Now I'm really in trouble

I went with my riding group through some of the twisties in the Santa Cruz mountains. One from the group, Tim, very kindly offered to swap bikes with me so that I could get a taste of what else is out there.

So today for a half-hour that went way too fast (in more ways than one) I got to ride a Ducati Monster 750.

I was already getting the feeling that I might be outgrowing my Virago. This not only confirmed the suspicion, it proved it. I’d feared that a bigger, fiercer bike would be harder to handle and that I’d run into some trouble in the twisties. The opposite was true. After a day full of white-knuckling every turn and feeling I was on the edge of having the Virago go out from under me, I nervously got on the Ducati and, fumbling as I was and unfamiliar with the bike as I was, proceded to slalom through the turns feeling like the tires had as much grip in the lean as on the straightaways.

I thought it was my fault I couldn’t corner. I thought I’d just need to learn to trust the bike. I don’t know whether it’s the higher center of gravity, the weight of the bike, or the power, but suddenly today I was on a bike that I could trust.

One theory is that the Virago’s frame just isn’t very stiff, giving it a feel under stress that it’s not stable. Tim was asked what he thought of the Virago when he got back, and, well, he exercised great tact but it was clear he didn’t have a great time. His description of the ride was almost if he’d read my mind: he said it was really hard to commit to a corner on that bike.

So now I’m convinced beyond any doubt that I should have a bigger motorcycle.

Um. Also, on the straightaways, wow! I broke a buck today for the first time on any vehicle. That’s right, I’d never done that in an automobile on the freeway before. Ever. And today I did it on a little two-laner. It didn’t even feel all that fast, either. That’s the argument against, of course. Some will say that 100mph isn’t much, but it’s beyond my capacity to control at this stage of my learning curve.

If it were just the speed and power question, I might never upgrade from my 250. Feeling safe and confident in the curves, though, that’s priceless.