Posts Tagged ‘ducati’

Play along with me, because I guarantee this is going someplace. I find solace and a certain amount of nostalgic tingling whenever I get the chance to take in a swap meet or salvage yard. I like to think in my head that I am the Indiana Jones of motorcycling on that particular day and no person on earth can stop me from acquiring the Crystal Skully, or at least the Yamaha DT tank that I really want for my latest project. If chopping up perfectly good stuff is wrong, then i don’t want to be right.

How many different bikes other than the original donor were cannibalized to make your current machine?

(a) None – 0 points
(b) 1 or 2 bikes – 10 points
(c) Between 3 and 5 – 20 points
(d) More than 5 bikes – 50 points

OFFICIALY THE UNOFFICIAL LOGO OF THE CRUD

Lets begin this by summarizing the ‘Crud. It’s a bike gathering that is the official, unofficial ‘cafe gathering started quite some years ago by a small unofficial group of riders known as “The Slimey Crud”, of which world renowned author and journalist Peter Egan is a founding member. It’s basically evolved into a gathering of exotic Italian machines, others are from the land of the rising sun, and made purely from unobtanium (thanks for the word Craig) and worth a life to most riders. It’s an incredible experience to be smack dab in the middle of. I can’t imagine anything more interesting than meeting up at one location on the first Sunday in May and again in October, checking out some bikes, forging a trail to location number two and seeing what is there as some don’t go to one, but will end up at the other, some don’t find the second location, hell, some just don’t know!

From the official Slimy Crud website -
“There are no big ad campaigns, no corporate sponsors, no official website, no local or regional newspaper or TV promotions, not even the usual obligatory one-size-promotes-all beer banners with the name of the event emblazoned on a huge blank white spot.”
“The Crud Run meanders across the scenic Wisconsin River valley from Pine Bluff in Dane county to Leland in Sauk County. The distance between the villages is less than 30 miles in a straight line, but the road mileage can vary from about 70 to, well, who knows? No specific route is prescribed, so the best way to go depends entirely on your imagination.”

Two Wheeled Stimulus (not that kind you perverts)

The price of oil is thru the roof because a suit in his air conditioned office blames any and all blips on the natural disaster radar for a need to raise prices and compensate. Grocery bills are climbing and climbing because it takes longer to truck food around irradiated areas rather than drive thru them,  and the new Air Jordan’s cost more than a Chilean miner makes in 12 months.  This whole global economy thing makes my head spin, and unfortunately motorcyclists land right smack dab in the middle of it all.  While the big three motor companies in Detroit are receiving US federal money to get them out of trouble the Japanese based “big 4” motorcycle manufacturers don’t get the same concessions.  Multiple teams pulled their efforts from superbike racing due to funding issues, Suzuki has reduced sales of sport bikes to the US, and most manufacturers saw downturns of 30-40% since this global shitstorm began.

It’s a safe bet that many other motorcyclists you encounter are “brand loyal” to their current mount.  Kawasaki guys bleed green, Honda guys proudly display their wings, Yamaha guys don’t think blue is a sad color at all, and even Moto Guzzi guys are proud of………..I don’t really know what they have to be proud of, but they are.  But call it elitism, or boasting if you want, but nobody is a more fevered and adamant fan of their brand then the Ducatisti.  They are after all riding what equates to the Ferrari of the two wheeled world and have a long and storied racing lineage to recant.

Every so often in the street fighter community someone brings a new and interesting flavor to the scene and surprises everyone with some stunning build photo’s and a mindful tip of the hat in the direction of the fightering masses. Enter desmoBibu from Romania. A cheerful bloke with a desire for the Ducati’s. When he isn’t turning a wrench, he is thinking about it.

I contacted Bibu and got the inside perspective on his beautiful GTV cafe and the ideals behind his current crop of SuperSport goodness. At the very least I can say I am impressed with the level of dedication motorcycle builders have, the world over, we all speak the same language when it relates to chassis codes and torque specs.