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a 1997 Ducati 900ss. It has 12k miles and is in really nice shape. Went to look at it on sat but didn;t ride it because I dont have my license yet. I'm going back on sat with a friend from work who also has a 1995 900ss and with his blessing I'll buy it. It sounded awesome and reminded me of how unique the subi sounds with the CES.

I love Ducs. I used to ride my buddies 750SS all the time before he wrecked it. I'm hoping to pick one up myself one of these days.......

I'm really excited!

I need to buy a helmet but dont know where to start. I see them ranging from 69.00 to 600 dollars. I know I want a full face and no gay graphics on it. not sure which name brands are good. Any riders out there who can throw me some suggestions?

I'm going to pick the bike up tomorrow.

Thanks

Shoei, HJC, Arai

ok thanks, I passed on the bike I was going to buy today after my friend from work who knows ducatis rode it heard a clunk somewhere in the front end on deceleration. That worried me and he was concerned there was something bad going on in the forks. The search continues...

i dont claim to know you, but why would you want a ducati like that as your first bike? waaay too much bike for a beginner, expensive as hell to work on and insure, and youre almost gauranteed to drop it at some point as a beginner, just get something older and cheaper.

206er wrote:i dont claim to know you, but why would you want a ducati like that as your first bike? waaay too much bike for a beginner, expensive as hell to work on and insure, and youre almost gauranteed to drop it at some point as a beginner, just get something older and cheaper.

You make a valid point and I dont dissagree with you but due to some circumstances that I havent mentioned it would be the most practical for me. First off I have read that the ducati 900ss which is a 10 year old bike by the way is a very good bike to learn on because it handles so well. The second reason I am leaning towards a ducati is because a friend from work has the same exact bike that I'm looking to get and he has done all the work on it himself. I would do all the work myself with some aide from him. He is alsdo in a pretty tight group of other ducati owners which all maintaine their own bikes. Given my current lifestyle and finacial possision I really dont think that spending 5k on a used bike to begin is alot of money. The 900ss is pretty tame as far as ducatis go and I'm looking for one that isn't modded to death so it should be good for me.

You can have some fun with the desmo system. I have no idea what it's like to work on it, but it's pretty damn cool.

If you look at Arai Helmets, Mike (and I highly recommend them), take a look at the Corsair and the Quantum 2. I've had a Signet for over three years now (they don't make that model anymore) and they're amazing helmets, all-around.

Most of all, try them on. . . fit is going to be the most important factor. What I really know about the Arais is they're lighter than most, tend to fit most heads very well, and won't fog up nearly as easily as most other full-faced helmets. Whatever you do, don't skimp on the helmet or the other safety gear . . . it's all that stands in the way of more serious injuries when you fall off the bike.

I've got a Shoei RF1000 for sale, actually.

It was the best helmet I found.

I really didn't like the HJC stuff for my head.

The HJC stuff is a lot cheaper - I have one that I use for karting and I find it fits pretty well. Its not nearly as comfy as some of the other helmets I tried on though.... It doesnt look as cool either and it occasionally fogs up (easily cleared by opening the lid a smidge).... I only use it about 12-14 times a year, so I deal...

I would like to think a mid-priced helmet is going to be just as safe as an expensive one... The expensive helmets just have more features - like not fogging as easily, more vents, more cushion, better interior materials (that may or may not be removable), etc...

Like Yukonart said, try on a whole bunch of helmets and see which one you like....

There are two approval rating systems - make sure whatever helmet you buy has a certification from both...

Good advice guys thanks. I can always look here for some non biased help. I'm going to go to some place this week that stocks over 1000 helmets so armed with this information I can buy a good one. I figured there had to be a difference between a 500 dollar helemt and a 60 dollar one but when you get up to the 400-600 range it gets tougher. I'm thinking around 400 sounds like a good price range to be at. I still need to buy gloves and a jacket of some sort.

Good plan, Mike. Just be prepared to spend a few extra dollars if you find a helmet that fits perfectly, but isn't quite as low as you'd planned. Every time you put it on, you're likely to thank yourself for that. You're going in with all the right ideas.

ok i've gone off the deep end. I just bought a 2007 ducati 800ss today. zero miles never even had a battery connected. Got a killer deal on it and they will be delivering it to me tuesday. Its a little crazt for my first bike but we'll see what happens. Wish me luck please.

Congrats!!! That looks like one serious bike.

Keep the shiny side up

Thank you, I love the tank. its like molded so your legs fit along side it. I like it because its a relatively small bike. Its only around 400lbs. and it is also cool because it has a transponder in the key which I was amazed at for a motorcycle. Thanks again

What helmet did you end up choosing???

magicmike wrote:

206er wrote:i dont claim to know you, but why would you want a ducati like that as your first bike? waaay too much bike for a beginner, expensive as hell to work on and insure, and youre almost gauranteed to drop it at some point as a beginner, just get something older and cheaper.

You make a valid point and I dont dissagree with you but due to some circumstances that I havent mentioned it would be the most practical for me. First off I have read that the ducati 900ss which is a 10 year old bike by the way is a very good bike to learn on because it handles so well. The second reason I am leaning towards a ducati is because a friend from work has the same exact bike that I'm looking to get and he has done all the work on it himself. I would do all the work myself with some aide from him. He is alsdo in a pretty tight group of other ducati owners which all maintaine their own bikes. Given my current lifestyle and finacial possision I really dont think that spending 5k on a used bike to begin is alot of money. The 900ss is pretty tame as far as ducatis go and I'm looking for one that isn't modded to death so it should be good for me.

good handling is a plus, but where you will run into trouble is with the throttle. no amount of good handling is going to help you when you grab a bit more than you should have, and that '07 sure does have it ready. yeah, you can ride it like a grandma and be ok, but once you get the feel of really twisting it its tough not to. that is teh main reason you should get a bunch of miles under your belt on a slower bike with a forgiving powerband. throttle control is very important even on the smallest bikes.
a beginning rider getting straight onto a big ducati is like a 16 year old getting straight into an f1 car. sure it is possible to make it work, but it does increase your chance for something bad to happen and ride over your head very easily.
I'll wish you luck simply because you WILL need it. swallow your ego, park the duc for a while, and pick up something small from the 80's for $500.

Fucking sick.

If you need a helmet, my Shoei is for sale.

Beautiful! And I love the sound of those desmo engines. Good luck.

That bike is stunning.
I also want to start riding this summer (not sure if budget will allow it).

Bikes have long been a love/fear thing for me. The aesthetics of bikes are very powerful and their raw power is intoxicating.

On the other hand I get nervous when I think about how incredibly dangerous they are. Any driving skill I have accumulated over the years was not free. I have come to understand some of my personal limits as well as the limits of lowpowered sedans by autocrossing and driving the streets. But this has come as a result of hitting curbs and going off track. In a car this is all good and my personal health was never threatened (except when I had to tell my dad I crashed his car in the rain and bent his axle )
My point is that, as you well know, bikes aren't forgiving. Finding your limits & the bikes limits could be tricky at best. One thing that really haunts me though is that YOU don't have to make a mistake. If someone ELSE is responsible it's still your hide on the asphalt.

Sometimes I am a real optimist. In other situations people call me a pessimist. I want to be realistic and positive about stuff. I don't want to be Debbie Downer here but I have had friends die on bikes. It doesn't take much.

I wish you the best of luck. Better yet I hope you make great decisions. Consider 206er's advice and make your call. That Ducati is lusty for sure and you can't live in fear, BUT, be safe.

Dynamic Entry wrote:be safe.

-Thanks mom.

Well I'm sitting here waiting for the delivery of the bike. They told me it would be between 9-10AM. Its 9:02 and I'm already like "where the hell is it!" lol. I finally got out to a place last night to buy a helmet jacket and gloves. I eneded up with a gloss black Shoei RF-1000. I tried on the arai but found that the visability was not as good. The opening was much smaller than the shoei. I liked the sales guy because although I told him I didn't have a set amount I would be willing to spend on a helmet he helped me find the one I was the most comfortable with. So, I got the leaste flashy textile jacket I could find that was of the longer style and ened up with a joe rocket for that. Its pretty cool although I'm a but baffled as to why there would be a little pocket for a mp3 player. I cant imagine it being safe to listen to music while you ride. I think it would be safer to have all your senses.

ok after a little confussion and it not coming by 10 and 3 phone calls later it came around 11:30. I must say I was shitting my pants as I first let out the clutch but it actually felt pretty comfortable and I rode around the condo complex and down the dead end street attached making it into about 4th gear. I never went over 50mph and it was very good and comfortable. The front brakes are unbaleavable and I'm going to have to make sure not to get on them too hard in an "oh shit" situation. I think I'll tool around in it for now in my condo private road until I get my lisense and then venture out into back roads.