This day calls for a toast. I just became an official Ducatisti today! I picked up my new Ducati 848 at Moto Italiano in Santa Cruz. My wife took a few hours off so she can drive me to the dealership and take my pictures as well . When we arrived in the dealership, my bike was still in the stand and being worked on. They put in some fresh oil and cleaned it up too. After an hour of waiting all the paper works were done and the bike was ready for me to take home. You could see the grin on my face while I put my gears on and started the bike for the first time.

Getting out of Santa Cruz from Highway 1 to 17 was a pain. We were sitting in mad traffic for half an hour just to get to 17. The underseat exhaust of the bike was getting too hot and it was burning my hiney. I couldn’t split lane because I had to guide my wife on our way back home.

Here’s my first impression about the bike:

My ride home was about 40 miles from the dealership so it was a good distance to put the bike into test. When it comes to power and torque, there’s no doubt that the 848 is more than capable on the street. Leaving the dealership, I was able to gun it and to be honest, it scared the bejesus out of me. Although, I didn’t feel the surge up until 4K RPM. This is my first V-Twin or L-Twin so I don’t really know what to expect from it. I also noticed the rev limiter and the engine backs off just right pass 10K RPM. I’m used to revving my 636 close to the red line before I shift, that’s about 12K to 13K RPM. I don’t like shifting early. I’m a little bit disappointed with the narrow RPM range of the 848. I’m probably not used to the V-Twin yet but I kinda miss the smooth delivery of power from an Inline-4 engine.

The handling of the 848 is superb. I’ve ridden the zig-zag of highway 17 before with my 636 and I thought that bike handled it well. To my amazement, the 848 made it even easier for me. It’s a very well balanced machine. The steering feels kinda heavy but once you start leaning the bike, it just glides. It’s very stable and I could tackle every corners with ease and confidence.

When it comes to ergo, the 848 has the worse body positioning for street riding. It is very agressive and was more designed for track use. I felt it very uncomfortable but it is something that needs getting used to. It puts a lot of pressure on my wrist and it does hurt after a while. Like I mentioned above, the underseat exhaust gets too hot when the engine temp reaches 180 degrees. But once the bike is moving, it doesn’t seem to bother me anymore. A lot of 848/1098 owners complain about the side mirrors too. I can see why but it doesn’t really affect me. I have problems with the 636′s mirrors being unusable too. What I do with the 636 is, I have to move my elbows inward to check the mirror while in the 848, I have to move my elbows outward.

In spite of some of the negative feedback I have about the bike, the 848 is still a keeper for me. The bike is just stunningly beautiful. I just need to get used to the V-Twin power and I should be set. Oh, did I mention that I stayed in 3rd gear all the way down to San Jose. I just couldn’t get a chance to shift it up to 4th gear. I always run out of road. The 848 has plenty of power between first and third and it’s more than enough for street use.

As for my parting words, THE 848 IS AN AWESOME BIKE AND IT ROCKS!!!!

Wohooo! I finally got my Ohlins Steering Damper for my kawi and installed it tonight. This is one of the most important upgrade on a bike if it doesn’t have one. Even if it does, you would want to upgrade it to Ohlins. They are the leader in motorcycle suspension technology and a respectable brand in the racing world. Their linear (piston-style) steering damper is the highest quality damper available. It has 16 adjustable settings (clicks) for maximum tune-ability and control. The oil inside the damper is always kept under pressure to avoid free play. Two years ago, I had a bad tank slapper while riding my bike on the freeway. I hit a series of bumps causing my front wheel to go airborne. This is one of the reason why a steering damper is necessary. The damper helps stabilize the steering on a sport bike. A lot of riders ask if they will really benefit on a steering damper or is it just another bling on their bike. It is a defensive mechanism. It’s just like your leather jacket. If you think leather jacket can save your skin from a crash, a steering damper can save your life. At least, from now on, I can ride my bike with more confidence because I no longer have to worry about violent wobbles on my steering.

I got new centralized air conditioning and heating installed in my house today. I purchased the Trane XR13 Compressor (Air Conditioner) and Trane XR80 Gas Furnace. Trane is supposedly the best and most recommended brand out there. It has a 20-year warranty for the compressor and 10-year for the furnace.

Summer is just around the corner. A 100 degree weather is no fun specially when you have a child. It gets too hot inside our house during the peak of summer when the temperature outside is in triple digits and the humidity is too high. We have a portable air conditioner. It’s good enough for us but it is too much hassle to setup the exhaust. Also, if we wanted to stay in another room, we have to drag it with us. Really, this new air conditioning system is for my daughter (i like to make that as an excuse). My wife and I can live with the portable one but it’s too inconvenient for the baby. I guess you’ll do anything for your child.

I can’t wait ’til the summer hits so I can enjoy this new cooling system. I’d say to the sun, bring it on baby!!!

So I’m shutting down my computer tomorrow because the computer room and the family room is the next that they’ll work on. That means, no computer, no internet and no TV. We’ll see how we will survive tomorrow night if those rooms are not done in time. In the meantime, I’m taking a good night rest. My back hurts already.

I am getting all my floors done this week. My neighbor who is a contractor for this kind of job is installing my new floor. Three brothers are actually working together on this project. They already completed the baby’s room today. The living room and the hallway are already laid with planks ,they just need to install the baseboards and finish the linen closet. So far, Donna and I are pleased with the materials and the quality of their work. The laminate floors are made by Sunway Floors, a company base in San Francisco. We chose a light cherry red finish on a 12mm thick glueless planks. The thickness of laminate floors range from 6mm up to 12mm. I like the one with the thickest core because they are more stable, less vulnerable to buckling and will sound more like a real hardwood when walked on. The planks are also beveled so when put together, they show grooves in between which looks like a hardwood floor.

Tomorrow, they’ll work on the master’s bedroom and the guest room. There are plenty of stuff to move. I’m glad these guys are helping me move the heavy furnitures. Other companies charge extra for moving your things. But I still have to move a lot of junk from these two rooms. Maybe this is a good time to box them up and move them to the attic.