"Desmosedici pt2" thread in "Motorbike Chat"
Link to Pt 1 here http://www.therevcounter.com/motorbi...in-pt-1-a.html At 7 I was on the road and at 7.30 I found a car workshop open who lent me ...

Link to Pt 1 here Desmosedici is on the road to Spain Pt 1

At 7 I was on the road and at 7.30 I found a car workshop open who lent me the tools to adjust the chain. With all my strength and a 2ft bar I got the rear wheel nut undone. It was definitely f-tight. Chain adjusted, oil topped up.It had used about 20cl in 500 miles (better than my CBR1000RR) I was on my way. At that time on Saturday morning the N21 was empty and the Desmo felt good on the sweeping turns, but there were still too many villages to slow down for. Past Perigueux and Bergerac, heading for St Jean Pied du Port and the Pyrenees, the sun came out and I could see the mountains ahead. I stopped for lunch in St Jean, a last French meal before the culinary wasteland that is Spain, a good feed of Confit de Canard chips and salad.
Then the pass over the Pyrenees, a bit tight and twisty for the Desmo, the super powerful brakes need caution, and the very stiff suspension doesn’t like the bumps in the frost damaged mountain road surfaces.THIS IS NOT A ROAD BIKE. But it’s still lovely to be riding something this beautiful this red and built with this much quality. There are no rattles or buzzes, the mirrors don’t vibrate, the thing never even hints that it might break down. Still doesn’t tick over very well mind, but the exhaust note bouncing off the rock lined walls of the mountain road make the rising heat around my sensitive parts almost bearable. Keeping it above 80 on this tight mountain road is impossible in parts and when the speed drops, the heat rises.
Coming down the mountain into Spain the speeds rise but so does the outside temperature. By Pamplona it’s up to 30 and uncomfortable below 100. So I get on the motorway and head for Logrono At 125 on the empty motorway I get 34mpg but the heat from the seat is still noticeable. I decide to stop in Logrono, it’s the capital of La Rioja, should get a good feed and some nice wine. My ass is HOT now and my left leg is burning. I spot a hotel, AC La Rioja, with underground private parking. Perfect. My left leg is burning now, it’s painful. I press the intercom for the parking, they have a room, I don’t ask the price , I don’t care I just want to get off the bike. I park the bike, go into the beautifully air conditioned reception and check in. Thankfully the room is only 80 euros including parking. For a 4star hotel. I love Spain.
It’s only 3pm, I’ve only done 360 miles today but I’m happy to stop. I have a shower and my leg stops hurting. I have a nap and go down to the town. The lady at reception tells me the Calle Laurel is full of Tapas bars. It is the food is delicious the wine is great. Each bar has its’ own speciality tapa. I try them all with a beer or a glass of wine in each . It’s a good town. I walk back to the hotel at 11 ready for a 7am start to beat the heat.
At 7am the temperature is 14 degrees. Normally I’d be cold. On the Duc with it’s seat heater (just like a Volvo) I’m warm. The road snakes off into the mountains, it’s only just light. What a fantastic bike. After 20km I realise I’m going the wrong way. Get the map out plot a route. I go cross country to the A1 the main road from the North to Madrid.
On the A1 I meet all those holiday makers heading South again The first services are full, big queues for the pumps, I can make the next ones, or turn off at Burgos. I up the speed to use less fuel, pushing the Scenics and Mercs and Beemers out of the way with the roaring exhaust and the projector headlights.
I fill up at a small service station on the A1 but coming back to the motorway cross some chevrons. A police car spots me and pulls me over.A 42 euro on the spot fine makes it an expensive tank of petrol.. The copper is one of the few people I’ve met who knows what the bike is. Does that really cost 10 million pesetas? he asks. Not in England I reply, they’re cheaper there.
I take the motorway past Madrid, it’s empty until I join the A4 south, I leave the motorway at km139 heading for Ciudad Real. It’s 35 degrees now 12 noon, I’m on the A road heading for Ciudad Real and stop for petrol. I’m only 400km from home, so I phone my wife and tell her I’ll be home that afternoon. She’s happy as I thought it’d take another day. After filling up I set off but I’m burning again, the heat from the exhaust is cooking me. I get on a short motorway to Ciudad Real but even at 130 the heat is too much . I have to stop I check in to the NH hotel which I know has secure parking. I ring my wife again and tell her it will be tomorrow. 350 miles again today, only 260 to go.
It’s 38 degrees in town. I go to a bar and watch the Formula One and WSS from Brands while eating the worst meal I’ve ever had. I refuse to pay for it and have a big row with the owner who sees nothing wrong with serving fried chicken bones when they run out of chicken breast. I pay for the beers and leave.
In the evening I go out for a Chinese and a couple of beers, and set the alarm for 6.15 for the final time I’m looking forward to riding the N420 in the cool of the morning, and there is a town in the way, Puertollano that takes a while to get through and I can’t do that in the heat of the day.
It’s 24 degrees at 7am when I leave, it’s just light. At 130 on the motorway to Puertollano the bike is just sipping fuel. I reach Puertollano, fill up and I’m through the town without getting cooked. Onto the N420 as it crosses the mountains into Andalucia, it’s all fifth and sixth gear sweeping corners never dropping below 100, big leans, not much braking, it’s Desmosedici territory. The engine sounds fantastic the only problems are midcorner bumps where the super stiff suspension bounces the bike across the road. I learn to look closely at the road surface. It’s not an easy bike to ride, it does what you tell it to immediately. On the Jap sportsbikes I’ve owned for many years the brakes are soft the engine is soft the suspension is soft, everything has a little lag to it, to give you a chance to change your mind if you’ve made a wrong control input. Not so with this bike. You touch the brakes, they’re on. You turn into a corner, you don’t have to wait for the suspension to settle, cos it doesn’t. You open the throttle and above 7000 off it goes with a very sharp transition to the power band. I can’t wait to get it on track at Jerez, where it’ll be sublime.
At the end of the 100 kms of biking heaven that is the N420 Puertollano to Montoro road I rejoin the A4 and straight into a 15km tailback for a overturned lorry. I leave the motorway and get on the little 4m wide service road that runs alongside most Spanish motorways. We rejoin after the accident. A truck on it’s side blocking the whole road. A proper crash. Past Cordoba on the motorway, some big fast turns on the A4 there and off at unpronounceable Ecija, take the B road to Marchena, fast and straight no traffic, as fast as the motorway, through Moron de la Frontera where I meet the second person who knows what the bike is, a petrol station attendant. He loves it.
“I never thought I’d see one here” he says as he carefully fills it up.
Half an hour later I’m home. 4 hours later I do something I’ve never done before after a ride. I clean the bike. It looks beautiful sparkling in the Andalucian sun.
Only Ducati could have made a bike like this. I wondered why Honda didn’t but I know now. Honda couldn’t turn out anything as raw uncivilised and damn hard to ride as this. A lot are going to be crashed. It really is the MotoGP bike with some civilising touches, but you have to ride it really hard to make it work at all. I only got a few glimpses in 2000 miles of road riding on some good fast roads. It’s going to take a GP circuit to really get it to make sense, and Jerez is closed all this month. Roll on September!

i can't wait for the track report you know !!!

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950 SMR, for men who know the difference

What a fantastic write up! That must have been an awesome few days.

Such a shame you didn't have a working camera.

another superb write up!

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Wear your salt as a badge of AWB pride

Sounds like an awesome bike - for England where it's cold. Not sure it makes so much sense in Spain if it's going to cook you everytime you ride it....

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MC011

Great stuff, really good write-ups

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PB Round The World Guinea Pig Blog

F**k it, I think I might have a lucky dip this wednesday and f**k the pigeons (), I know how I'd spend my winnings - I'm so jealous, not of the bike - t'wood be wasted on me; living in spain, the N420, having endless time to ride, trackdays at Jerez, hotels with air conditioning, etc etc; excellent write up and like others can't wait for the track report.

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http://i26.tinypic.com/b81bb4.jpg

or Scotland!

I thought my 749 got pretty hot in traffic (more so than the 748, for some reason), but the 'sedici sounds worse.

I'm sure the compensations are there, though!

That bike sounds like an utter -and unimaginative, rich mans folly to us, but a very thorough and informative write up all the same, personally I'd hire one for the track every 6 months and blow the rest on cocaine teenagers and expensive flowers.

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Nice write up.sounds like a stunning bike

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http://www.therevcounter.com/touring...do-france.html

Thanks for brightening up a pissy day.

just LOVE that N420 to montoro. beautiful bit of blacktopped biking heaven, even on a cruiser.

beats the crap out of the N IV from puerto lapiz to cordoba (although the pass at peñaperros is pretty good fun except for the cameras).

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http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...1602/erizo.jpg
N II motos guadalajara
if yer passing, drop in!
0034 949 203859

bikes are like blowjobs and pizza…..none are really bad, but some are so much better than others.

I was thinking more of Devon. I think he should let me have it and I'll let him have a bike that doesn't get to hot to ride in the Spanish sun.

Seems fair from where I'm sitting.

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MC011

Despenaperros always has a lot of traffic, cameras aren't a problem with la matricula amarilla
I always go via Ciudad Real
N420 to Teruel is pretty bloody good as well, as is the N110 Plasencia to Segovia

the only times i use that route is around 5-6am, so traffic ain´t a problem. the bloody cameras are though! (spanish plate )
¡teruel existe! (well, more or less )

both cuidad real and teruel routes are MUCH improved over what they were like before. christ they were dire road surfaces 6 years ago.

ever dropped into albarracin when near teruel? really pretty little town.

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http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...1602/erizo.jpg
N II motos guadalajara
if yer passing, drop in!
0034 949 203859

bikes are like blowjobs and pizza…..none are really bad, but some are so much better than others.