The Song of the Sausage Creature

There are some things nobody needs in this world, and a bright-red, hunch-back, warp-speed 900cc cafe racer is one of them - but I want one anyway, and on some days I actually believe I need one. That is why they are dangerous.

I got to ride my wife's 98 Ducati 900SS FE today as we went for a wander. County road AA and E were sublime, that bike demands commitment in all things. Because of the front end geometry it demands you pick a line, just one line. It demands to be treated right, the throttle must be opened as soon as you are done with braking and continuously fed more gas as the bike is straightened on corner exit. Other bikes like our Honda Hawks are more forgiving, they don't demand perfection, they let you get away with being sloppy and casual, the Duc much like my RC51 demands all your attention and is intolerant of mistakes. One of the differences between them is about 50 RWHP making the Duc a little easier for me to not get in over my head. It's a good bike to use to get over the nerves that are lingering from crashing last year at BIR (there is also the nerves that come from not having proper leather pants right now). What an excellent day.