Well, I busted my hump and managed to get the Ducati on the road this weekend. I took a test ride up to Skyline today and WOW am I rusty. It's been 7 years since the tags expired and I find that unbelievable. I can barely fit into to my leather suite (welcome to my 40's). The bike so far works surprisingly well other than the old leaking left fork seal. In the few miles I rode it made quite a mess. I forgot what acceleration feels like after driving Diesel vehicles for so long. Holy crap this thing makes a lot of power above 6,000 or so. My right wrist needs work to handle any distance, since it has become pretty weak. The fork seal, some basic maintenance and some paint and body work are next on the agenda.
September 2006 Archives
Most of the characters were wooden and the script was pretty weak. I am a sucker for aviation films and you don't often see WWI era planes these days. I was ready for way too much CGI but that was not too bad at all. The french brunette love interest was a doll. Flyboys is certainly worth a look if your expectations are not too high.
--MM
I am fighting the urge to buy a Super Motard (KTM or Husquavarna). And my good friends Faun and Andrew are opening a small wine and cheese shop in Los Gatos (Los Gatos Gourmet). So I have decided to get the old Ducati running. I found some parts on ebay and I'm getting the cheesy fiberglass tail section I bought fabricated and mounted. Simply draining the fuel and putting in fresh was all it took to get her to fire (after buying a new battery). The left fork leaks like a sieve after a complete rebuild and that was the primary reason I parked it 5 years ago along with the seat fab being such a chore. For now I just want to get it serviceable for as little money as possible. It would barely be worth $3k if it wasn't salvage title. I rode it down the street today and it will be re-registered by Monday. I should at least be able to ride it to Faun's grand opening and I will probably have the body work repainted soon.
What can I say, it drew me in. Adrien Brody did a smokin job and Diane Lane was effective and fetching as ever. I don't understand why they feel they need every one in sight to be a chain smoker. Realism is a piss poor excuse. The story was hard to follow in places as I suspect it actually was in real life. Brody was the true star of this work.
