me any more. I’d even go so far as to say a compulsory part of rider training could be a brief trip through the Spinal Unit to confront the realities of liv-ing with a crash, or being just plain unlucky. Believe me, it isn’t fun, and it is as bad as we imagine it to be. But to balance that I’ll still have the capacity to enjoy everything that people like us love about being on 2 wheels, and I can’t wait for more. Like I said the Monster isn’t a 1098 but hell it’s not too bloody bad! Bring it on, and safe riding! Cheers,

Theo Feldbrugge

ED: An inspiring tale Theo, thank you for sharing it with us! Best of luck in getting that clutch hand sorted.

My New Monster 1100s

My New Monster 1100s… My new Monster 1100s is sitting in the garage waiting for a rider! Jeez, I must have the oldest new bike around. Tis a great looking machine and I can’t wait to jump aboard, and to be sure I’ll be doing that pretty soon. I love the look of it, the sound of it is even better, and I might even get used to riding a naked bike again. I bought it in August and it still has only 6kms on the clock! Still the greenest red bike in town…! The most it has moved since deliv-ery was today to take some photos of it for the newsletter. I guess this all sounds pretty weird but there’s a story behind it as there always is… Just over 2 years ago I bought the best bike I’ve ever owned, a 1098; this one was going to be a keeper. Just looking at it got me ex-cited, and I did lots of great trips on it the best one being up to Golden Bay and back via the West Coast and Central Otago last summer. These bikes really do seem to do everything just right; it’s hard to imagine a bike being much better. Anyway as happens in life, these bubbles get burst from time to time… Another 2 wheeled passion of mine is cycle racing… You think motorists are ignorant towards bikers you should try riding a push bike round, but that’s another story. As luck would have it earlier this year I had a crash on my push bike and amongst other things I broke my neck, so riding a motorbike wasn’t high on my list of priorities for a while. I first had to negotiate the system in hospital, spending a few months in the trauma unit in Public and the Burwood Spinal unit and of course, the inevitable wheelchair. I was told I had no chance of riding any sort of bike again, and maybe a 30% chance of walking again.

31 By Theo Feldbrugge

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33

DOCNZCLUB NIGHTS

Auckland Headquarters Restaurant and Bar, 132 Beaumont St, Westhaven 1st Wednesday of each month from 7.30pm Hamilton Hamilton Motorcycle Centre, Te Rapa Road, Hamilton 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm Wellington The Featherston Bar and Grill, Corner Featherston & Johnston Streets, Wellington 3rd Tuesday of each month from 6.00pm (although Lynda is usually there from about 5.15pm) Nelson Mapua Village Inn, Nelson 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm Christchurch Dux de Lux on Montreal Street. Start time 7.30pm—1st Tuesday of each month from 7.00pm

NOTE: New location for Christchurch

34 For Sale - Ducati Caps and T Shirts

For Sale We have a good supply of black Club t-shirts and caps - t-shirts are $35.00 and caps are $25.00 - both plus postage.

Anyone interested please contact Lynda - secretary@docnz.co.nz

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36 DOCNZ Member Profile — Eymard Bradley

Question Response

Your favourite Ducati model? S4R

Have you owned one? Presently owned

Your favourite virtue? Loyalty

Your favourite qualities in people Humility

Your main fault Single-mindedness

Your favourite occupation Traffic law

Your idea of happiness Doing things you enjoy

Your idea of misery Being around miserable people

Your favourite colour and flower Pacific blue / peonies

Your favourite music Beethoven but currently Pearl Jam

Your favourite bird Native falcon (Karearea) ‘ The Ducati of the sky!

Your favourite heroes in fiction None, only authors

Your favourite heroines in fiction None

Your favourite sport (not motorcy-cling!):

Rugby League

Your favourite hobby: Drinking red wine with others

Your favourite heroes in real life: None, only flawed ones

Your favourite heroes in real life: Nancy Wake: The NZ born Aussie who was a WWII SS killer—the one NZ won’t give a bravery award to.

Your favourite moment of the day: Relaxing after work

Our profile for this edition is from Eymard Bradley. Thanks for jumping into the spirit of things Eymard, and letting us get to know you a little better :) Let us get to know you our fellow DOCNZ member! Keep an eye out for a copy of this question-naire in your email inbox. Alternatively don’t be shy, copy down the questions and flick the an-swers through to me at editor@docnz.co.nz and help us to get to know YOU!

37 DOCNZ Member Profile —(cont.)

.

Your favourite place in the world: Above Central Otago

Your favourite food and drink: Paella and other Spanish seafood dishes / Roija

Your favourite names: Anything traditional

What you hate the most: Gunna-do types

For what fault have you most toleration: Minor human weaknesses, e.g. in traffic accidents

What is your favourite holiday destina-tion

Currently Persia (Iran)

Your favourite motto The unexamined life is not worth living

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NDR2010 - this will be THE Ducati event of 2010

Plans are well underway for NDR2010. NF Imports have come to the party once again and have produced a striking poster to promote the event. These will be appearing in your local Ducati dealers from 1st October 2009, registration forms will also be available from your dealer. For those of you who are more e-minded then the registration form can be downloaded from our website at www.docnz.co.nz. We would also appreciate help from members with putting posters out there in all corners of the country. Contact either Lynda or us (claire4dukes@yahoo.co.nz) if you have a friendly dealer (or other shop/establishment) in your local town who is happy to help promote our event. The more we put it out there the more successful the event will be. We have contacted all the dealers and they have shown a willingness to pick up sponsorship for the concourse by covering the cost of the trophies and donating prizes for each of the categories we have nominated. All the main dealers have offered to pick up a couple of categories each and AB’s in Nelson have picked up one. Motomart have also agreed to come in as principle dealer and help with demo bikes and a merchandise stall. Chris Marer is currently in Italy at the Ducati Clubs Presidents meeting where he has arranged a private audience with Marco to see if Ducati can come on board directly with some support. We understand they offer quite a lot of stuff to the European clubs in the way of banners, flags, etc. The NDR2010 committee / club has agreed to purchase an All Blacks Jersey as a gift to Marco, the Ducati liaison officer for the club presidents, knowing he is a fanatical rugby fan; but this in no way represents a bribe. So what’s on; we start the event on Friday evening with registration followed by a get together in the River Bar for a chat and a catch up. Saturday morning sees those eager to see some of the best roads in Hawke’s Bay head off for a 200km ride. In the afternoon there will be a Riverside Concourse where you can show off your pride and joy. Andrew Forward has kindly agreed to bring along his 1198 Bayliss featured in Septembers Bike Rider Magazine. We also hope to have at least one of the new Streetfighters that have just been landed. At approximately 4.30pm we intend to hold the DOCNZ AGM, so if you have any issues with the way the club is run then get your remits in before the meeting. There will be the usual (re)election of officers and we will be looking for someone to pick up the opportunity to organise the following NDR for 2012 in the South Island, St Arnaud always appeals but if there are alternative suggestions (Kaikoura, Hamner Springs etc) then put up a proposal. The evening meal and prize giving will be held at the Waterline Restaurant where we will have the services of long time Ducati stalwart Dallas Rankine as our guest speaker. No doubt there will be many tales told and handles lifted. Can’t wait so cheers for now.

Nigel Taylor/Claire Miller NDR2010 Coordinators FOOTNOTE: IMOC are holding a rally the week end after our NDR, based at the Pukeora Win-ery near Waipukurau. This would make a good double for those who want to do a tour of the North Island east coast (thinking of South Islanders here...) and bookend it with a couple of great rallies at each end.

Check out the IMOC website for further details: www.bike-italian.co.nz/ or email bike-

italian@xtra.co.nz

be NDR2010—Clive New Zealand

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(colour page

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I ........................................................… ...…….................................................… [first name] [surname] of ......................................................… ...........................................................… [postal address] [suburb / city] ..................................… ..................... ...........… …......................................... [postcode] [Home telephone] [Cell phone] ......................................................... (I am happy to receive Ducati related emails Y / N )

[email]

hereby apply for

Full m/ship [$50.00] Family* m/ship (family members or partners living under same roof) [$60.00] Associate m/ship (non Ducati Owner – no voting rights) [$50.00]

of the Ducati Owners Club New Zealand. In the event of my admission as a member, I agree to abide by the constitution and by-laws of DOCNZ.

I enclose payment of $....................................... by cheque made out to DOCNZ. I wish to pay by direct credit. (Our account details are: DOCNZ National Bank-Palmerston North 060746-0276337-00 Please ensure your name is included in the information. Please note that you must still send in your membership form, noting you have paid directly.)

Signature: .......................................................... Date: ............................................. Please note that memberships expire at the end of January. Applications and renewals received between November and January are registered as a membership for the following year. Particulars of motorcycle/s: ________________________________________________________________

[model and capacity] [year] [VIN / Chassis or Rego #] ________________________________________________________________

[model and capacity] [year] [VIN / Chassis or Rego #] ________________________________________________________________

assoc. [make, model & capacity] [year] [VIN / Chassis or Rego #]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICE USE ONLY Cheque No ____________________ Rcvd: ___/___/___ Amt: $__________ Clearly state name on back of cheque DOCNZ Interim Membership: Received the sum of...……......... from……………….....................................being for membership renewal / application. (to January 31st 2011) Signed .................................................... on behalf of DOCNZ Committee Ducati Owners Club New Zealand. P.O.Box 27203 Marion Square, Wellington 6141, NZ Email: secretary@docnz.co.nz

DOCNZMEMBERSHIP FORM

42

Front cover—Ducati.com (www.ducaatiart.com)

Page 13—Jamie Littin

Pages 14 and 16 —Andrew Gilligan

Page 22, 23—Chrissie @ WF Photography

Pages 28 and 29 — Warwick Demmocks

Page 31 — Theo Feldbrugge

Page 37—Eymard Bradley

IF YOU'RE IN THE BUSINESS OF DUCATI MOTORCYCLES YOU MAY WISH TO REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE THROUGH THIS SPECIAL INTEREST CLUB MAGAZINE

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Payment is due at the time of placement of advert. Club Classifieds Free classified advertising for club members is available on the DOCNZ website. Registered users can surf to www.docnz.co.nz, click the Forums link, and use the Buy/Sell/Swap forum. If you have any queries or need help please email webmaster@docnz.co.nz.

Magazine Contributions should be sent to: The Editor DESMOPHILES

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Deadlines are the 1st February, April, June, August, October and December for issues due out

towards the end of the month.

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