Looks nice until you look at the rear. I wonder what the builder has been thinking when he built that seat.
What Bike Are You Lusting For Today?
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Nice looking bike but why that seat. Looks cheap and homemade.And now, something completely different:
View attachment 999530
1986 Ducati 750 F1 – Iconic Motorbike Auctions
iconicmotorbikeauctions.com
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Wow. This is interesting.xx percent of the populace liking something doesnt make it good design. Engineering and Aesthetics are the opposite of democracy.
And now, something completely different:
View attachment 999530
1986 Ducati 750 F1 – Iconic Motorbike Auctions
I rode this bike last month at the track after the owner offered to let me try it out. It is one of the most fun bikes I have ever ridden. I can’t imagine what it was like to line up back in the day on this thing and race in all those old road races. I always thought old race bikes might be rickety sort of machines but this is anything but.
Amazing power, really good handling (although with a knee down and elbow close I could feel some front fork chatter that was a teeny bit unsettling), and incredible flickability. I absolutely loved it.
The owner is a top notch guy and has a stable of some very impressive bikes that he rides very well. He’s only selling it as it’s hard to ride it for the full length of a race due to the position (notice the seats been tweaked to help it not be so rough on the hip/knee).
You know, now that I think about it, I might be the last person to ride this bike. That’s interesting to think about.
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Looks like the typical race seat of the era to me.
Yep, just a piece of flat closed cell foam glued to the seat portion of the tail section. That's how a lot (most?) of race bikes of that era were.
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Man that bike gives me some serious wood.. good thing I just bought a dirtbike and a new place else I'd do something stoopid in the eyes of the Wife. You should add er to the stable so I can come druel on it! I just love the elemental quality of the F1 race bikes.
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Well, if you want to know the truth, it almost did become part of the stable. Here’s that story.
The guy who owns it is a super great guy. I am sure a lot of people here know him but I won’t put his name here but let’s just refer to him as “Rob.” We were at a private track day in Georgia about a month ago. I was admiring the bike and Rob said to me, “you know, you have some amazing and beautiful race bikes, I think this would be right at home with them.“ and it turns out he was selling it as it was too uncomfortable for him. He asked if I might want it as one of my race bikes and if so, I could take it out for a session or two.I told him I would love to give it a go to see if it works for me.
He showed me how to start it with the starting system and I warmed it up for a good bit and then I took it out. Now, if I am riding someone else’s bike I am extra careful with it. I am very careful with all of my bikes but I am extra careful when the bike belongs to someone else. So not knowing how the tires work and where the grip level is I was a little bit cautious on the opening lap. However, it became very obvious that it was a serious bike that wanted to go.
Keep in mind that while I am a competent track rider I’m not a particularly fast one. I take turns at high speeds but I’m not big into braking as hard as possible into turns or trying to accelerate as absolutely early as possible. I get my kicks from taking corners at speed.
By the second lap, I was knee down in almost every corner and figuring out where the power band was and how hard to open the throttle coming out of the turns. I distinctly remember thinking to myself that I had my checkbook with me at the track.
By the third lap, I was passing guys on modern 1100cc race bikes. I started thinking who could take the bike for me after I wrote the check.
At one point on my 4th or 5th lap, I was going through a long right hander and my elbow was very close to skimming the curb and I could feel the front fork was a little chattery. I don’t know if I would describe it as being loose or what but I had a thought come through my mind and was like I should back off a little bit. I backed it off a couple of tenths and sat up a bit and started planning what events I would do with the bike.
That’s when I started to feel the soreness in my hips. I have a reconstructed pelvis so I have to be a bit conscious of things like that as a bad position can debilitate me for days. I figured then that maybe I should go through another three laps or so at 7/10 to see how my body felt.
After another lap the pain got worse. As I started the following lap, I started to think that maybe I might want to come in soon. By the time I reached the pit lane entrance at the end of that lap I was in a ton of pain in my hips. I couldn’t get off soon enough. By the time I got to the garage, it took me a minute before I had the ability to climb off.
In short, I just don’t have the flexibility in my hips to make this bike work for me. It’s an amazing bike but while I can ride a 996RS all day long, I can’t ride this for 20 minutes. It’s an amazing bike but I just can’t make it work for my body. And I know that’s Rob’s issue too. And as much as it saddens him to sell it, it also saddens me that I can’t ride it for long. But I don’t want a race bike I can’t use at the track and experience the way God intended.
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Nice report, Sherpa. That bike is a beauty.
A beautiful torture rack by the look of it.
Wouldn't work for me either.
A beautiful torture rack by the look of it.
Wouldn't work for me either.
reminds me of the desert sleds found in the Mojave in the 60's! My Suzuki pale3d in comparison...LOL.
The bike i lust after is a 2021 ST4SHT (HiTech). Just wishin!
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This week, the bike I'm lusting for is this red Italian two-wheeled beauty....
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road.cc
Wilier claims big aero savings for 2021 Filante SLR
Brand new disc brake-only road bike is lightweight, it's built with electronic groupsets, and is destined for the pro peloton. See what Wilier says here
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It's too bad that bike didn't fit you. It really would be a gem of a bike to add to your collection. Or to any collection of those that are appreciative and capable
For the purpose of this thread, I'd go for this version inspired by the real thing you were fortunate enough to sample
This makes me tremble with desire!
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I see bikes like this, and it confirms that I really did make the wrong choices in life!
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That’s a really nice bike but in my experience the better version of that bike is the Parlee RZ7. And you can have it painted any color or design your heart desires. The reality is that it’s the best designed, engineered, and constructed of any of the modern aero road racing bikes.This week, the bike I'm lusting for is this red Italian two-wheeled beauty....
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Wilier claims big aero savings for 2021 Filante SLR
Brand new disc brake-only road bike is lightweight, it's built with electronic groupsets, and is destined for the pro peloton. See what Wilier says here
However, I will admit that in today’s bicycle world “better” is such a minute amount as so many of these top bikes are really great machines. But having ridden pretty much everything (and as ex-pro, I get all kinds of stuff to pedal) Bob Parlee’s bikes are a notch above everything else today. They’re the best combination of technical class and superior ride quality.
PARLEE Cycles | RZ7 LE
Designed by Bob Parlee and individually hand built by a talented team of craftsmen inspired by the PARLEE mission to build the world’s finest carbon fiber bikes
parleecycles.com
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Sorry the bike didnt work for you. was it the compactness of the bike & riding position for your size? A 996 has a pretty agressive riding position, so I imagine the RS version would be same or worse on old bones.
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That’s a good question. I think it’s the hip angle. The foot controls are not adjustable and sit right at a place that put my femurs at a really uncomfortable angle in regard to my pelvis. As I said, I have a partially reconstructed pelvis so it’s something that is an issue for me.
The 748RS/916 corsa/996RS bikes are really comfortable for me. They’re very close to the street bikes with the exception of the foot pegs (if you choose). I have them in a more aggressive position than with the street bikes but not in the most extreme position. While I do get a little sore, it’s not a problem for me to do several track days in a row.
The F1 aside, this is something that I’m trying to work on moving forward. That issue at the track highlighted to me that if I need to fix that stuff or else one day I might not be able to ride the 916 gen bikes either.
Oddly enough, I can’t ride bikes that have a too relaxed position. I have known this for years but I still get surprised from time to time at just how little of a “relaxed” position it takes. Last summer I tried out the old MV Brutale for 30 minutes and I ached for two days.
Thanks mate, really nice to hear that sort of insight, those things are just so damn pretty!
On the flip side, what was it about it that made you think “ Yup, this me!” prior to the ergo issues?
That is the quest for most of us: what feels so right?
Bulk power is very much over rated, and given your love for your 748RS/900SS you are someone who understands this more than most.
Just interested in your thoughts....
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Hmm. That’s an interesting question. I guess that’s part of a bigger philosophy. I don’t really like tracking the new new fast bikes. I like these mid power bikes that are really competent. From 125hp to maybe 160hp at the wheel are my sweet spot, maybe? These are the bikes I can ride the best and enjoy riding the most. I love the trellis frame machines that you can really send fast into the turns and lean way over and they just track gracefully while leaned way over.
What about this particular bike? It’s hard to say exactly what. I have three 748RS’s and a 996RS, plus a 916 Corsa and an 848 race bike built for Daytona. I don’t have anything like this. I always felt that it would be hard to find a nicely sorted one and I don’t want something that’s a moneypit or real pain in the ass to sort. But they’re really beautiful and there has always been an appeal. I’ve thought about an 888 Corsa or 900SS track bike too but this is a different era and has a special appeal.
So when I got on it, I didn’t know what to expect. But it was immediately clear that this was not some rickety piece of junk. It was tight from the start and accelerated so cleanly. And it is so light, you can just rip it. I don’t have anything like that: a lightweight air cooled 2v Ducati that just rips. And the more I would fling it into turns and zing out of them, the more I realized that this is a very unique and thrilling experience. Between the weight, the small feel, and the more than ample power, it is just right.
And even though on paper it doesn’t sound like it has a ton of power, it’s plenty fast enough. I was passing guys coming out of corners fast enough that it was surprising. Not so fast that I felt like I was taking their paint off but certainly not to where I thought the bike could use any more power
I didn’t know what I would use it for as I have a hard enough time figuring out where and when to use my other bikes, but I figured it was a problem worth having. Again, I’ve thought about adding something a little older like an 888 Corsa or 900SS race bike.
I don’t know if I need any more race bikes. I am kind of at the limit of what I can use. That doesn’t mean I won’t buy another one; it’s just that I’m really at the point of diminishing returns.
Anyways, I hope that answers that a little
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Nice. which Duc was thaat built up from? Its not the F1 Verlicci frame, as its missing the small diameter horizontal member in front of the vertical cylinder.
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I wish I knew more about it. I just have that one photo in my downloads and can't remember where it came from or any info about it. Someone around here must know something about it. It's too well done of a build for it to be done by some rando in his shed posting one picture on the net that I happened to find..
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