Well shit...
How often do you get to read a new bike report followed closely by a crash report? The short story is the bike it totalled. Bike shop estimates $19k damage, not including labor. Those parts are pricey. Some photos of the aftermath...

Basically all of the bodywork is dead, the instrument cluster, front end (forks & wheel), tank, rear sub-frame, clip-on bars, exhaust cans, various bits related to same. I am basically OK except for a really strained back. It's still difficult to walk after two weeks. Let me take a minute to be preachy here: Wear your Gear! My spine protector and leathers did their job. I walked away from this one with a sore back, not a single broken bone. I was probably doing around 50mph when I went off the road. I will post more details on the crash when I'm in the mood, which may be never ...

Back to happier days...
It's that time of year... Spring is arriving, and the sweet song of birds and rattling clutches is in the air. After five years I decided to sell the 900SS. Why? I don't know, I'll probably end up missing it. I came close to buying a Triumph Daytona 955i but decided to save cash for a while before I made a decision. I walked into Eastside Moto Sports one day on a whim and there was a '97 916 on consignment. The price was right so I bought her.

The bike had 5200 miles on it. The owner put SS brake lines and Heli-bars on the bike, in addition to CF canisters and a new EFI chip to match. Some other CF gear is added to reduce weight.

This year we have coming up a Spokane track day and a Spring ride over to Winthrop. Looking forward to putting some miles on the 916. Below are my first impressions of the bike.

Ducati 916 first ride impressions.

Our snowy March seems to over, and I finally got a chance to try out the 916. I went on a 100 mile trip around the Sound, around the Narrows Bridge and up the Kitsap Peninsula - mostly freeway but oh well, my time was limited.

First off, I think the 900SS had more torque. It pulled harder and now that I feel the 916, I realize it was difficult to keep the front wheel on the ground with the 900. The 916 pulls almost has hard but pulls a lot longer. The SS tops off around 8k RPM, and the 916 just keeps going. I cranked it up on an onramp and the bike was at 100mph instantly. The 900 would have started to slow down around 80mph but it felt like it was yanking your arms off in the process.

As far as comfort - my butt was fine but my wrists started to ache around 50 miles. A 3 minute rest helped a lot. The Heli bars are supposed to have helped a lot, I'd hate to ride this bike before the bars were installed.

Brakes - the 916 brakes do not feel as strong as the 900, even with SS lines installed on the 916. I will have to look into this. Compared to the Daytona 955i I test drove a month or so ago, the 916 brakes suck. Period. This can easily be remedied though.

Sound - the 900 was a LOT louder. The sound is very similar though as one would expect. The twin growl is pretty no matter how loud or soft.

Main difference - handling. The 916 just wants to turn. The 900 you had to coax into a corner, but the 4-valve is very smooth and solid around the corners. Suspension feels hard but it's not dialed in yet. Fuel injection also makes a BIG difference. Response is much quicker. When you lay off the gas it shuts OFF. The carburrated bike would take a while to wind-down allowing for lazier blip-shifting. It's harder to blip-shift the 916.

Everything you read will tell you the supersports are better street bikes but there is nothing like the 916 handling and power. Well, I hate to sound like a broken record but it's true. It's not all that fast, especially compared to a modern inline 4. Hell the Triumph Daytona was faster, a lot faster. Do I care? Mmmmmm no.

Here's me on a track day. I traded these leathers a while ago, no more Power Ranger suit.