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I have never been able to review anything critically, ever. I get stuff for myself or for the family, house etc keeping very few parameters in mind. 1.There must be the need and not just want for it.
2. I must be totally in awe of the stuff.
3. There should be nothing else like it.
4. It must not burn holes in all my pockets 😊.
But in these 4 parameters lies hours and days and months of getting so consumed by the thing that at the end of it there remains just one outcome, " let's go and get it". My wife has found this process very difficult to accept and understand but the end result always has her reacting with a big big smile( and even bigger eyes )of admiration and approval.
Let's talk a bit about why and how Ducati!!!
In the year 1995, I had Yamaha RX100 as my first bike. Absolutely amazing piece of engineering. So uncluttered and yet so rebellious. So small yet so much character. I fell in love with it. I wish I had some pics saved of it to show here. Anyways, it was my superbike at that time and that age.
And the love lasted for full....errr 6 months. That's when I saw the RD350. Just for a brief moment because it raced past me while I was riding aimlessly on East Canal road in Dehradun. I didn't fall for the looks but for the sound. Absolutely amazing. I was to leave for Pune soon to start my engineering studies and before leaving I found an RD for sale in Doon and exchanged my RX for it!!!!!
Since I stayed in a hostel in the first year I couldn't take the bike with me to Pune but in the second year I moved to an independent flat and brought the bike to Pune. The three years after that were a sinewave of absolute riding ecstasy followed by absolute maintenance(read financial) agony. But it made me the fastest guy in college and gave me the nickname Bijli.
Due to the ever increasing maintenance and fuel bills my father hated the RD though he had never taken a ride on it. After my college got over and I brought the bike home he took a ride and immediately decided that the bike was a killing machine. He gave it to some distant relative while I was away on my first sail. This was in the year 2001.
Sigh...I have not seen her since then.
But the RD had done it's job for me. It had introduced me to a world of powerful bikes. And I had somehow decided in my heart that my next bike would be over 100 bhp.
That one reason was enough for me to not go for the Yamaha MT01 when it came to India. Otherwise for a while it became the bike of my dreams. And having been initiated by the Yamaha breed I was always leaning towards their products.
I first test rode a Ducati about 8 years back. It was a bike from the Monster family but for the same reason as above I couldn't make up my mind for it. Here is me and the beauty from those days...
Fast forward 2017. So much happened in between. Sailed across the oceans many times over ( I work as a Marine engineer), got married , moved house to Noida, and then had a lovely daughter, bought our first car, went on family trips and holidays, driving, sailing. But bikes never came up as something missing in my life. It's as if everything was the way it was supposed to be, perfectly imperfect.
And then!!! I saw the XDS. I couldn't take my eyes off her. And I immediately wrote to my wife about how this thing had stirred something so deeply buried inside of me. And it was making me restless. She disapproved of my such base instincts and told me to look the other way. But I just couldn't do it. I was sailing at that time and I spent the next 3 months watching, reading,dreaming XDS. In every spare moment that I had, XDS would come to haunt me. And so when I got back home in March I knew what was going to happen. And on 24th of April, against all odds, the XDS was parked in our apartment complex. Such is the charisma of the XDS I must tell you guys. I mean not everyone is for the naked, cruiser kind of looks but just from the sheer engineering point of view also the bike is exemplary.
The process:
I asked permission from wifey to at least let me take a test ride on the XDS.
After her approval I set it up with the AMP guys in Gurgaon. A guy named Prabhakar tells me to come over and I drive down to the showroom all by myself. I find it amusing that both Harley and Ducati have their shops set up bang opposite each other.
I am greeted very warmly by Prabhakar and after ogling over the brand new shiny XDS parked right at the entrance it hit me that the bike is too big for me. All this while I kept watching the review videos on YouTube where they keep saying how easy it is to ride and manoeuvre the XDS. But in flesh and blood I got cold feet. I asked Prabhakar to ride it and I sat behind. And then just took a smallish ride just outside the showroom on terrible roads. The bike died on me while turning and I realized it had been more than 15 years that I last rode a bike. Anyways, Prabhakar convinced me that within first 50 odd kms I'll be totally in sync with the bike. Even though I had my doubts, I decided to go ahead with it.
Tried explaining to my wife the inexplicable feeling of sitting on the XDS but she is a tough cookie. It was absolute No No for her. I kept working on the finance front and with her zero consent paid up the booking amount etc.
Sadly I couldn't negotiate the price much with them due to
1. I seemed too eager to get the bike and my excitement was too palpable.
2. They told me I was already getting a good deal as I was getting a new bike on old prices due to some Euro 4, BS4 situation.
Anyways, I was too hypnotized to see anything else. They even tried to get me interested in the X Diavel which had the same specifics but was a cool 200k cheaper. It didn't work.
That day: 24th of April 2017
I had been receiving calls from AMP that the bike had arrived. Since I was visiting my folks in Dehradun I had to push the date till I got back. And the day finally arrived.
I asked a friend of our family Mr Vinod Kumar to accompany me to the dealership. He came along and we were picked up at Huda City Center metro station by one of his friend in his car. He also hung around for a while after dropping us there.
Oh the moments were simply so bizarre. I wanted to ride the bike as quickly as possible even though I had never ridden anything like this ever before. So the fear quotient was quite high too. Everything seemed to happen in a daze. Some guy explained to me the bike electronics etc. Paperwork had some glitches as my Aadhar and every other identity document had Dehradun address and they wanted a local Noida address to process the Registration etc.
I told them I would provide them with some document later and let's get the delivery completed. So the cake cutting, key handover, congratulations, goodies bag handover etc all happened in a well orchestrated manner. One issue that arose was non availability of a spare key. Also known as the Passive Key. I was told it didn't arrive from the manufacturing facility itself and they have raised the matter with them.
It wasn't a big deal as long as I could get it later hence after some picture taking etc I was ready to leave. And then I realised we had no helmets. What a disaster. In all this I forgot to purchase helmets. Anyways, the guys at the dealership were quite helpful and handed us one helmet so that I could visit a helmet store before we entered Delhi where pillion helmet is mandatory.
Here are pics from that day
We visited Riderz Planet store mostly in 2nd 3rd gear sort of riding. Mr Vinod kept mumbling something about the hot exhaust coming right on his feet due to the positioning of the rear pegs right above the exhaust vents.
I was feeling the heat too. But I was too occupied in the experience of riding to complain. I got an Origine full face helmet, RSV jacket, Alpinestars riding gloves and a balaclava from there. The balaclava was a gift from the store I was told.
I don't know where the pics have gone which i took in the store. It's a nice place and the guys there love everything about bikes. I went back there again after a few weeks to get the Ram mobile holder and Sena 10C Bluetooth headset.
Moving forward we went to a very special place called the Raj Vidya Kender or RVK in short. It's an ashram where I have been coming since my childhood and I simply love the experiences I have had there. We distributed sweets to the people in the ashram and got their blessings. Some pics from the ashram
Riding such a big bike for the first time in peak traffic hours from Gurgaon to Noida was not easy I must say. That too in full riding gear. I was soaked with sweat and the heat coming from that massive 1262 cc engine that is Running in was extremely uncomfortable to say the least. But, it was absolutely worth it. At every traffic signal people came up to us to admire the bike, (a phenomena happening every time I take the bike out) they clicked pictures, asked funny questions or just gave a thumbs up sign in admiration. I was loving it.
Wifey did some puja the next day and I took her for a smallish ride. She loved it but still remained pissed😉.
My experience so far:
The ride:
I have 2000kms on my digital Speedo as of today, 3rd of August 2017.
Within first few days of riding I realized how easy the bike is to handle. Of course it weighs over 220 kgs and it's difficult to push and pull but once astride it is extremely flickable. Even in bumper to bumper traffic at speeds as low as 5kmph it remains steady and I don't have to put my feet down too much.
It was a bit jerky during running in at low rpms and the gears were a bit too crisp but now it rolls at low speeds so beautifully. The feet forward position feels natural to me now though I have the pegs adjusted to maximum backwards setting from day 1.
The seat is very very comfy and I get a bit stiff butt at around 300km mark. I guess it's with all the bikes right? At some point we need to get off and walk about a bit right?
The feet forward on cruisers is a standard I guess but then the XDS isn't a normal cruiser I must say. The kind of power and the manner of that power delivery makes it some thing else. The feet start coming off the pegs at and above 140kmph speeds and though now I have gotten used to it, initially it felt a bit strange.
The ride is stiff. Though with a pillion it bottoms out and touches the speed breakers at the bottom cowling.
The huge rear tyre though keeps the bike upright much more easily at low speeds it tends to auto correct during a lean and gives the sense of understeer. I always downshift while taking a turn now to keep the bike in control and in its line.
The rear also tends to move the bike about over undulating surfaces.
At high speeds the stiff suspension tends to throw me off the seat over rumble strips or uneven surfaces.
But all this I have learnt to counter with a different posture whenever I ride fast.
The engine:
Incredible. That's the only word that comes to my mind. It does everything I want it to do, and it does it with such ease and eagerness that at every speed the bike seems to be demanding more. Even though I am not in the Sports mode yet, the power delivery is smooth and very very quick.
The exhaust note was very sedate and silent during the Run-in but now it is a mesmerizing rumble at low rpms and an incredibly addictive growl at higher rpms. I have done a top speed of 180kmph at around 6200 rpm. It thrills and scares me to think what to do with the huge band of rpm still untapped.
The braking:
The rear brake is just there. If the front brakes don't work the bike won't stop for a mile I guess. But I think that's how all the superbikes are. The front brake is absolutely perfect. No matter what the speed, it gives me the assurance that everything is within control. It had to be to keep such a beast in check.
The electronics:
Bosch cornering ABS
Ducati Traction Control (prevented a skid on slippery slush few days back, engine cut off immediately and the bike corrected itself and the engine cut in again to pull me out)
3 riding modes, I started with Urban and now am on Touring since last few weeks. Plan to try the Sports mode once I am back in the country after 3 months.
The LED headlights look stunning and the DRL is an absolute head turner. I am not too happy with the light throw though. Maybe will install some auxiliary lamps next time around. Been avoiding night rides owing to above.
I don't know what else to write. The bike is an absolute delight. No matter how I want it to behave, it is willing to play that role. I don't even know if I ever will be able to use it to its true potential but I do know that the bike wants me to try that every time I ride it. I think that's why Ducati s have this almost above everything else kind of feel to them. Because they have put their efforts in making the rider become one with the ride. Like in Avatar the Tsahelu with the Ikran. I have this bond with my XDS.
Sent from my SM-G930F using xBhp.com mobile app
2. I must be totally in awe of the stuff.
3. There should be nothing else like it.
4. It must not burn holes in all my pockets 😊.
But in these 4 parameters lies hours and days and months of getting so consumed by the thing that at the end of it there remains just one outcome, " let's go and get it". My wife has found this process very difficult to accept and understand but the end result always has her reacting with a big big smile( and even bigger eyes )of admiration and approval.
Let's talk a bit about why and how Ducati!!!
In the year 1995, I had Yamaha RX100 as my first bike. Absolutely amazing piece of engineering. So uncluttered and yet so rebellious. So small yet so much character. I fell in love with it. I wish I had some pics saved of it to show here. Anyways, it was my superbike at that time and that age.
And the love lasted for full....errr 6 months. That's when I saw the RD350. Just for a brief moment because it raced past me while I was riding aimlessly on East Canal road in Dehradun. I didn't fall for the looks but for the sound. Absolutely amazing. I was to leave for Pune soon to start my engineering studies and before leaving I found an RD for sale in Doon and exchanged my RX for it!!!!!
Since I stayed in a hostel in the first year I couldn't take the bike with me to Pune but in the second year I moved to an independent flat and brought the bike to Pune. The three years after that were a sinewave of absolute riding ecstasy followed by absolute maintenance(read financial) agony. But it made me the fastest guy in college and gave me the nickname Bijli.
Due to the ever increasing maintenance and fuel bills my father hated the RD though he had never taken a ride on it. After my college got over and I brought the bike home he took a ride and immediately decided that the bike was a killing machine. He gave it to some distant relative while I was away on my first sail. This was in the year 2001.
Sigh...I have not seen her since then.
But the RD had done it's job for me. It had introduced me to a world of powerful bikes. And I had somehow decided in my heart that my next bike would be over 100 bhp.
That one reason was enough for me to not go for the Yamaha MT01 when it came to India. Otherwise for a while it became the bike of my dreams. And having been initiated by the Yamaha breed I was always leaning towards their products.
I first test rode a Ducati about 8 years back. It was a bike from the Monster family but for the same reason as above I couldn't make up my mind for it. Here is me and the beauty from those days...
Fast forward 2017. So much happened in between. Sailed across the oceans many times over ( I work as a Marine engineer), got married , moved house to Noida, and then had a lovely daughter, bought our first car, went on family trips and holidays, driving, sailing. But bikes never came up as something missing in my life. It's as if everything was the way it was supposed to be, perfectly imperfect.
And then!!! I saw the XDS. I couldn't take my eyes off her. And I immediately wrote to my wife about how this thing had stirred something so deeply buried inside of me. And it was making me restless. She disapproved of my such base instincts and told me to look the other way. But I just couldn't do it. I was sailing at that time and I spent the next 3 months watching, reading,dreaming XDS. In every spare moment that I had, XDS would come to haunt me. And so when I got back home in March I knew what was going to happen. And on 24th of April, against all odds, the XDS was parked in our apartment complex. Such is the charisma of the XDS I must tell you guys. I mean not everyone is for the naked, cruiser kind of looks but just from the sheer engineering point of view also the bike is exemplary.
The process:
I asked permission from wifey to at least let me take a test ride on the XDS.
After her approval I set it up with the AMP guys in Gurgaon. A guy named Prabhakar tells me to come over and I drive down to the showroom all by myself. I find it amusing that both Harley and Ducati have their shops set up bang opposite each other.
I am greeted very warmly by Prabhakar and after ogling over the brand new shiny XDS parked right at the entrance it hit me that the bike is too big for me. All this while I kept watching the review videos on YouTube where they keep saying how easy it is to ride and manoeuvre the XDS. But in flesh and blood I got cold feet. I asked Prabhakar to ride it and I sat behind. And then just took a smallish ride just outside the showroom on terrible roads. The bike died on me while turning and I realized it had been more than 15 years that I last rode a bike. Anyways, Prabhakar convinced me that within first 50 odd kms I'll be totally in sync with the bike. Even though I had my doubts, I decided to go ahead with it.
Tried explaining to my wife the inexplicable feeling of sitting on the XDS but she is a tough cookie. It was absolute No No for her. I kept working on the finance front and with her zero consent paid up the booking amount etc.
Sadly I couldn't negotiate the price much with them due to
1. I seemed too eager to get the bike and my excitement was too palpable.
2. They told me I was already getting a good deal as I was getting a new bike on old prices due to some Euro 4, BS4 situation.
Anyways, I was too hypnotized to see anything else. They even tried to get me interested in the X Diavel which had the same specifics but was a cool 200k cheaper. It didn't work.
That day: 24th of April 2017
I had been receiving calls from AMP that the bike had arrived. Since I was visiting my folks in Dehradun I had to push the date till I got back. And the day finally arrived.
I asked a friend of our family Mr Vinod Kumar to accompany me to the dealership. He came along and we were picked up at Huda City Center metro station by one of his friend in his car. He also hung around for a while after dropping us there.
Oh the moments were simply so bizarre. I wanted to ride the bike as quickly as possible even though I had never ridden anything like this ever before. So the fear quotient was quite high too. Everything seemed to happen in a daze. Some guy explained to me the bike electronics etc. Paperwork had some glitches as my Aadhar and every other identity document had Dehradun address and they wanted a local Noida address to process the Registration etc.
I told them I would provide them with some document later and let's get the delivery completed. So the cake cutting, key handover, congratulations, goodies bag handover etc all happened in a well orchestrated manner. One issue that arose was non availability of a spare key. Also known as the Passive Key. I was told it didn't arrive from the manufacturing facility itself and they have raised the matter with them.
It wasn't a big deal as long as I could get it later hence after some picture taking etc I was ready to leave. And then I realised we had no helmets. What a disaster. In all this I forgot to purchase helmets. Anyways, the guys at the dealership were quite helpful and handed us one helmet so that I could visit a helmet store before we entered Delhi where pillion helmet is mandatory.
Here are pics from that day
We visited Riderz Planet store mostly in 2nd 3rd gear sort of riding. Mr Vinod kept mumbling something about the hot exhaust coming right on his feet due to the positioning of the rear pegs right above the exhaust vents.
I was feeling the heat too. But I was too occupied in the experience of riding to complain. I got an Origine full face helmet, RSV jacket, Alpinestars riding gloves and a balaclava from there. The balaclava was a gift from the store I was told.
I don't know where the pics have gone which i took in the store. It's a nice place and the guys there love everything about bikes. I went back there again after a few weeks to get the Ram mobile holder and Sena 10C Bluetooth headset.
Moving forward we went to a very special place called the Raj Vidya Kender or RVK in short. It's an ashram where I have been coming since my childhood and I simply love the experiences I have had there. We distributed sweets to the people in the ashram and got their blessings. Some pics from the ashram
Riding such a big bike for the first time in peak traffic hours from Gurgaon to Noida was not easy I must say. That too in full riding gear. I was soaked with sweat and the heat coming from that massive 1262 cc engine that is Running in was extremely uncomfortable to say the least. But, it was absolutely worth it. At every traffic signal people came up to us to admire the bike, (a phenomena happening every time I take the bike out) they clicked pictures, asked funny questions or just gave a thumbs up sign in admiration. I was loving it.
Wifey did some puja the next day and I took her for a smallish ride. She loved it but still remained pissed😉.
My experience so far:
The ride:
I have 2000kms on my digital Speedo as of today, 3rd of August 2017.
Within first few days of riding I realized how easy the bike is to handle. Of course it weighs over 220 kgs and it's difficult to push and pull but once astride it is extremely flickable. Even in bumper to bumper traffic at speeds as low as 5kmph it remains steady and I don't have to put my feet down too much.
It was a bit jerky during running in at low rpms and the gears were a bit too crisp but now it rolls at low speeds so beautifully. The feet forward position feels natural to me now though I have the pegs adjusted to maximum backwards setting from day 1.
The seat is very very comfy and I get a bit stiff butt at around 300km mark. I guess it's with all the bikes right? At some point we need to get off and walk about a bit right?
The feet forward on cruisers is a standard I guess but then the XDS isn't a normal cruiser I must say. The kind of power and the manner of that power delivery makes it some thing else. The feet start coming off the pegs at and above 140kmph speeds and though now I have gotten used to it, initially it felt a bit strange.
The ride is stiff. Though with a pillion it bottoms out and touches the speed breakers at the bottom cowling.
The huge rear tyre though keeps the bike upright much more easily at low speeds it tends to auto correct during a lean and gives the sense of understeer. I always downshift while taking a turn now to keep the bike in control and in its line.
The rear also tends to move the bike about over undulating surfaces.
At high speeds the stiff suspension tends to throw me off the seat over rumble strips or uneven surfaces.
But all this I have learnt to counter with a different posture whenever I ride fast.
The engine:
Incredible. That's the only word that comes to my mind. It does everything I want it to do, and it does it with such ease and eagerness that at every speed the bike seems to be demanding more. Even though I am not in the Sports mode yet, the power delivery is smooth and very very quick.
The exhaust note was very sedate and silent during the Run-in but now it is a mesmerizing rumble at low rpms and an incredibly addictive growl at higher rpms. I have done a top speed of 180kmph at around 6200 rpm. It thrills and scares me to think what to do with the huge band of rpm still untapped.
The braking:
The rear brake is just there. If the front brakes don't work the bike won't stop for a mile I guess. But I think that's how all the superbikes are. The front brake is absolutely perfect. No matter what the speed, it gives me the assurance that everything is within control. It had to be to keep such a beast in check.
The electronics:
Bosch cornering ABS
Ducati Traction Control (prevented a skid on slippery slush few days back, engine cut off immediately and the bike corrected itself and the engine cut in again to pull me out)
3 riding modes, I started with Urban and now am on Touring since last few weeks. Plan to try the Sports mode once I am back in the country after 3 months.
The LED headlights look stunning and the DRL is an absolute head turner. I am not too happy with the light throw though. Maybe will install some auxiliary lamps next time around. Been avoiding night rides owing to above.
I don't know what else to write. The bike is an absolute delight. No matter how I want it to behave, it is willing to play that role. I don't even know if I ever will be able to use it to its true potential but I do know that the bike wants me to try that every time I ride it. I think that's why Ducati s have this almost above everything else kind of feel to them. Because they have put their efforts in making the rider become one with the ride. Like in Avatar the Tsahelu with the Ikran. I have this bond with my XDS.
Sent from my SM-G930F using xBhp.com mobile app
in flesh
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