[Ducati] Kevin's Summer Trip

[Kevin Kachadourian]

Has ended. I'm now home safe, preparing to deal with the disasters that occurred during my absence (completely NDC).
Doing your own wrenching makes sense, and it was I who found and fixed the root problem (with the help of listers, and advise from Scott back at Desmoto). Once the residual oil was cleaned off, no more leaks have appeared. There were other factors that resulted in the return home decision. The weather on the route home was looking a lot better than that headed towards the northeast, I was looking at days of straight-line grind coming back through the south in the muggy July heat (1 day in ID and NV gave me a small reminder of how grueling it can be), and other things in my life are now less likely to spin out of control with me home.
In addition to the bike having problems, my notebook computer shut down, and greatly reduced my internet access (which is why there have been no blog postings for a few days).
So, here are a few observations (which may get to the blog at some point):
Start to finish, we covered 3,569 miles in 10 days (1 of which was just going the 7 miles from Seattle to Bellevue). The first and last days were the longest and hardest. Yesterday, I rode in or through 3 states and put 694 miles on the bike in 13 hours (about 10.5 hours saddle time)
Even leaking oil, the bike was stunning. With new M3 tires, it rolled into curves quick and easy. With the FCRs, it had pretty much all the power I ever needed (a little too much for toodleing around parking lots). I was very restrained for almost the entire trip, not wanting to have even the smallest accident or get a ticket (I succeded in both goals). Once in Montana, on some small 2 lane country road, and once in southern Idaho, on I-84, I pushed the bike to see what it would do. Got it to about 105 (speedo read 120) in Montana, and 120 (speedo read 135+) in Idaho. Power was still there, though definintely tapering off. I'm sure the weight of my gear, plus the air drag, held me back. Also, I get pretty nervous going those speeds on public roads (how much is a ticket for going twice the posted speed limit?). As hard as it is, the Corbin solo seat was so much more comfortable than the stock. The only problem there was the bang my nuts took when I hit a bump (and the Bay Area, right back home, takes the prize for those bumps). The cramp-buster was the thing for saving my right hand. Later today, I will look to see what oil consumption was on that last day through the desert (Nevada,...lots of desert). Day before was about .4 quarts in 400 miles (as opposed to about 1 quart every 3-400 miles). Fuel consumption ranged from a minimum of 46 to a maximum of 58, with most tanks going at 54 mpg. Haven't measured, but the tires look in great shape with a lot of tread left (maybe only one fourth or one third used).
Okay, enough of that. There will be more to come, but now I've got to try and fix the computer, sort out the home front disaster, and start prepping for Laguna Seca.
Later,
Kevin
'96 900 SS SP (now only burning oil)
'85 650 Alazzurra (don't even burn oil)