I woke to my friends call asking if I want to ride, I was feeling tired but there is no way I would miss on riding on a Saturday morning. As soon as I got up, I showered and loaded my mp3 player with new music that I ripped from all the CDs I bought, so my mp3 player is 70% Hip Hop & RnB, 20% Dance & House, and 10% Rock. I wanted to change the line up of music since I have gotten tired of what I have on it, and I have a large selection so recently I have been ripping all my CDs to the computer.
We decided to meet up at Costa in Bide’a by 9:00 am, so I headed downstairs and the bike just looked ready to roll, I started up the bike to warm it up while I put on my gear, within minutes I was flying down the road. I found two bikes there, and we were waiting for the fourth rider. Whats great about riding is that when you really get into it you are bonded by the spirit of riding which goes beyond normal bonds. We just started discussing all the different riding, types of gear, situations, what usually goes through our head, and it was a lot of fun.
As soon as the fourth rider showed up we headed to the Miseela gas station to fill up and head out. Then we were on the road getting used to the group, it seems they put me as the ride leader and some of the guys have experience riding, and we formed into a group on the road in staggered formation. From there we headed down the gulf road and enjoying the ride, we were taking it at a very comfortable pace and we would speed at certain times, it was enjoyable and we were laughing at one rider who we shall name “The Stig”, lets just say its fun to watch him ride.
After a while one of the bikes had to fill up gas, but before that we stopped by KPC and had some KDD ice cream while we relaxed. Then we went back down the GulfRoad to go to Marina for some Coffee, I don’t drink Coffee but some of the other guys do. At Marina I saw some family and chatted with them a bit before heading back home and it looked like it was going to rain so I hurried back.
I got a text from the MV Agusta manager telling me about a group ride in the morning on Friday. We were going to go riding between two or three of us in the first place and thought to join them.
We met up with the group and I have ridden with a few of these guys before, they are nice bunch but they are all experienced. I came with two guys and one of my friends has just started riding so it was a steep learning curve for him. I told him to keep up but don’t push it. In the beginning it was ok from traffic light to traffic light, but when we got on the highways it was bit fast. We were around 15 – 18 motorcycles in total, many different kinds: Ducatis, MV Agustas, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and BMWs. It was a diverse group with a different range of skills.
We started off from Miseela Gas Station and rode out from there, we were in formation but there were some riders who were a bit over active but still fun. We ran into the BMW Motorcycle Club on the road coming out of SAS, it was nice greeting them and we continued on our ride. We were taking up a large part of the road and trying to keep things together so that we don’t lose anyone and nobody bothers us. Whats good about traveling in larger group is that cars stay away, but sometimes there are people who don’t know how to react and they just bull through the group as if they aren’t even there and that is frustrating. We had a few incidents but nothing happened, next time I have an idea to go somewhere else for our ride and away from traffic.
After taking a long ride around the city we head towards Marina to get something to drink, and some of us split from the group to go meet with our friends who were already there. It was really nice weather, cool and nice being outside, I was hungry so I ordered a BBQ Steak Sandwich. Just after 1:00pm I decided to head home but I went for a quick ride before going home, it was a good day of riding.
When I usually ride with someone I usually ride at only 40 to 50 percent of my urge and capabilities because I don’t want to put the person I’m riding with in a position that he/she might want to keep up. When that person pushes their limit just to keep up they might make a huge mistake so I might push little but I would hold back, but that doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the ride immensely.
Now after riding all summer and during this period vampire’s riding skills have improved vastly, but like anyone else he has a lot of room for improvement and so do I. What is great is that I can tell he has the feeling for his bike, he knows what are the bikes limits and what he can do with it. I have only one friend in the states that I ride at a 100 % because I know he knows where is comfort zone is in riding and when he wants to push and we respect each others limits. Vampire has reached a very high point where he rides with respect to his partner, and this mutual respect in riding is what keeps us safe. Even when we ride like bats out of hell we know what we are doing and keeping errors to a minimum. Its a great thing when you see someone’s skill keep improving.
We had a great ride this Friday it was a bit short but very enjoyable, we saw at least 30 to 40 motorcycles that day. Motorcycle season is starting up so you will be seeing a lot motorcycles on the road. The funny part was when we were looking for a gas station with Ultra in it and I thought I remember one of them around Shuweikh but I couldn’t remember exactly where until later in the the day, but before that we had to go Mansouriya gas station to fill up with the Ultra Gas, it was hilarious just riding around looking. Then we just kept meeting with friend after friend, as a spontatious day we all managed to meet up in Marina Crescent they wanted breakfast when I just wanted something to eat.
Ducati has come out with its 1098R but the details are still trickling in about all the components and options for this beautiful machine. It is pumping 180 bhp with a few finely tuned parts made to make this machine run even smoother then the previous releases. The first thing I notice are the gold marchenisi rims which give this machine a different twist. More details will be coming along, I can’t wait to see this work of art.
Ducati has at last redesigned the successful Ducati Monster to retain its history while giving it a new edge. I have always been a huge fan of the Monster, but this iteration is something else. I can’t wait to get my leg over the new one and take it for a spin. They have designed the new 696 to be more muscular looking as well as providing a lighter machine with a little bit more umph. The one thing I love about the new Monster is the new front light integrated with modern technology, it is also lighter which makes it easier to meneauver. An increase in both torque and hp while a 5 kg drop in weight is going to be great for handling. The best part about any monster is the ability to customize the machine, so there will be a lot of unique machines being created once its released.
The funny part is that this is the basic version, I can’t wait to see the other versions of this machine that they will come out with. Ducati is getting it right with all their machines these days, hopefully they keep going with these amazing designs and more.
Link: WebBikeWorld
I haven’t had a good chance to ride in a while, so I was planning to ride saturday as much as I can and ride I did. I met up with vampire at 9:10 am at Marina Crescent parking lot and we headed out from there. We took the Fahaheel to Mina Abdulla, then we took the inside roads to Starbucks Julai for something to eat and drink since we were both hungry. I really do enjoy stopping there and I think they chose the perfect location for that Starbucks. After finishing up there with a few funny events taking place we tried going to Bnaider, but they stopped us and wouldn’t let us cross at the naval base. From there we decided to had back down Fahaheel expressway to Marina Mall for a quick cold water which helped us continue on the seaside. It was a fantastic day with so many riders out, we were riding like it was a time attack. I love the sweeping corners, we were really enjoying the ride the whole way but as usual there were some idiots on the road (First Idiot in a Citroen, and the second idiot in a Suburban)
Notable Events:
- Started at 2634 km on my odometer, ended the day at 3000 km on the mark.
- We were told off by the Minister of Interior for stopping in the middle of the road in Mina Abdulla, I honestly thought it was hilarious, and vampire pointed out who he was, I thought he looked familiar, the Minister of Interior was ready to tell us off. He said we would stop traffic even though it was 9:36am in Mina Abdulla on Saturday morning on an inside road with no traffic in either direction for at least the 5 minutes that we were stopped there. But we apologized to the man because he was worked up, and I wanted to laugh, he said fine and drove off as we were about to get on our bikes.
- As we were riding out of Julai’a a herd of at least 40 camels were crossing in front of us so we slowed down to 5 – 10 km/h, it was hilarious they would stop and look at us when they were crossing, who says camels don’t have attitude. Then when we got close a lot of them wanted to cross quickly in front of us, it was just a funny site I couldn’t stop and take pictures because we had to get some gas.
- I ran out of gas before coming to a gas station with ultra, so I had to fill up with super since I was couldn’t go anywhere in the state I was in. So vampire had to tag along for the fill up.
- We saw three kids no older then 10 years old driving in the beach house areas in the morning and it scared the crap out of me while we were riding.
I woke up early Saturday morning with the urge to get up and go riding right away. I just look forward to riding in Kuwait when the roads are empty and when there is a cool breeze. I have been noticing the I have been pushing myself more with the bike these days then usual, I’m able to go faster around certain corners without thinking about it. Its a good and bad thing, I’m getting more comfortable with my capabilities as a rider, but in Kuwait I shouldn’t be pushing my luck because I know there is probably somebody who is about to do something stupid I just don’t know from which direction. I was really enjoying myself though, I got the bike nice and low and I felt the thrill of the ride. I really need to get this machine on a track and try it out, and hopefully improve my riding even more, I can always improve my riding.
Aside from that I stopped by Marina Crescent to go Starbucks, but as I was walking I met some people I know at Johnny Rockets which was nice. And so I got myself a strawberry milkshake but that didn’t really hit the spot, I would have preferred something even colder then that. Then I continued the ride, and I was really enjoying myself before heading home for some good old fashioned Halo 3.
I woke around 8 am, and I really wanted to go riding and since it was early enough I knew I could go in different directions. I went straight to gas station to fill up and from there I headed south to Julai’a. It was an insane ride, the road was mostly empty so I was testing a few things as I was riding. I like taking Fahaheel Highway since the highway curves at different points, and at high speed those curves are a lot of fun. As soon as I came close to Mina Abdullah I took the inside roads because they are so much fun, the curves are what makes riding so much fun, some roads go up and some down. I was getting pumped up just riding in those empty roads, and the weather was a mix of cool and hot, it felt like there was no decision and I was just riding in the direction of the road. My first stop was Starbuck Julai’a, and I made there in 23 minutes since I was averaging around 220 kph on the highway.
As soon as I got to Starbucks there were a few people there for early morning coffee. I was just going to order a frapacino until I saw they were making a delivery of doughnuts, and I couldn’t resist a fresh doughnut. They heated the doughnut for me, so I was reading BoingBoing.net on my phone while eating the doughnut and drinking the cool drink. It felt great, and I knew it was just the start of the ride. As soon as I was done, I got back on the bike and headed back up north. The funny part about riding on the highway on a motorcycle in Kuwait is that there will always be someone who wants to race, and some varied machines come for the challenge. The first car was a new Carrera 4S, and he was pushing his car and I was enjoying myself, then I put some distance between us. Another car came up later in the day, but sometimes you can’t resist a challenge in the right circumstances.
As soon as I got to the 6th ring road I took the seaside to Marina to check if there were any riders there, and to my surprise nobody was there so I kept riding on the Gulf Road for a little while. The funny part was catching a motorcycle and an M5 racing, so I decided to put them to shame, which I happily did. Today was just my day and I was enjoying every moment of that morning ride. Then I continued to Shuweikh and filled the tank up again and continued my ride around Shuweikh. Then I headed towards North even more to see how good the roads are, and from there it was just one hell of ride. The funny part about the whole day is that I forgot the camera’s memory chip but I charged it, and I took my mp3 player but I forgot to charge it. I was in such a hurry to get on the bike that I forgot a few things, but it was still a fantastic ride, I managed to ride 212 km for the day.
A complete set of front & rear wavy disc set for the Ducati 1098. These discs have anodized red aluminum centers and all stainless steel floating wavy vented discs. They will enhance your bikes aesthetics as well as offering an advanced quality in braking.
This is a modification I’m thinking about for the 1098 and the brakes will match the red of the body with a slight improvement in breaking. The 1098s already has amazing breaks so this is 70% for looks and 30% for functionality.
Price: £705
Link: MotoCinelliDirect
As soon as I woke up I got into gear to go riding, over the past couple of days I have been sleep so late its morning by the time I pass out, but it is still relatively cool when I was riding in the afternoon. For short trips in Kuwait you are limited in the areas you can go, I wish they developed other areas in Kuwait to be more enjoyable and nice to visit. As soon as I started Pyro the sound wasn’t what I was looking for, I knew I had to go for a decent ride to clear his lungs and mine. I was happy there was less traffic on the road then the day before when I was riding, the only traffic I kept running into was at any road close to a restaurant, and every restaurant seemed packed.
The best part is when I clear traffic and I’m about to enter a curvy road, I can’t help but push the bike to go faster and get the bike as low as possible to one side, its an exhilarating feeling. I have a few modifications in mind to make with the clutch but I’m keeping it stock. I’m hoping that I can sort out the battery issues with Pyro by going for a few more rides, and hoping for a really long ride to charge him up right. The weather has gotten cooler this year then it did last year which is great.
