The weather just keeps getting better and better these days, I have been looking forward to riding for so long now. I got home a little late from work but I was too worked up to ride that I didn’t even think about eating lunch. As soon as I got home, I changed into gear, my iPod read, camera in hand, and bike filled up. I didn’t have any specific route, I just wanted to ride, and as soon as I had my leg over the bike I was ready to go.

The thing I was happy as hell about is that my gear fits me, I closed my Alpinestar jacket easily, I’m not at my goal yet but I’m happy about the results. I also had some gear that I wanted to test out while riding, its a new recording device from a friend, wanted to see the quality of night time video and see if it holds on in excessive speeds. I took the 6th ring road and took the GulfRoad all the way around, I loved it from light to light, I didn’t mind the traffic at all. I was honestly in another state of mind, just extremely happy riding, I had a work appointment later but I wasn’t thinking about that. My mind was on the road, the corners, the cars, and I was pulsing to the rhythm of the music playing loudly in my ears. I can never get enough of riding, it was cool enough at 35C to ride comfortably, it is even cooler at night, but it was bliss riding the Ducati and feeling every Rev. Even when I got stuck on major traffic on the 5th ring road around 6:30 pm I was calmly passing traffic at a comfortable pace getting to my destination.

More pictures of the Mega Monster are emerging, but this one profile pic is enough to know that its not going to be hideous. The its clear about the exhaust and single sided swing arm, and at least it looks pretty good. The ride angle itself looks comfortable and with a decently powerful engine, so I’m looking forward to more info.

Here is the previous post.

Ducati has went ahead with a more sinister looking 848, the EVO version is that and it’s as mean as it looks. They have overhauled the engine with lots of upgrades to make it more aggressive and more race oriented while upgrading it from 134 bhp to 140 bhp which does have an affect for a bike that’s so light. Even with all the upgrades this machine remains at 370lbs which is pretty light, making it the most powerful machine in its class. The best part about the whole upgrade is that the Dark version is cheaper then the base version 848, so it’s been upgraded, looks meaner, and its about $1000, I like what Ducati is doing.

Link: Asphalt&Rubber

I tend to follow up on WSBK and MotoGP for motorcycle racing, recently Moto 2 has popped up and in one of their races is the biggest slip I have seen. A total of 9 riders fell due to an oil spill from one race bike, and it looks like a domino effect. The bike slip is wasn’t bad for the rides, they slipped and continued without getting hurt from the looks of it but the music with the video is pretty good.

Link: Asphalt&Rubber

How to decide what helmet to get. If you talk to any person who rides motorcycles they always have a favorite which they usually stick to. You want to make sure whats on your head is going to protect you at the time you take a fall, you also want it to be comfortable. Keep in mind that I wear my helmet in the heat and most times, you want the material inside the helmet to be comfortable and doesn’t cause your skin to be irritated.

How to Pick a Helmet:

• Comfort (head fit, and shape)
• Comfort (helmet lining)
• Price
• Look
• Racer Afiliation

My most preferred brand based on comfort when wearing them for long periods, and the results when I had a few mishaps and my head is one piece. At the top is Arai, then Scorpion, and also Shoei at the top of the list. Really hot helmets, that protect your head while making you feel comfortable and you look good.

Helmets:

• Arai
• Shoie
• Scorpion
• Soumoy
• AGV
• KBC
• HJC
• Bell
• BMW
• Icon

Where to Buy Helmets Online:

• Rizvilla
• HelmetCity
• RideGear
• Cycle Gear
• KneeDraggers

I get anxious these days to ride and enjoy going out with the few remaining days of cool weather. Saturday late afternoon just before sunset is the perfect time to ride other then waking up at the break of dawn. I enjoy riding at dawn the most because of the empty streets but these days I have been so busy I take what ever sleep I can get. I put my gear on, with the new playlist which is perfect on a decent ride so I can listen through it. I always have my songs on playlist repeat and shuffled songs so I don’t know what to expect, some songs get me energized so I got faster and ride harder and some songs make me want to stand on the pegs and dance. I used to do that in the US, dance to the songs, tap the tank and enjoy myself, but in Kuwait I don’t do too much of that so they won’t think I’m insane and so they won’t run me over.

The cool weather is a perfect 26C as I’m riding, and the best thing about the K1200R is that it doesn’t cook your legs when its warmed up. A fun ride around town and a ton of torque at my control. Song after song I was enjoying getting through traffic and enjoying the roads, at sunset there is some traffic but not too much. One thing that I noticed recently is that over the years a lot of people are more considerate to drivers, they move slightly to the side giving you the inside lane to get through knowing the bike is faster. It was a fun ride, after taking a fun route to my cousins house we chilled and watched BSG before heading home around 10:00 pm and I was riding fast to get home, your mind just gets into a precise zone when riding at night, it felt like I was flowing through, precision riding, judging cars, corners, distance, and speed, its a fantastic feeling when riding.

(Pics with Canon G11)

I have been wanting to ride for a few weeks now, I have had a strange build up of energy and I needed to ride. I haven’t had a chance, things keep popping up and I kept making excuses. After work I told my family I’m heading out changed, got on the Ducati and took off like a bat out of hell. I didn’t care that it was a bit hot, but it was cool enough that I could keep my legs from burning if I’m on the move. I had an updated iPod and some good music to listen too, I took the seaside from Bida’a all the way to the first ring road.

I was riding a bit aggressively and I knew it, I just had this hunger for riding and I wanted to feel every rev and I could feel every time I was pushing my luck and my heart would thump hard. I tried to calm down and be sensible but there isn’t too much sensibility with powerful V-Twin and thrill hungry rider. After a while I got most of it out of my system and I was enjoying the smooth curves and traffic was picking up. I headed to Shuweikh for a quick test drive but that’s another story but that was a lot of fun. Riding is like rediscovering a side of you, something focused, fast thinking, and I was really concentrating. I wanted to ride by myself so I could ride the way I wanted, slow when I wanted and insanely fast at other times. I got home relaxed and happy I got it out of me, but I want to ride again and soon, this heat is creeping up on us very quickly.

(All pictures taken with the Google Nexus One)

This guy is enjoying his ride around the hills, looking at those curves I would be doing the same thing, but the what was waiting for him at the end was a surprise. That Kawasaki was craving for more curves and the guy was enjoying it, but he had a little crash just in front of the CHP (California Highway Police). From his surprise he grabbed a handful of brake and low sided that machine right in front of him. You can tell he wasn’t expecting that around the corner, they always tuck around the corners to catch people.

Suzuki GSXR 1000
Price: 4500 KD
Warranty: No Warranty
Suzuki

Yamaha R1
Price: 4500 KD
Warranty: 3 Months
Yamaha Al Salem

Kawasaki ZX-10R
Price: 4200 KD
Warranty: 1 Year
ZED Motors

Ducati 1198
Price: 6400 KD
Warranty: 2 Years
Tristar

Aprilia RSV4 R
Price: 4990 KD
Warranty: 1 Year
Bike World

KTM RC8
Price: 5990 KD
Warranty: 2 Years
Bike World

BMW S1000RR
Price: 5640 KD
Warranty: 2 Years
TriStar

Right now in the market you have a lot of choices for machines, from Japanese, to Austrian, to Italian, they have all evolved into the creatures that they are today. This is probably the best selection of motorcycles available in the market period, with a choice of service providers. Some sell motorcycles with a passion and some churn them out like cattle. I have managed to get most of the prices of these machines with their warranty periods, and in my opinion warranty is very important. Out of the bunch Yamaha and Suzuki are the worst and they don’t really care because those machines sell themselves, but oddly enough they have gotten a lot more expensive then they were before. Who would have thought you can buy a full thorough bread Italian beauty for the same price of Japanese engineered machines. Each one of these bikes are suited for a different person, they are all far from the same but I’m still surprised when I was asking around. I’m a huge fan of Ducati and it is still one of my most favorite machines to ride, you feel like your riding a machine with an attitude of its own. KTM came out of the corner punching with the RC8, no one expected a machine such as this from the small Austrian firm. Now out of all of them the best value for riding machine is the Aprilia RSV4-R, everything about it is Italian, the engine, the look, and the attitude, it exemplifies the evolution of Aprilia and it has more meaning then the machine itself. Out of all of them I think the Aprilia is the best value for machine, why go for a Japanese with a bad service save for ZED Motors when you can go for an Italian for a 400 KD difference. When I buy my motorcycle I want it to be from the guy who sells motorcycles not a guy who sells a Corolla and a motorcycle, out of all of the companies I would honestly only approach Tristar, Bike World, and ZED Motors. But still what a lovely menu of machines.

Update: Updated the price of Ducati and included the S1000RR, now thats a full menu.

These days the weather has been near perfect, sunny during the day and cooler in the afternoon. Just a little too hot at noon but still great for riding, I’m out when I can be but this was a special ride. I got a call from Ahmed at Bike World which I visited last time and he told me he has something special for me, I asked him whats special he said to pass by and I will see. I was expecting a Moto GP Machine capable of breaking the sound barrier with futuristic technology. When I got there he had for me a scooter, not any scooter but a scooter on steroids and that is something I wasn’t expecting, the Gilera GP800.

He told me to take it for a few days to try it out and let me know what I think, I told him it better not sound like one of those whiny motorcycles which has a whistle for an exhaust. Oddly enough I have never driven a scooter before, driven a few Harleys, lots of supersports but never a scooter and not one like this either. He told me has a customer that goes to Saudi in it, now that would be a site. I got it, I felt I like was a high end delivery guy, meant to deliver gourmet food and I was wearing my bike gear so it felt like I was in racing gear on a scooter, I was laughing to myself as soon as I got on. Switched it on and it had a growl to it, this is wimpy machine, it had more umph then I expected. I took off for a little tour around Kuwait before heading home. This little beast can do 180 kph, well thats what I reached in it, it felt funny that I was trying to control it like a bike.

This is probably one of the most comfortable ride I have had, now its a little different since it had an automatic gearbox which felt strange to me and my seating position is that of a seat. My whole form didn’t feel like I was sitting in the position I’m used to on a two wheel machine. It had a great turning radius and its comfortable around town, very comfortable, zipping around everywhere in it. The brakes felt odd because I have to squeeze both levers when I’m used to a pedal and the right lever, no clutch just felt alien to me. It took some getting used to but this is great for someone who wants to have some fun, with good transportation and it had a big storage area under the seat which I was using for a few days. But I’m used to the braking of a Ducati and KTM, the maneuverability of those machines too so any scooter can’t match up to that and I learned that quickly. But the funny part is that I was laughing like giddy school boy under the helmet while driving this scooter on steroids around town.