Wooo Hoo

[RVFR]

Look what's following me, whew talk about a nice bike. Wow good thing he was behind me , other wise I wouldn't have been able to watch the road. haha



Just a quick little ride in the local area here, were waiting for another member of the group to get back.



Thought it was a good time for a photo or two. It was a hoot of a run to say the least.

[R.W.]

You would be missing your VFR after about 2 hours on that Duc

[KC-10 FE]

You would be missing your VFR after about 2 hours on that Duc

It's actually a MV Augusta... & it sure is pretty... Italian motorcycles are so sexy it hurts...

KC-10 FE out...

[Rev]

When did this happen? Today? Man, I hate having to work weekends.

[R.W.]

It's actually a MV Augusta... & it sure is pretty... Italian motorcycles are so sexy it hurts...

KC-10 FE out...

I've never even seen a MV Augusta, only read about them, thanks for pointing that out, now I got to do some research on it.

[RVFR]

Yea, good eye there KC funny thing is he gave me a chance to ride it too, I turned him down as I wanted first to let him know how I ride ,ya know the gentleman in me, but oh baby I was drolling. he did saylater next time and I agreed, on another note, see that yellow Duc in the back ground



That I did ride. Woo hoo again.

Rev WTH man, get a hold of me okay. good to see a local guy, so close too like way close it's wierd. huh?

[Rev]

Not so weird, you know me. Stop by Home Depot tool rental and say Hi.

[RVFR]

Oh to funny, Hi, yep seems i'm in there 2-3 times a week. I'll keep an eye out for you. Wow another PNW vfr owner to cool

[Spike]

You would be missing your VFR after about 2 hours on that Duc

OOOOWWWWWW
that isn't a duc, it is a MV

Oh the horror!

[Spike]

I have ridden a MV Senna edition, couple hundred of them in the world, that remains the prettiest bike I have ever seen and/or ridden. Owner is selling it, gave me first right 'cause he knows what it means to me, but out of my budget. Even with a nice discount. Dealer offered him more than he paid for it!

As for comfort, he finds it his least comfortable of his rides. While I find it his second most comfortable, after his BMW R1100S, but ahead of his ducks. We are all shaped differently. The longest time I ever rode it was a few hours, maybe 3-4. Besides the ache from my muscles being so tense to ride it, I didn't have any problems. That and other bikers swinging around to see it. This was HWY 1 in Marin county CA. Stopped for gas and had like a dozen lookie loo's. When he first got it, I met him in the city for a bite to eat or soemthing. When he pulled it out of his building it took us like an hour to get going, cars kept stopping to ask about it.

[R.W.]

Oh the horror!

That will teach me to glance at a bike in a picture

[John451]

As for comfort, he finds it his least comfortable of his rides.

Obviously he would require Multiple Bikes, only rider I know with an MV Augusta has had to wait for parts for upto 3 months a few times, then again he has 6 other bikes to entertain himself with in the between times while waiting the lucky bugger...

[Spike]

Obviously he would require Multiple Bikes, only rider I know with an MV Augusta has had to wait for parts for upto 3 months a few times, then again he has 6 other bikes to entertain himself with in the between times while waiting the lucky bugger...

As far as I know, my buddy has never had any problems with the MV so he hasn't had to wait for parts. Now on his (now his wife's) Ducati MH900E, he had some problems at first. Seems in hard riding the rear tire would contact his lic plate, in rip off his entire lic plate bracket. The second time it happened to him, they figured out what happened. This was when deliveries had first started, there were very few out there. Any way, when the dealer called Ducati NA to find out if there was a fix out, their response was "well, we didn't expect anyone to actually F#$%ing ride the things!"
Also had a problem with the engine seals leaking oil on the MH900E, since replaced, no cost to him.

One of the times we went riding, he was on the MH and I was on the MV. We turned a few heads along the ride

Another time I felt bad for a guy. Right when the MV came out, I think it was the first time I saw it. We went to a fundraiser ride. When we got there, there was a crowd of about 20 guys looking at a bike. Someone had grafted a set of MV pipes to their non-MV bike. With the crowd around it, I couldn't see it, and thought it was another actual MV for a second. So this guy is proud as a peacock about his MV pipes.... and we pull up on an actual MV... Poor guy, he was crestfallen.

[RVFR]

Oh Wow, what a set back for that guy, funny too. Yea I've seen the fitment of the MV exhaust style on other VFRs be hard for a novice to notice the difference from the rear, well sorta. But once you see the whole MV it's a Woo Hoo.. the attention to detail is just Nutz. just the way I like it.

[RVFR]

Now if only it came in a V4.

[Spike]

Oh Wow, what a set back for that guy, funny too. Yea I've seen the fitment of the MV exhaust style on other VFRs be hard for a novice to notice the difference from the rear, well sorta. But once you see the whole MV it's a Woo Hoo.. the attention to detail is just Nutz. just the way I like it.

Oh this was clear once I could see it, but at first with all the people around I couldn't see anything, just got a quick glimpse of the tail of it, and was like "what, two at the same time?" Once people left that bike and went after my buddies, I could see it wasn't. And quickly.

The Senna is just beautiful, really just a piece of rolling artwork, everything just works. Like riding a Rolex, it all just works together....

Ahh, if only I didn't get married, buy a house, have a kid...

[Spike]

Now if only it came in a V4.

Well it is 1,000ccs now instead of 750, but they no longer have the Senna version, just a Tamburini version. Which, while I haven't seen one live, I don't like in photos as much as the Senna. The engine config is actually the reason my buddy is selling it, just doesn't like the inline 4, when all his other bikes are twins -- V and boxer. The lack of low end torque annoys him.

I will say this, at least he does ride all his, doesn't keep them locked away gathering dust and waiting to sell them for a profit. I mean the Senna, what was there like 100 built?? and the MH900E, I think 2 or 300? never mind the SPS version of the 996, in black he has. The MV is going 'cause he doesn't ride it enough and hates to see it sit there unused.

[RVFR]

The MV is going 'cause he doesn't ride it enough and hates to see it sit there unused.

Hmmm??

[Legs]

MV's are muy cool. My father had a 1975 America. But he, like the modern guys, are somewhat dissapointed when a Gixxer, or the current reigning Japanese bike, will spank them like a bad puppy.

My Dad bought a Z-1 after numerous humiliations!

(And you don't have to have a van full of Italian Mechanics follow you in a service van!)

[Spike]

The new ones are much more competative, the new 1000 does pretty well against the liter bikes, but not quite there. But there is more than just speed, otherwise why would any of us own the VFR? We would all just own a GSXR 750. The GXSR would spank the VFR in any outright speed and handling contest. And the MV would spank the VFR in the tight stuff too. No question. Certainly doesn't make either a bad bike. Just suited to a different purpose.

The GSXR loses what, 20% of the value in the first year maybe? After about 4 or 5 years my buddy is getting more than he paid for it. The GSXR is what, maybe half its original value?

They have come a long way since 1975, a long way.

If anyone buys a MV and is embarrassed by a GSXR750, they are an idiot. They obviously have more money than brains, as they obviously didn't know what they were buying. There was also a time when the Toyota MR2 turbo would beat a current Ferrari in 0-60 and 1/4 mile. Never mind when the RX-7 Turbo and Nissan twin turbo 300ZX could beat corvettes and 911s. It isn't just about the numbers, it is about what it does to your soul.

Heck, even a Ducati 748 is often bested by the 600 cc sport bikes from Japan.

In every day driving, for most of us, the MV is easily the match of the GSXR, while showing some creativity, flair and artistry. Instead of just pursuing the fastest speed and looking like pretty much everything out there except for color scheme.

Besides, won't an '07 GSXR spank a '01 GSXR? They improve outright sportbikes nearly every year, at least a little. So if you want the absolute quickest or fastest, you would have to buy a new bike every year, perhaps 2 in some years.

At least this MV, has never had a problem at all.
Most of his Ducks are the same, the exception was the MH with the small problems listed above. And that was very early in the production run.

Now that I think about it, the only time we have had a mechanical failure while riding together, was when my RR went on the '98 VFR. None of his bikes have ever failed us. Outside of other people on different rides having a break down.

[RVFR]

So Spike, where does this friend of yours ride?

[Legs]

My point was not that the MV is a bad bike by any means.I'd love to have one. But if you really believe that anyone can get more than they paid for one, I think that I can get Jarhead to show you some land in southern Louisiana that I'd like to sell you.

My point is, while they are muy cool, they are not very logical, but as a guy who sells Harleys for a living and writes for a motorcycle magazine. The bike that you buy rarely has much to do with logic. My garage is testimony to that concept. The NSU SuperMax single that I'm restoring, while historically significant, isn't very fast, or pretty.

Bessie's in Birmingham has a top of the line 06' 999 Duc on the floor that no one has even made a 50% offer on yet. If the owner get's desperate enough, I may buy it. And a Gixxer will cook my ass at Barber's.

And if I buy the Duc, you can be assured that I will be down for maintenance a lot more often than any Suzuki.

[RVFR]

My point was not that the MV is a bad bike by any means.I'd love to have one. But if you really believe that anyone can get more than they paid for one, I think that I can get Jarhead to show you some land in southern Louisiana that I'd like to sell you.

My point is, while they are muy cool, they are not very logical, but as a guy who sells Harleys for a living and writes for a motorcycle magazine. The bike that you buy rarely has much to do with logic. My garage is testimony to that concept. The NSU SuperMax single that I'm restoring, while historically significant, isn't very fast, or pretty.

Bessie's in Birmingham has a top of the line 06' 999 Duc on the floor that no one has even made a 50% offer on yet. If the owner get's desperate enough, I may buy it. And a Gixxer will cook my ass at Barber's.

And if I buy the Duc, you can be assured that I will be down for maintenance a lot more often than any Suzuki.

So does that mean you'd be selling the sleeper 95 VFR? :)

[Spike]

So Spike, where does this friend of yours ride?

Mostly Marin county CA

[Spike]

My point was not that the MV is a bad bike by any means.I'd love to have one. But if you really believe that anyone can get more than they paid for one, I think that I can get Jarhead to show you some land in southern Louisiana that I'd like to sell you.

My point is, while they are muy cool, they are not very logical, but as a guy who sells Harleys for a living and writes for a motorcycle magazine. The bike that you buy rarely has much to do with logic. My garage is testimony to that concept. The NSU SuperMax single that I'm restoring, while historically significant, isn't very fast, or pretty.

Bessie's in Birmingham has a top of the line 06' 999 Duc on the floor that no one has even made a 50% offer on yet. If the owner get's desperate enough, I may buy it. And a Gixxer will cook my ass at Barber's.

And if I buy the Duc, you can be assured that I will be down for maintenance a lot more often than any Suzuki.

Bought it for 23k, dealer offered him 27K; there is only like $100 in the world. Even Honda's NR750 from the 80's that sold for about the equivalent of about $60k, never officially imported into the US. Last time I saw one for sale they were asking $80k for it; about a year ago. Also shortly after he bought his MH900E, they were selling for higher prices on EBay than he had paid. People were even paying a couple thousand just for people's place in line. Bike not delivered yet.

No interest in LA land, thanks though

And talk about impracticle, Hardleys.

And actually, cleaning out the bathroom last night, I came across a recent edition of Sport rider where they compared the MV 1000, R1 LE, and a duck. The MV actually beat the R1 in 0-60, 1/4 mile time and speed, and 60 - 80mph (?) roll ons. So really not the embarasment European bikes were in the 70's and 80's.

Around here, SF bay area, the duck would have sold quite a while ago frankly. While I rarely ever saw one when living in CT, MA or RI, maybe twice my whole life. It is rare I go a month out here without seeing one. When I lived in Marin, most weeks I saw at least one (not including neighbors and friends). Also saw a few Bimotas. Just a different world. A lot more people, with a lot more disposable income.
Back in 2000 when Aprilia first came back to the US, they had a version of their 1000 cc bike that went for about $32,000 if I remember. I really liked it, but didn't have any experience with Aprilia, that was a big risk, for an unknown player. There was like 40 of them in the US or something low. It sold in about a month and a half or so.

The 999 to the GSXR should do reasonably well, depending on rider and which GSXR. Everything equal, it will get beat, but they are very capable machines. And most people in normal daily riding won't notice the difference in outright power. Never mind Ducati's upcoming, very limited edition 4 cylinder bike, supposed to push 200 HP. What you will notice is the style and the panache of the Duc, as well as its quirks frankly. They don't really do it for me, but to each their own.

The Duc's reliability has improved leaps and bounds above what it was in the 70's and 80's. TPG really put a priority on that. But heck, even mait. like valve checks are more frequent than the the GSXR.

And heck, my brother in law sold his hardley for more than he paid for it too. Special situation, but still, it can happen.

[Legs]

I'll be keeping 95 VFR. The Gear cams, no ABS, no linked brakes make it the best VFR for me.When Brian Slark (Norton spoken here/Barber Museum)
heard a Duc-head calling my VFR a "Very Fine Refrigerator", he said "At least the light comes on everytime that he opens the door".

Out of all the bikes that I own or have owned, only my 97 Superglide hasn't broken down in 30 K miles. I'm not stupid enough to think that anything is the best bike made. But being that they're all paid for, they are the best to me.

My SV650 only has 5k miles, so it had better not break down anytime soon, or I'll kick it's skinny ass!

I will probably buy a Duc again, but I still know that they're pretty damn unreliable. But I know of no one who rides a Duc for it's reliability factor.

I'm through selling my bikes for a while. I just hope to add more!

[Legs]

By the way, I got a press release on a new low price MVAugusta 750, rumored to be coming in around $10K US.Allegedly a Suzuki killer Does anybody have info on this?

[RVFR]

I'm with you on that. I'm keeping my VFR as well, IMO it's the best at doing a lot of things really well can't wait to see how she runs with that new shock.. More on that later. even thou it's a tad short on overall power still a pleasure at the end of the days ride haha, Been looking at Ducs 998/996 I'm not to sure thats a good way to go, yea I love the looks, the sound is awesome still Hmm not sure, I'm waiting for the 1098. Maybe even a sport model VFR is in the near future?? Hey Honda, ya listening probably not..I'll just hang on to what I got.