[KRG]

I was out riding last night just to burn off some of the bad karma from the week so far and ended up amongst some traffic on a fairly busy pedestrian oriented shopping avenue.

As I was sitting at a red light, I noticed a small boy (maybe 4 or 5) walking with his mother and sister. He had his hands over his ears and was clearly looking around for the source of the sound coming from my Termi. His mom was chuckling and and she pointed him in my direction.

He dropped his hands and the look on his face was priceless. He was completely MESMERIZED by the bike, the leathers, the helmet, everything. You could just see the amazement and wonder on his face. I waved at him and he waved back slowly still taking in the bike. I laughed to myself and thought, "Yep, he's hooked" and then I thought that in maybe 20 years or so I wonder if he will still remember the sound of the bike he first saw and maybe, just maybe the word "Ducati" will stick in his memory.

I know I was hooked the first time I saw Foggy roll around the track. The bike just sounded sooo evil but in a good way. I knew I had to have one. I was obviously older but the impression was no less memorable.

So when was the first time you "got the bug" so to speak.

Cheers!

 

[TakRail]

I can't say that I was hooked the with Ducatis but I've always wanted one because you don't see that many compaired to the Jap bikes.

Also I have to get one someday because my wife named our 3 son Dustin Ducati .

 

[superduc21]

this one time at band camp.............

 

[Desmo_Demon]

After several years of owning my Harley and scraping hardparts in the mountains, I decided to get a sportbike. I don't recall when or how I first heard of Ducati, but I knew that I wanted one for my first sportbike. I researched for a little while and during Bike Week of 2000 in Daytona, I asked every Ducati owner I could find what he thought of his bike. Two weeks later, I bought a new '99 SS750 leftover (now dead). I don't know if you can call it a "passion", but I really do like them....despite their quirks, pricetags, parts ordering delays, expensive and often services, and everything else about them.

 

[ducati955]

7th grade baby, and now i'm 27.... hells yeah

 

[DukeDesmo]

1978 - I was 16, we were visiting one of my Dad's friends house and he had an old bike in the garden covered by a plastic sheet. I was checking it out, when he came over and uncovered it - a 1968 Ducati 250 Scrambler with the Orange/Chrome/Black paintjob I thought it looked 'cool'. Later in the day he asked me if I wanted a go on it, he took me for a ride on the back and the noise was excellent, he didn't really use it anymore and could see how much I liked it and knew that I was looking for a bike so he gave it to me (Nice one Franco!)

I had some cleaning & minor repairs to do to it due to it having lived outside but I rode that bike for 3 years until it 'died' with main bearing failure. The (6V, 25w Headlight) electrics were crap but it would always start first kick and was louder than my 50mm Termi'd 916 is, it had a short, 'empty' muffler and would often shoot flames on the overun, it wasn't fast but was great fun - I wish I'd kept it to restore.

I've had a soft spot for Ducati's since that day but didn't own another until 1998.

Here's a pic of it, there's a bigger pic in my Gallery;

 

[BimotaDB4]

It was the summer 0f '76 and I was flogging a very rough X-6 Suzuki around BIR (formerly Donnybrook Raceway in Northern Minnesota) during practice, when I was engulfed in this booming roar and passed by a silver blur on the OUTSIDE of bumpy turn Two. He left me literally in his dust, mouth agape. When I later pulled into the pits, there it was, this absolutely beautiful tower drive SS, with open high pipes, making the most beautiful noise I'd ever heard. I vowed then and there that I would have one of those Ducatis....here it is 30 years later and I wasn't disappointed.

 

[B_Cebrian]

I think for me it started with the sound. About 14 years ago I was riding the Sunrise Highway in Southern California on my shiny new ZX-6D and thought I was hauling pretty good when this sound came to my ears. A strange roaring shortly followed by a fast yellow blur passing me like I’d dropped an anchor. (I actually looked down to see if I’d stopped). When I finally caught up with the thing, He’d stopped for a break at one of the overlooks or I’d have never seen him again, it was, what I believe was, a '92 900SS Superlight. From then on I have had an unhealthily love for Ducatis.

 

[geospencer]

I got hooked when I saw my first Monster.

 

[billyb]

In 1999 when I finally passed my MSR class, and was looking at bikes at a shop a few miles from where I lived. I walked in, looked around, saw a 996 and that was it. Ended up with a monster, and have never looked back.

 

[kozik]

I decided to get back into a sportbike a few years ago. I went around to all the different dealers and test rode maybe 25 different bikes over the course of a few weeks. Then. one day I went to tthe Ducati place and the second I got on the bike I knew that was it. It by far was the best looking and best fit.

 

[Leonard]

I grew up riding rice burners. Then I saw the movie Fled. When I heard the sound of those 916's I was hooked. Had to wait a few years though and now have a 01 748. This has got to be the best bike I have ever owned and the looks I get when riding around town or on the highway make it all worth it.

 

[pazzoduc]

Dreams

1977 Saw a 900ss black with gold trim and gold wheels on the dealer floor in Midland TX. As I drooled, a blue and sivler one pulled up and the rider came inside. I was 13. Woody for duck. :abduct: How else can you say it? Bought and sold scores of bikes over the next 23 years. But it took till '99 to get it right. Sure I've ridden other ducs, MV's Laverda's and the like. But my ST4 is a keeper. Best handling of them all. And 12k in modifications so far... It's a sickness. Pazzo (Crazy).

 

[JDuc]

I was sitting at a stop light two days ago. Going to meet my husband to go to the Blue Goose for bike night. I'm in my leather jacket, gloves, and helmet for gear.

I have my lower fairings off as the motor gets extremely hot in stop and go traffic durring the summer.

Two lanes to my left, there was this white work van. Dad was driving, daughter was in the passanger seat. She could barely see over the window ledge. She had both hands on the ledge and was peering over to see what was making all of that noise. She kept stairing at me, and stairing and stairing. Her dad was looking and talking to her. Probably telling her, it's a motorcycle, yada yada yada. I waved, very gently so as to not startle her. Her eyes got HUGE. She lifeted her hand slowly and waved so slowly I almost couldn't tell she was waiving. Then she suddenly quit waiving and looked back at her dad. He started to laugh. It was like she didn't want him to see her waiving at me...it was pretty damn cute.

Another time, we were in arkansas waiting at a stop light. This little boy and his grandmother were comng out of a little kids barber shop place. As soon as they walked out of the door, he locked up and just staired at us on our bikes. Grandmother knelt down next to him and waived at us. We waived back and the little boy started going nuts. Jumping up and down, yelling, screaming, going in circles, pointing, running all over the place. HUGE smile on his face.

i don't remember ever being like this myself, but it wouldn't surprise me if I was.

I've always liked motors in general. I had a passion for Ferrari, and started to get into bikes at the age of 14. I knew I would one day own a bike, and then one day I would own a Duc. I knew my mom would put me on lockdown if I bought a bike while still under her. Then I met my husband. He bought me my first bike (Suzuki GS500), and she couldn't say a damn thing about it. He had a Monster 750. My next bike was a Sport 750, and it's gone from there.

I'll never NOT have a bike. It's bitten me like a rabbid dog. I'm obsessed, no other way around it.



Luckally I have a husband who supports me and my habbit.

hehehe

 

[sfarson]

Was at a BMW dealer in Arkansas, with spare time on a business trip. Someone had just traded in an ST2. Bike had booming D&D pipes. Inside the dealership they started it up. Double booming. Threw me the keys and pointed me down a road heading out of town. Didn't buy the bike, but door to the heart was opened...

 

[trid741]

I first fell in love with Ducatis as a teen in Rome in the 70s. Bought and illegally rode a 450 Desmo Scrambler (yellow one)...the rest is history, 25 or so Ducks later.
Rgds
Richard

 

[akducati]

I started falling in love with the Duc Superbikes about 7yrs ago when I realized a 36" inseam legs could fit comfortably on them. My brother who now owns my ol 748 was way into them before me. He chose the path of parenting so no bike for him till I was able to help him out.

I didn't like Monsters till I helped move Tara's (Motocorsa Arun's ex) into her livingroom for the winter! The mods she has done to her's made it a very attractive bike to me. Shortly thereafter I had myself an S4R! Yeah baby!

 

[Guest]

kobe comerical lol i was in like 7th grade?

then i saw a monster when watching "mean girls" lol with my now EX gf haha...thats when i was like I NEED A DUCATI...got a cbr cus the gf influenced me...then got a duc =)

 

[bruce19]

I was up at Lake George many, many years ago for the East Coast Aspencade (now known as Americade). As I was rolling through town I glanced to my left and saw a guy in a motel parking lot polishing his new Mike Hailwood Replica. Took my breath away. It never occurred to me to look into buying a Ducati. I think I was concerned about reliability and I know I was starting a family, so money was tight. Then in March 1997 I was in Cheshire, CT doing an investigation when I drove by a Honda/Ducati dealership. In the window was a '97 SS/SP in YELLOW. I went home and listed my '82 BMW R100 RS for sale. I'd had that bike for 16 yrs. but there was no denying the lust. Been a Duc guy ever since.

bruce19

 

[Bodhi]

I always knew about Ducatis. But I liked Triumphs and even some of the japanese bikes. But when I was moving up from a cruiser to "something sportier" and I started test riding bikes like the Tiger, Sprint, 1200GS, V-Strom, HD Sportster, etc. I just wasn't wowed yet. I do remember the first time walking into the Ducati dealership and seeing those bikes lined up: 749's, 999's, Monster's, 1000 Supersport's, Multistradas - but oh those gorgeous 999's.. Yeah I got the ST3 because I wanted something I could commute to work with and tour on as well as have some fun on the backroads. But I could think of worse things in life than to have a garage full of Italian bikes.