Nice bike EMS! I think I had an ad on my wall of that bike when I was a kid. How many miles on that thing?

I might never have owned a Ducati if it wasn't for one of the days I rode up to Alice's Restaurant from Palo Alto for lunch. On my way home I was still learning to ride the twisties on my EX500 when a Duc passed me going into a turn. I figured I'd follow the riders line to learn a little and gain some confidence. I did, until he came out of the turn and opened the throttle...leaving me in awe of the thunder I was riding through. I fell in love with the sound right then and there. Way better than any bike I'd ever heard and I used to love the sound of HD flat trackers, used to.

Then years pass...I walk into a Kawi dealer to buy some parts for the old EX...and there she is...'96 Ducati SS SP with a for sale sign! I forgot I ever owned the EX for quit awhile. Then I moved to a summertime motorcycle heaven. I used to wake up at dawn and ride the Duc 44 miles over a pass to town and back as fast as possible. It took around 30 minutes.
One morning on the way back, I was going through a big sweeper at 80mph (speed limit = 40) when a Statey went by the other way. Needless to say I piqued his interest!
Being young and dumb, when I saw him hit the lights and brakes I got on it! I had 6 miles of curves to outrun him to a straightaway...I did and never saw him behind me...pulled into my shed, stripped my gear, and casually walked out to hear sirens go wailing by! Phew! The Duc stayed in there the next couple of years, read : while I was growing up. Finally breathed some life back into her and hit a moose 2yrs later, oops.

That's why I don't walk into dealerships...good/bad/expensive things happen almost every time. Luckily my local dealer doesn't have anything I want, unless you count any of the fully restored Triumphs that I can't afford to own or ride. He and his brother wrote some book about racing them I think. They own over 20 all original, fully operational bikes! There are lots of oil spots on the showroom floor and signs saying do not touch or sit on. Nice to look at though!

 

@MP: haha! I almost included the EX500 on my list! Nothing like a parallel twin spinning at 11,000rpm. It's so flickable that it's possible to shame much bigger bikes with it in the twisties!

 

I smoked a lot of cars on mine riding light to light in Tucson. 0-60 in about 4-5 secs. Great bike, blew the motor up by tossing a magnet off the fly wheel at 50,000+ miles, accelerating from a light in traffic, in Tucson.
First bike I ever jumped! My normal exit was closed one cold desert morning on my way to work at 4am, so I took the exit before, knew the road existed and where it came out, just that no one used it. Got off the exit and could see my warehouse off in the distance, hit the brights and the throttle. About a mile up the road were the RR tracks, no signs, lights, nothing but tracks about 3 feet higher than the road! It did have a nice ramp so 18 wheelers wouldn't get stuck. Well I felt like Steve McQueen flying through the air, you know, where he jumps the fence. Totally caught me by surprise but I somehow knew what to do. I hit the ground laughing and had the adrenaline pump going for some time when I got to work.
Used that bike to teach a few to ride too.