I swapped my rice for spaghetti

Advantages: Raucous, rebellious, reliable....brings out the rascal in you
Disadvantages: It aint 'alf hot mum

...I?m just reaching the end of my first 12 months owning a Ducati 996 and want to add my support to the praise here for this outstanding machine. I used to own a Ducati Darmah 900 back in the 80?s but have exclusively owned rice grinders since then. The old Darmah was a good machine and gave a smooth if solid ride. It was VERY loud and it was fun but at 70 BHP you had to ring it?s neck a bit to get the same top end as it?s Jap equivalents and the dodgy electrics had you heading for the cover of a motorway bridge every time at the first sign of rain. Maintenance was harder because of the precision nature of all aspects of engineering on the machine. So it was with a degree of intrepidation I approached the purchase of the 996 but heck, mortgage be damned, what else do you spend a redundancy cheque on. The machine I purchased was...

Epoc 27.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ducati Superbike

Monster Mania

Advantages: Looks gorgeous
Disadvantages: Reliability

...At one time a Ducati was one of the motorbikes to have. I can?t tell you for certain what made the Ducati name so prestigious, but it was probably a combination of things. Back in the early ?90s when Kawazaki?s green team were winning all the races, Ducati were lucky if they could get a bike to finish a race and if they did they were nearly always last. But even then the Ducati still held an attractive quality. I?m not sure whether it was because it was Italian or (which is more likely) because of it?s distinctive twin cylinder rumble which meant you felt it coming (clean those dirty minds!!) before you saw it. When all the other bikes were whizzing past with their high pitched revs, you could barely make out the different makes, but the Ducati was always recognisable just from the sound of it. Some years later the 916 started...

Ankes-un-amun 27.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of Ducati Monster

Living with a 748 everyday

Advantages: stunning looks, feel, brakes and grunt
Disadvantages: Its crashed and I need a new one

...A truly awesome bike. Having had to wait a good ten years to get my own Ducati I wasn't going to be disappointed. Doing the usual getting the 125, 400 it was time to step up. Ducati Manchester was the place I found a Second hand 748. Insurance was the main reason for the 748 not the 916ect I wanted a stretch as it was. Being used to biking on a budget previously a Honda VFR400 in less than perfect condition, the mint 748 was amazing. The increased power was obvious on that first ride home and the grunt I read about was wot I had hoped. It isn't all smooth sailing with a Ducati tho as I found out. Within a week after couple of stalls and bump starts then rear wheel lock up I found mine had a faulty alternator. This was an easy fixed problem under the warranty. I never bought this bike as a second bike or a toy this was to be my main...

andrewmc83 18.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Ducati Superbike

Oh really...that fast officer

Advantages: Super cool and sexy
Disadvantages: How Much!!

...I love Ducati?s and the 998R has to be my favourite. It has a larger bore and shorter stroke than its predecessor the 996 allowing it to rev higher than before. It also has some very pretty jewellery supplied by the likes of Ohlins (forks and rear shock), Brembo (brakes), throw in the Marchesini Corse wheels and a spot of carbon fibre and well you get the picture. It also has throttle bodies similar to those used in F1! It still retains the old bum up head down sort of position which puts quite a bit of pressure on the wrists, but that?s because it?s a racer and means you get a lot of feedback from the front end. The seat height is fairly low on this bike so it does suit the shorter bikers out there and since I?m quite short myself I know what I?m talking about. If your looking for an armchair go and buy a goldwing because as my...

grantwes 20.08.2002 · Read review
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Review of Ducati Supersport

Best of the breed

Advantages: look, feeling,handling
Disadvantages: noise, vibrations...if you can call it disadvantages

...perfectly with the light looking frame.The back swingarm and the twin rised exaust give the bike a sporty look.bellipan and carbon accessories( you can find tons on the market) are a plus, but i prefer the standard look.Open cluch cover , possibly from Ducati corse, gives bike a personal touch.The front section remembers 70's 80's bikes. **riding** You turn the bike on,the fun start. just listening to the noise makes you feel happy. You can feel quite some vibration on the handlebar, but you will forget them as soon as you start your ride.The position on the bike is very confortable for me, i can have both feet safely on the ground when i stop, and all comands/lever etc ect are where they are supposed to be. Now what you want to do is...meet that friend of yours that just bought the latest Jap that goes 200mp/h, sound like a Philipshave razor...

starmanx 17.07.2006 · Read review
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Review of Ducati Monster

cowboys

Advantages: there is none
Disadvantages: my bike is wreaked

...had my pride and joy a red ducati 748 with all the extras on her , she was running great but was due her service so rather then tempting fate even tho she was running great i booked her in to the so called ducati dealer shirlaws (you can guess where this is going) so all going well the trouble started took them nearly 3 weeks to get the bike back to and when i did lets just say i wasnt happy , i had an oil leak from the front of the engine which was never there before the bike in and the new barnet clutch and basket that they fitted started slipping at 5000rpm , so took it back and they tried saying it was fine untill i told them to take it for a run so that all sorted took the bike for a blast 100miles later the pullys sheared in the engine causing the valves to hit the pistons . this happened at blackburn just outside aberdeen yet...

offshorebiker 21.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Shirlaws Ltd

The best all round bike on the road

Advantages: I still can't stop grinning
Disadvantages: Fear overcomes you

...I used to own a Honda VTR1000. It was a great bike. People with ducatis sneared at it and say that it is too soft and forgiving. But I have ridden a lot of bikes and none have beaten this one for fear inducing acceleration. Too be honest, I got a little scared to ride it, because as soon as I pulled away I change from the mild mannered Internet bore into a public annoyance. I sold it recently, as the engine revved into the distance I could almost feel my heart shattering into a thousand pieces. It was a great machine. Also it was extremely reliable, never a single problem the entire time I had it! Anyway, I would love to hear from any like minded VTR fans out there. There are some pics on my site and some interesting stats which shut up the duke owners. I recommend this bike....

kitt 30.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Honda VTR1000

Midnight Club LA - Xbox 360

Advantages: Great gameplay, good choice of cars and accessories, good map and good graphics
Disadvantages: The handling of the cars is not realistic

...a really big advanteg over other games like it. There is also a noice choice of views you can have whalst playing the game including a cockpit view which is excellent during gameplay and very realistic. What isn't so good however is the way the way some of the cars handle. If you were to spend $175,000 of your hard earnt money on a Lamborghini Gallardo or even $580,000 on Saleen S7 you would expect them both to drive pretty nicely, unfortunatly though they dont making this a bad point about the game. To be fair though before purchasing a car you do have the chance to take it for a test drive to see if it really meets your needs. As mentioned, on the game there are also a choice of three motorbikes - The Ducati Monster S4RS, the Ducati 999R and the Kawsaki Ninja ZX-14 and again im afraid to say the handling of these bikes are not really...

T.Johnson 18.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Xbox 360)

Bikini Carwash Company - Absolute genius.

Advantages: Girls in bikinis, or not, washing not very dirty cars.
Disadvantages: Erm? Storyline, plot, characters, acting, lots!

...Ha ha! What can I say! This film is rubbish! I bought a copy of it a couple of years ago for about two quid and everyone always says, "Why have you got a film called 'The Bikini Carwash Company'?" It's about a young guy called Jack McGowan (played by Joe Dusic) who comes across to L.A. to run his uncles car wash business. He bumps into the skimpily clad Melissa Reese (played by Kristi Ducati) on the beach after taking a few wrong turns looking for his uncles carwash. Melissa, being somewhat of the entrepreneur, manages to talk Jack into letting her run the business for a cut of the money. She enlists her friends help who, I quote, are a bunch of bodacious california babes. The girls get the cars rolling in for a wash and with the cars comes the cash!! After a while (not long though!) the girls start to take off their bikini...

hukerjohn 23.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Bikini Carwash Company (DVD)

Can you afford a top end overhaul every 50 miles?

Advantages: It has a nice filler cap which avoids spills when filling up your bike with oil.
Disadvantages: Can`t compete wih Shell`s cheaper alternatives. My sylinder was scored thanks to this oil

...rain all day with the Shell ultra 2 and I was afraid the engine was running lean with the compressorized air caused by the weather... But to my surprize it stopped raining and I went out of gas so I filled 98 octane and blended it with 3% Castrol TTS so the engine should run much richer than when it was raining so I am allmost positive that the reason to why my engine broke down was caused by this low quality oil. I have been told later by a Ducati dealer (this man owns 6 KTM 2 strokes) that the Castrol TTS is bad stuff, and he only runs his bikes on Shell Racing X in worst case scenario the Ultra 2 which he told me he never had any problems with. And I have been told by another guy whose big brother has been riding for KTM`s MX factory team that the Castrol TTS sux. If you are going to use Castrol on your Two stroke engine you...

Pirathore 16.08.2008 (17.08.2008) · Read review
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Review of Castrol TTS