Saturday was my friend Jerry's birthday, and a few of us (most importantly his wife) had conspired to chip in and surprise him with a Ducabike clear clutch cover for his treasured 899 Panigale, that he lovingly refers to as 'Domino'.  Though this modification adds absolutely no performance, it's requires a two-piece clutch case off of an 1199.
 We were hoping to make it a surprise, so we rode up early to Rockwell Cycles, and had coffee and a bite at the cafe downstairs.
 We dawdled and delayed over breakfast, and by the time we were done, Gary (Rockwell's Ducati tech above) was almost finished with the installation, including a pretty fantastic header pipe wrap they generously threw in on the house.
We eventually wandered back up to the shop, and only then did Jerry inquire, incredulous, "where is my bike...?"
  Jerry was ecstatic when he found out, and was nearly in tears when he found out, and that his wife supported the idea, despite some recent drama with our Ducati clubs and members.
 Jared and I however, stuck around stuck around and realized that it would be quite a haul to get back to the city that night.
 So, we crashed in Woodstock in Richie Haven's house that Jerry's wife had rented for his birthday weekend.
 © 2015 Tigh Loughhead

Woke up Saturday ready to ride. and spent most of the morning mulling around Ducati Soho.
 Tricked out perfect purple Panigale with everything powder-coated from TheChopShopNY

 Friday night, a couple buddies were planning on a ride, though I mentioned I wanted to go down to Revzilla and try on some new boots, especially as I wanted to be down in PA to see my family that night.  Instead, I ended up planning a route for the NYC boys, up to Port Jervis and then down through the Delaware Water Gap, where we would finally split off in Easton, PA.
Unfortunately, it looked like rain, and we ended up meandering around Ducati Soho all day. I've heard a lot of mixed things about Ducati Soho (and had some 'interesting' experiences with their service dept), but the staff was extremely hospitable, especially Abraham, who helped me try on a bunch of different Dainese gear.
Even though I was out of the house at 6:30, I ended up hitting the road after noon, and got solidly rained on for about an hour.  A little wet, but no worse for wear, I made it back down to the farm and managed to get all three of my bikes running.
I replaced the battery in my ST3, which happily started right up for the first time since I had the valves adjusted in November, but my Monster's battery was dead as well.
 Sunday, I rode out with both of my brother-in-laws (they both have GT1000's), and we took an amazing little ride around Oley, PA.
 Both of their retro Ducati's were gleaming, and my dusty ST3 paled in comparison.
 We ended up at Union Jack's, drinking some fantastic Stone Enjoy By 07.04.15 IPA.
© 2015 Tigh Loughhead

 I'm a little late posting this, but the weekend before last I went out with a few friends up to Connecticut.  New York City was having the annual "Five Borough Bike Tour," so I decided it was a good idea to get out of the city early.
 I met my friends Gerry and a couple of Johns on the West Side at the Sunoco station on 47th and 11th Ave.
 After getting gassed up and ready to go we were ready to meet up with another Ducatisti in the Bronx, and passing the Henry Hudson bridge, we passed two different Panigale 899s.
 One of them was a fellow DOCNYC buddy, who joined us for a ride up route 22 into Connecticut. 
All together, we were riding (from right to left above), a red 899 Panigale, a white 899 Panigale, a classic late 90's 900SS, an 848 EVO, my 996, a tricked out Monster 1200s, and a BMW S1000RR (not pictured).
  The day was beautiful, our bikes were fast and we aimed for a little town called Ridgefield, where we stumbled on a BBQ / County Fair, with live music, a Ferris Wheel and a bunch of food.
 I wanted to ride the mechanical bull, but even a tough biker like myself couldn't bully my way to the front of the line past 10 nine year-old girls waiting their turn.
 We had some barbeque and rested a bit, then rode a bit more...finally back to the city.
 Ultimately, we ended up hanging out on the rooftop, smoking cigars and watching the beautiful expanse of the city illuminated by the late spring sun.
I'm a little late on © 2015 Tigh Loughhead

Brand New 2015 Ducati Scramblers: Red or Yellow?

Lot's of Ducatis emerged this Saturday, for service or pleasure, and I spent the better part of the day up at Rockwell Cycle hanging around the shop with the Gotham City Ducati crew, as various NYC riders meandered in throughout the day.
  On display were brand new Ducati Scramblers in red and yellow, and a recently-arrived, recently-sold 2015 Ducati 1299 Panigale S.
 The new 1299S didn't sound too loud, until you opened up the throttle...
 This 1098 was half-covered in carbon fiber,
 while Gerry's white 899 ("Domino") was covered in black decals,
 and Hamza's Troy Bayliss replica edition 998S was covered in past glory.