esmOPHILES
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augusT / SePTEmBER 2012
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#56
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DESMOPHILES
REGIONAL CONTACTS Auckland Chris (Haldane M/C’s) 09-579-6020 Wayne Lyons 027-4728-343
The Newsletter of DOCNZ Ducati Owners Club of NEW ZEALAND
Waikato
August / September 2012 Issue 56
Wellington
Heath (Hamilton M/C) 07-849-1919 Manawatu Trevor Smart Hawkes Bay Nigel Taylor & Claire Miller
027 727 1883
021 273 9450
Todd (Motomart) Chris Marer
0800DUCATI 027 447 4299
Richmond Grant
03-528-0086
Greg Monahan
021 851 916
Motueka
COMMITTEE Nelson
President
Greg Monahan
021 851 916
Secretary Brent (Molly) Meldrum
021 280 3371
021 974 487
editor@docnz.co.nz
Webmaster Nigel Haworth
webmaster@docnz.co.nz
Communications Coordinator Greg Monahan
03-476-7515 021 206 9866
the above members and also the
Editor/Publisher Richard Sabiston
03-578-2490
Christchurch Craig (Casbolts M/C) 03-366-4401 Phil (Desmocycle) 03-318-8061 021 137 0309 Dunedin/Deep South Gary Winter
Treasurer Nick Brandon
Marlborough Graham McDonald
docnz@docnz.co.nz
All Magazine contributions and Membership Enquiries to:
DOCNZ P.O.Box 6537 Marion Square Wellington 6141 NEW ZEALAND Email: secretary@docnz.co.nz
www.docnz.co.nz
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EDITOR’S Say
Well another couple of months have flown by, the 1199 Panigale is here and Rossi is leaving to go to Yamaha. Well what can you say? I have to admit I am on tenter-hooks to see who will replace him. I hope it is somebody who is able to meld to the uniqueness of the bike and not only continue its progression but push the boundaries. Well enough philosophy, we have a great issue for you all to read. Lynda has written an article on their Most Excellent USA adventure. You may be wondering why I have put such a salacious picture of Hamish with a purveyor of shade. The answer is simple…. I have had to cut out no end of pictures with Lynda posing or hugging “Italian men”. So I say to you Hamish WELL DONE HAMISH, WELL DONE. I will probably never get the chance, but at least I know somebody who has. I have written an article on superbikes. Now just stop for a moment….. That is a bit to undertake. In the interest of keeping you readers interested I have cut back on certain aspects, I have only kept to the larger capacity models as the subject is extremely large and detailed, or else we would still be reading (I hope) the article next year. As the subject is extremely detailed I thought it would be a good idea to get the article reviewed. Therefore I asked Ian Falloon if he could cast his eye over the article. I have to admit I was a bit nervous, it felt like I was back as school, receiving exam papers and hopefully passing. I passed with a few minor points to brush up on. So here is the first of the two part article. Now if after all this work there is still some information that I have left out or that is incorrect, I would appreciate it if you told me in the nicest way, or else I will be asking you for an article to write!!! Cheers Richard
PRESIDEnT’S PRaTTLE Ciao a tutti, A bit has gone on behind the scenes in the past month or so since returning from Italy, World Presidents Meeting and World Ducati Week. As I write this, final negotiations are underway for the National Ducati Rally for 2013. I am very pleased to announce that NDR 2103 will be held at the Wairakei Resort in Taupo, and will be held over the weekend of 15th-17th March 2013. (Continued on page 6)
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PRESIDEnT’S PRaTTLE - COnT
(Continued from page 4)
I am working with three International Special Guests at this stage, all living Ducati legends. I and am awaiting confirmation from each of them as to availability with these dates. In the meantime, pencil in those date, and look out for the entry form and details arriving in your inbox very soon. As like NDR in Hanmer Springs at the Heritage Hotel, I have secured the entire Wairakei Resort Hotel for us, but we have to make our bookings before the end of November or they will open up to the general public. In Hanmer Springs, we had 166 entrants, this coming year, being in the centre of the North Island, I would expect to double those numbers. So don’t hold back, make your booking then tell all your mates! The price of the rooms is very good so far (cheaper than Hanmer) we are still working on the menu to get an acceptable price range for the meals. We will get there, and it will once again be a fantastic gala evening meal. Once everything is confirmed, you will need to book directly to the hotel on the hotel’s booking form, and they will then secure your room against your credit card. No charge will occur until your check out in March after the NDR.
The event will again have a casual meet and great dinner on the Friday evening, then as per previous NDR’s we will have a ride on the Saturday morning then upon the return, all bikes will be eligible to enter in the annual Concours d’Elegance bike show, followed by the prize giving and Gala evening being held on the Saturday evening. Like Hanmer, the resort is so far being very obliging and are really looking forward to seeing us. Following on from NDR this year will be TURISMO2013 departing on the Sunday, for a 6 night tour North to Cape Rienga at the northern most point of New Zealand’s North Island, taking in all that Northland has to offer and then back again, finishing somewhere very special in the Waikato region. All details will be confirmed in concrete once NDR is finalised.
7 This is a very exciting time indeed, I have a few ideas to put in place to make this NDR even better than last year’s absolute cracker! So make sure you have your leave pass sorted, and once the info comes into your inbox, act straight away and don’t delay.
The other really exciting thing for me is that my new DUCATI 848 EVO CORSE ‘SPECIAL EDITION’ should be here by the time we read this (if not, very close). I really can’t wait. Until then, stay safe, and play hard. Arrivederci! Regards Greg
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a SHORT HISTORy of supeRBiKES - PaRT OnE
A little bit of history goes a long way I have always loved the looks, performance and handling of the Ducati Superbike. There is something about them that is irresistible, but HOW did the superbike get here? Therefore here is part one of a short history of superbikes and how a little company called Ducati achieved the feat of transforming motorcycling and specifically Superbikes so successfully into what it is today. The creation of the superbike started from humble beginnings and in 1926 the three brothers Adriano, Marcello and Bruno, founded Societa Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna to produce electrical equipment and radio components. They became successful enough by 1935 to construct a new factory in the Borgo Panigale area of Bologna, despite the factory being a repeated target for Allied bombing. During this time a Turinese firm SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie), Aldo Farinelli began developing and then selling the
By RichaRD saBiSTOn
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pushrod engine, called the Cucciolo (Italian for "puppy" in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) to the public. The first Cucciolos were available as standalone engines, to be attached onto bicycles. Businessmen soon bought the little engines in quantity, and offered complete motorized-bicycle units for sale. When the marketplace moved toward larger motorcycles, Ducati management decided to respond and in 1952, introduced the 65TS motor scooter. However only a few thousand were made over a two-year period before the model ceased production.
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a SHORT HISTORy of supeRBiKES - conT
In the 1960s, Ducati upped the pace by building the Mach 1 (at the time the fastest 250cc road bike). Then in the 1970s Ducati began producing largedisplacement V-twin motorcycles and in 1973 Ducati brought to the world the desmodromic valve engine. In 1985, Cagiva bought Ducati and planned to rebadge Ducati motorcycles, however by the time the purchase was finalised Cagiva had decided to keep the "Ducati" name on its motorcycles.
In the beginning there was the 851 & 888 Cagiva decided invest in the Ducati brand and invested in the development of a liquid cooled V-twin with four-valve desmodromic heads. In 1973 at the University of Bologna Massimo Bordi had designed a 4V Desmo for his thesis and with Cagiva in 1985, the Desmoquattro came into production. The genesis of the original Superbike was based on the Pantah motorcycle. The Desmo Quattro an experimental racer that comprised a 748 cc 4 valve engine with a 750 F1 Pantah crankcases. Subsequent 851 road bike had stronger
11 crankcases to handle the rigors of the open road, but the heads and valves remained the same. The engine was not the only evolutionary design feature on the Ducati 851 Strada. The other signature feature was the steel tube trellis frame, Marvic wheels, Brembo brakes and Marzocchi suspension. However the bike was slated for its handling, so the front wheel was increased from 16 inches to 17 inches (41 to 43 cm) wheel. In addition, upgraded suspension components were fitted. In 1992 the bore of the engine was increased, creating The Ducati 888. The 888 was manufactured as an upgrade to the 851 and still retained the liquid cooling, computerized fuel injection and four-valve heads to the company's two cylinder motors introduced in the 851. The 888 engines also featured the Desmoquattro valve train concept in which a four valve per cylinder motor was given desmodromic valve actuators (Have trained my son to say this to a motorcycle friend of mine, who secretly yearns for a Ducati).
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a SHORT HISTORy of supeRBiKES - conT
A timeless icon: 916, 996 & 998 Making its iconic debut in 1994, the Ducati 916 was admired because of its revolutionary design and outstanding performance. The 916 was designed by none other than Massimo Tamburini and his team. The 916's features included a water-cooled engine, which was a revision of its predecessor, the 888, with larger displacement, a new engine management system with a chrome-moly trellis frame, producing an overall smaller and lighter motorcycle. These features were also shared with the Ducati 748, which was released in 1995. The 916 was the combination of a powerful engine, with fantastic handling and quite simply superb new bodywork, with aggressive lines. The 916 was later replaced by the 996 and then 998, which had similar design features, but a revised engine with more power.
The Ducati 916 design was for most people was the definitive balance between function and form, with its single –sided swingarm, underseat exhaust to improve the aerodynamic performance and provide very clean bike lines.
13 Ducati won four Superbike World Championships on the 916, from 1994 to 1996, and 1998, with Carl Fogarty and then Troy Corser. On a side note being a Kiwi, why didn’t Aaron Slight ride for Ducati. That would have been the ultimate for Australasia. Carl Fogarty also won again in 1999 with the 996, which replaced the 916, and again in 2001 with Troy Bayliss on the 996.
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a SHORT HISTORy of supeRBiKES - conT
The 996 replaced the 916 in 1999. There were three different models of the 996: a base, Biposto and the 996S with included Ă–hlins suspension and the engine of the 996SPS (Europe only). The 996R was finally brought out and included the top-of-the line parts range and featured the new 998 cc Testastretta engine. The 996 had larger 98 mm pistons, larger valves, stronger crankshaft and crankcases ported from the 916 SPS. The 996 was built with a new air intake system and included two fuel injectors per cylinder. The new airbox provided a revised underseat exhaust system. The chassis was also modified, with lighter wheels, improved callipers, discs and stronger pads. The suspension system was still the same Showa design but both the front and back were fully adjustable for damping and preload.
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a SHORT HISTORy of supeRBiKES - conT
The Ducati 996 was updated in 2000 and saw the wheels change and get updated to all new five-spoke Marceline wheels. The front forks were also titanium nitride coated to reduce stiction. In 2001 the shock absorber changed from Showa to Öhlins. The Sport Production Special (996SPS) was released onto the public. The engine was the same as the one used in the 916SPS but the weight was reduced considerably. The 996SPS produced more horsepower than the standard 996. The 996’s special SPS engine was much stronger than anything that Ducati or any other manufacturer had at the time produced for the road or the track. The 996SPS had a higher specification chassis than the standard 996. The wheels were a five spoke design, but were lighter than the standard three spoke design of the 916 and the early 996. In 1999 the rear shocks for the 996 SPS was substituted with the Swedish suspensions manufacturer, Öhlins and in 2000 the front forks change to Öhlins in 2000.
17 In 2001 Ducati introduced the limited production 996 R. The “R” suffix standing for ‘Racing’, and featured Öhlins suspension (rear and front), carbon fibre bodywork, new Brembo braking system, revised and more streamlined fairing, but most importantly the newly redesigned engine, the Testastretta (narrowhead) which actually displaced 998cc. The engine 996R featured a more aggressive camshafts, titanium conrods and shorter stroke and wider bore. This allowed the motorcycle to rev at higher RPMs and produced a maximum kilowatt of 98.5 kW (135 bhp) at 10,200 RPM and maximum torque of 105 Nm at 8000 RPM.
998 the final countdown In 2002, the Ducati 996 was superseded by the Ducati 998 the final version of the Ducati 916. The 998 was produced in various models from 2002 to 2004. The new Testaretta engine shared parallels with the 996 Desmoquattro engine. However from the crankshaft up it was completely new.
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a SHORT HISTORy of supeRBiKES - conT On a tangent a 2001 Ducati 996, in dark green, was featured in the 2003 movie “The Matrix Reloaded�. Ducati announced a limited edition with a similar bikes from a 2004 year model in a very dark green colour, but as production of the 996 had since ceased, these were actually a 998.
In the same years as the Matrix bike, the 998 officially ended production with the release of the 998s FE ("Final Edition"). The bike was only available by special order, of the Biposto or Monoposto versions and included the uprated Ohlins suspension components and Brembo four-piston callipers. So here ends part one. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did learning about them. The second and final part will be next issue.
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TREaSURER’S REPORT - SEPTEmBER Below is a summary of income and expenses for the period 1 June - 31 August 2012. Cheque account
Savings account
Balances of accounts as at 31 May 2012
$
$
5,540.80
Less expenses for the period 1 Jun – 31 Aug 2012
$
$
nil
Add income for the period 1 Jun – 31 Aug 2012 Closing Balances 31 August 2012
$ $
$ $
42.01 5,582.81
8,679.99 (862.50) 1,249.67 9,067.16
Finances are in good shape as we move into the second half of the year. With a combined balance of $14,649.97 in the two accounts the Club is well able to pay deposits to secure accommodation and venues for upcoming events – NDR and Turismo in March 2013. By the time you receive this issue of Desmophiles you should have received advice about these two events, so book early and secure your place. Sorry to say that I have not been doing much riding over the last few months but did have a great holiday in August and now back to reality again. Wendy and I travelled to Iceland and had a thoroughly good time. The ring road around Iceland is about 1,300 km, but with numerous diversions to outlying areas it is easy to do 2,500 km and would make a fantastic bike trip. In fact we saw quite a few bikers en route and big motards seemed to be the most popular choice. We did see one couple on a Hardley towing a trailer… not really ideal. I intend to take full advantage of the spring weather – got to get that work/life balance thing better sorted. Nick Brandon
SECRETaRY REPORT “mOLLY’S SaY” The magazine is so full this time around that Richard has asked me to type less, so that’s a great sign that people are keen to share their stories. Last issue we had Guy Brickman & Stephen Mitchell share the stories of their 1098 Tricolore & Panigale respectively and Ian Falloon shared the story of the Saltarelli collection auction. I have prepared a story of my 350 Desmo but as this month is full, it has been bumped to next issue. It’s great to hear about other people's bikes and their experiences so please feel free to share your stories. We also profiled two new books for Ian Falloon. There have been many books written on our favourite subject but, to be honest, most pale by comparison to Ian’s. - I have most of Ian's books and without doubt, they are the best reference for all things Ducati I personally have lined up to buy autographed copies of them both. There’s always room in my bookshelf for more! I have finally seen a Panigale in the flesh, around the streets of Wellington. What a stunning piece of kit and, despite the new exhaust layout, it still sounds every inch a Ducati. Ducati maybe struggling a little in WSB this year, but the Panigale could be just what we need to get back onto the top step of the WSB podium for next year, bring it on! Cheers Molly (aka Brent)
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SUPERBIKE wORLD CHamPIONSHIP 2012
February 26
Phillip Island, Australia
April 1
Imola, Italy
April 22
Assen, Netherlands
May 6
Monza, Italy
May 13
Donington, UK
May 28
Salt Lake City, USA
June 10
Misano, Italy
July 1
Alcaniz, Spain
July 22
Brno, Czech Republic
August 5
Silverstone, UK
August 26
Moscow, Russia
September 9
Nurburgring, Germany
September 23
Portimao, Portugal
October 7
Magny Cours, France
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Hamish anD LynDa’s exceLLenT aDvenTuRe
(In 2011 Hamish and I headed to the USA for the first ever time, and took in World Superbikes at Salt Lake City, followed the next weekend by an AMA around at Road America in Wisconsin.
We were going to return in 2013, but decided “what the hell” and booked our tickets for May/June 2012. I changed jobs and started a new role at the end of January, but my new boss was kind enough to let me have the time off work. So after a lot of preparation/excitement/nervousness, we arrived in Auckland at 3.00pm on Friday, and had a long wait for NZ2, which left at 9.30pm. It was our choice to get to Auckland so early – I’m a nervous flyer and wanted to be in Auckland with lots of time to spare. We had passes for the Koru Club so we spent our time eating (both) and trying to calm the nerves (me). Soon enough the boarding call was made and we were herded onto the Boeing 777 300. We’d bought premium economy tickets, and we were hoping for an upgrade to business. The flight was completely full and we didn’t get an upgrade but so be it. Last year we’d been a bit disappointed with PE, as there wasn’t a lot of legroom. This time around was much better. Air NZ had listened to the customers, and they had removed a complete row of seats meaning the legroom was much better. We managed to snatch a few hours sleep in between the meals, although the trip did seem to take forever (11 ½ hours). The flight was very smooth and I didn’t need the knock-out drugs I’d gotten from the Dr. Going through immigration at LAX took forever…we ended up picking the queue that took longest (just like at the supermarket!) and I was nervous about losing our bags – they had stopped the luggage carousel and I couldn’t see our bags. We were the last from our flight to get through, and for a minute my heart stopped as the carousel was empty…. However someone had moved our bags off to the side so all was well. Out into the sunshine to a very pleasant warm day – wow, we’re in LA!! We took the courtesy shuttle to our hotel. Our driver was really nice, and there was a group of four Aussies in the shuttle as well as some US citizens. I entertained everyone on the way talking to the Aussies about pavlovas, sheep, Phar Lap etc. Our room was really nice, we had a newly renovated room at the Crowne Plaza LAX. We watched a bit of TV, sorted out some stuff in our suitcases, and went
By LynDa BLaiR
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down to the in-house restaurant. We had a lovely burger for tea, then back upstairs where we went to bed at 7.30pm. Out like lights, and both had a really good sleep. We left our hotel in LAX at 8.15am Saturday and caught a cab to the Hertz depot. Our car is a Chevy Malibu….and the boot is only JUST big enough for our three suitcases. I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that I am NOT allowed to do any shopping while we’re here. Yeah right! So we headed out of LA and got onto the Interstate 15 soon enough. We stopped on the outskirts of LA for a McDonalds breakfast. The weather was fine, sunny and hot – over 30 degrees already. We carried onto Las Vegas where the first stop was the In-n-Out Burger stores where I purchased a t-shirt and a bit of stuff…I managed to get it into the boot, but only by promising that I’d get rid of some of my McDonalds mugs to make way for the new In-n-Out Burger mug. We also bought a t-shirt to give to Johnny Rea, as he likes In-nOut burgers. On to a Super Walmart store for a few things such as socks/undies (very cheap) and a recharge phone card for the pre-pay phone we bought last year. We also bought a supply of water to keep in the car in case the worst should happen (that had to go on the back seat as it won’t fit into the boot). We left the Super Walmart and decided to check out a hotel we’d seen on the way in. We originally weren’t going to stay in Las Vegas, but it was about 3pm and we were getting tired. We headed back towards LA and found the swish new hotel a few miles out of town, advertising rooms for $45. But it was so huge, and so crowded, that we decided to flag it. We found a Comfort Inn in the directory I’d brought with us, so we programmed the GPS and headed there. It turned out to be a bit old and dilapidated, and no longer in the Comfort Inn chain. But we were there and it was only $70/night so we stayed. There was no wifi in the room, and we couldn’t get the phone card activated by the phone in our room. We went to the lobby and the receptionist was very helpful but couldn’t get the internet on my laptop. We ended up going to McDonald’s and trying to activate the phone card, but it wouldn’t let me do it online. On the way back to our room the receptionist kindly let me use her cell phone to reactivate the phone. After keying a few times to voice commands, I got “you’ve reached the voicemail for the person you need but they don’t subscribe to voicemail. Goodbye.” So I wasn’t best pleased, given it was probably (Continued on page 26)
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mOTOGP wORLD CHamPIONSHIP 2012 April 15
Doha, Qatar
April 29
Jerez, Spain
May 6
Estoril, Portugal
May 20
Le Mans, France
June 3
Montmelo, Catalunya
June 17
Silverstone, Great Britain
June 30
Assen, Netherlands
July 8
Sachsenring, Germany
July 15
Mugello, Italy
July 29
Laguna Seca, USA
August 19
Indianapolis, Indianapolis
August 26
Brno, Czech Republic
September 16
Misano, San Marino
September 30
Alcaniz, Aragon
October 14
Motegi, Japan
October 21
Sepang, Malaysia
October 28
Phillip Island, Australia
November 11
Valencia, Valencia
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Hamish anD LynDa’s exceLLenT aDvenTuRe - conT
(Continued from page 23)
close to 40 degrees. We headed out and found a Panda Express. We’d seen their ads on the tele the previous night, advertising a new Angus Beef dish. It was really delicious, we both enjoyed it. There was much excitement going on across the road from Panda Express – it seemed the petrol station had been held up. There were four or five police cars there all with flashing lights. Just like on the tele!! So then back to the hotel to bed. Neither of us slept too well, but we were gone from the hotel about 8.15am. We decided that if Walmart weren’t able to help us get last year’s phone reactivated, that we’d buy a new phone. They’re cheap enough and I didn’t want to be without a local phone. We’d found it useful when we were winging it on the road, to phone ahead around midday to where we wanted to stay the next night, that way we knew we had a bed. We went back to the same Super Walmart but unfortunately the ladies on the phone desk couldn’t help as they were “ring ins”. So we bought a new phone and charged it up – they have some powerpoints available for people who want to charge things up, it’s free of charge. We got breakfast from the McDonalds in Walmart while we waited. When it was charged we took it back in and the lovely young man behind the counter (who had now arrived to work) phoned up and got it working for us – Yay!! I tipped him $5. So just before 10.30am, in 40 degrees, we headed north on the I-15 towards Salt Lake City. Through Nevada, into Arizona then into Utah. We filled up with gas at Mesquite, then stopped at St George for lunch. While we were having lunch we booked into a Comfort Inn at Cedar City in Utah. Then on into Zion National Park. It was just as beautiful as we remembered it from last year. We had a nice berry smoothie at Elements café in Springdale, a lovely little town in the park. Absolutely stunning scenery. We left there and were heading through highway 14 to Cedar City, but lo and behold we got a junction and the road was closed. We weren’t sure where to go so we had a chat with a couple of cyclists who were on the road, so they advised us to go up to Parowan then back to Cedar City. The road was closed due to a massive slip that was going to take a couple of years to fix. Just like the Manawatu Gorge! You wouldn’t believe it – the guy is into Superbikes and will be at the racing next weekend at Salt Lake City!! So we headed along highway 43 and we were glad we did. The road climbed up a mountain through the Cedar Breaks National Park. We soon left
27 40 degrees behind , and got to having snow on the side of the road!! Stunning scenery. The road summit is almost 10,500 ft above sea level. At some of the lookouts all the astronomers were out with their camera waiting to capture the major eclipse that’s happening here late today. We saw some deer running around on the road – luckily for us they didn’t veer into our path. So we arrived at the Cedar City Comfort Inn about 6.30pm Sunday. It’s almost new, and they have wifi, so I was happy. Monday we woke to another great day. We had our free breakfast at the hotel. A lot of hotels have a buffet breakfast included in your night’s fee. The buffet varies, this one was great with several different cereals, fruit, yogurt, hot waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon and muffins/pastries. The weather was fine and warm, with hardly a cloud in the sky. We drove out of town just on 9am and headed north on I-15 towards Salt Lake City. We couldn’t go to Bryce Canyon directly as the highway is closed with the slip. We took the scenic route, it was a lovely drive. We arrived at Bryce Canyon and drove through, stopping at the lookouts. It was really spectacular scenery – amazing rock formations, and fantastic colours. There were a lot of people around, but there are plenty of parking spots so it worked out fine. We saw a couple of ravens – they are really huge birds, and they were almost tame. They just sat on the fence looking at us all, and we could get really close to them without them being worried. We had a quick lunch at Bryce Canyon township, before heading east on Highway 12, a scenic route going through some spectacular scenery, and rising to over 9000ft above sea level. We hadn’t booked any accommodation, we decided we’d see what Torrey, a little township, had to offer. We arrived about 3.30pm, to find a lovely little town with lots of trees lining the main street. We found a motel called “Austin’s Chuckwagon” – my maiden name is Austin so it seemed logical to stay here! We had tea just down the road at a burger joint that’s won some awards. Very nice it was too.
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1199CLUB PANIGALE DOCNZ NIGHTS
Auckland Headquarters Restaurant and Bar, 132 Beaumont St, Westhaven 1st Wednesday of each month from 7.30pm
Hamilton Hamilton Motorcycle Centre, Te Rapa Road, Hamilton 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm
Wellington The Featherston Bar and Grill, Corner Featherston & Johnston Streets, Wellington 3rd Tuesday of each month from 6.00pm (although Lynda is usually there from about 5.15pm)
Nelson Verdict Bar, Bridge Street, Nelson 1st Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm
Christchurch Dux de Lux on Montreal Street. Start time 7.30pm—1st Tuesday of each month from 7.00pm Our Advertisers and Sponsors Support Us Support them and Support your Club Whenever you see the services of one of our advertisers (and isn't that all the time?) let them know that you saw the ad in DESMOPHILES. That way they will know that their advertising dollar is being spent wisely. It will help your club, the service provider and above all it will help you (there may be a club member discount available). DISCLAIMER Unless expressly stated, the opinions and comments in this newsletter are those of the contributors only, and are not club policy. Nor does the club guarantee any advertisers products or servicing suggestions made. Although all material is checked for accuracy, no liability is assumed by the editor or DOCNZ.
Hamish anD LynDa’s exceLLenT aDvenTuRe - conT
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We both had a really good sleep, and decided to breakfast at the café/deli next door, recommended by the motel owner. Hamish had sausage and egg, I had a short stack of pancakes. The “sausage” is not what we term a sausage, it’s a meat patty, like a burger. The breakfast was fine but the latte coffee from a machine was really awful…I miss flat whites terribly – you can’t get flat whites in the US, the closest is a latte. We packed up and left the motel around 9am, heading for Capitol Reef National Park. The weather was once again fine and sunny, and warm. We drove through the Capitol Reef park – it was quite different to Zion and Bryce Canyon, but stunning in its own way. We saw some prairie dogs – they are quite small, and they move so quickly that we couldn’t get them on film. We also saw a lizard scuttling away.
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Hamish anD LynDa’s exceLLenT aDvenTuRe - conT
We decided to take the scenic route north and see where we ended up for the night. We headed back through Torrey, and headed north We saw a big deer dead on the side of the road, hit by a vehicle. Poor Bambi. We stopped at a little place in the middle of nowhere called Sigurd and had chicken tenders and fries for lunch. It hit the spot so we kept on heading north. There was bits of snow on some of the mountains, and as we got further north the mountains got more majestic with more snow. We were making good time and decided to go through to Salt Lake City. I phoned the hotel we had booked for our six night stay, and our room was available for another night. We arrived there around 4pm –at the Quality Hotel at the airport. We chose this location as the race track is on the airport side of town so it would save us about 15 minutes each way per day for the four days we’ll be going out to the track.
On the Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel, filled up the car in the petrol station right next door, and headed West (young man) on Interstate 80 to see the salt flats at Bonneville. I drove – wow, it’s quite different sitting on the left hand side! But I seemed to cope okay apart from often finding the speedo needle sitting on 90 miles an hour (speed limit is 75…). There were some very strong crosswinds along the way, especially noticeable when we
31 were passing big trucks. We seemed to get to Bonneville in no time, we were there soon after 9.30am. The salt flats are so white – it was a slightly overcast day, though still warm (20 degrees). I’d hate to be there in full sunshine with the reflection off the salt. We followed a guy on a Goldwing and got chatting to him. Jeff had been to NZ and toured around for two weeks. We mentioned to him that we were going to the Barber Museum in Alabama later in the trip, and he said it was fantastic. We left Bonneville and headed East on the I80. We were getting a bit peckish as it was close to lunchtime so we called into the McDonalds just down the road from Miller Motorsports Park, where we would be spending FridaySaturday-Sunday-Monday. The rubbish bin at McDonalds gave me a fright… when you go to put your rubbish in, the flap automatically opens and a voice says “Thank you. Please wait while I deal with that.” Apparently I jumped!! Being so close to the track we couldn’t resist going there, so we drove around and saw a couple of the officials that we knew, though they were tied up doing stuff an didn’t see us. We headed into Salt Lake City and visited three bike shops: the BMW/Triumph dealer, the Yamaha/Kawasaki dealer, and the Ducati shop. We didn’t buy anything at the first two, but I bought a whole lot of stuff at the Ducati shop (surprise, surprise!!). The shop people recognized us from last year, gave us a good discount, and also chucked in a few freebies for us. For those of you who watched the WSBK racing from Salt Lake City last year, the guy who runs the parts section in the Ducati shop was the guy who held up the Ducati flag that race winner Carlos Checa rode over to get and fell off in the mud. Ricardo showed us the video of it, and there he was with the flag and there’s Carlos riding towards him then dropping it in the soft muddy ground. That night we had a wonderful dinner at The Olive Garden Italian restaurant. We met up with Leanne and Andrew from Tasmania/Melbourne, who we’d met at Phillip Island. We’d been wearing our Miller shirts and they’d asked us if we’d been. When we said “yes”, they said they were going this year – we said “snap, so are we” so we arranged to meet up for a meal before the racing. We spent all evening chatting about bikes and racing. I gave them some advice about the great Ducati shop in SLC, and how helpful Cate and Ricardo were to us. We had another really good night’s sleep, and just made the 9am breakfast cut -off. Lucky we weren’t any earlier though. Just as we were starting our brekkie
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a chap came in who was obviously part of a race team. Hamish sussed out the logos and said “excuse me, are you part of Jason di Salvo’s team?” Sure enough, he was. Jason is a rider in the AMA Daytona Sportbike class. We first met him a couple of seasons ago at Phillip Island when he was riding a Triumph 675 in World Supersport. Then we met up again last year at Miller and Road America, when he was riding a Ducati 848. Jason’s riding a Triumph again this season. He’s a really nice guy so we’re looking forward to meeting him out at the track tomorrow. After breakfast we went south to Thanksgiving Point, about 40 minutes south of Salt Lake City. We wanted to see the Museum of Ancient Life, which has a lot about dinosaurs. It was a great museum, and we spent over an hour and a half there. After that we went back to the Ducati shop. Guess what. Leanne and Andrew were there, in the middle of shopping. So I was able to give more advice and help them spend their money. I had a ball. I also bought a few bits and pieces that I’d forgotten yesterday. We spent about an hour or more there, as we were chatting with Ricardo and Cate and some of the customers in between the shopping. From there it was out to Park City, about 45 minutes out of SLC, on the I80 heading towards Wyoming. We wanted to have a look at the Tanger Outlet shops there. We bought a couple of things then had a snack at McDonald’s as late lunch. Next on the agenda was Hatch Family Chocolates. Steve and Katie featured on “The Little Chocolatiers” programme in NZ last year. It was very hard to choose just a couple of chocolates, so we ended up with a big bag of mixed variety. From there it was back to the hotel, to rest up before tea. There are quite a few hotels near ours, out at the airport. As we were passing one, my beady eyes spied Ducati gear…sure enough, it was Carlos Checa’s team. We stopped and said hello and had our photo taken with them.. They’re really lovely guys. Things started happening at the race track on the Friday, so we were out at the track by 10.00am. It was so exciting to be back. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it, although this year it was somewhat warmer than it was on 2011. Last year there was heaps of snow on the mountains and it snowed a couple of times in the evening over the weekend. Today the mountains still
33 had some snow on the tops, and the sight of the 2012 flags fluttering in the breeze on the infield was very stirring. We bumped into several people who remembered us from last year - it made us feel very much at home. Hamish got very excited when he spotted a Dodge Challenger in the pit area – we’d like to hire one next year. The owner showed us the size of the boot. If we can reduce to two suitcases it could be a goer. We wandered around and watched the teams setting up their pit areas, and before long it was midday and time for the Super Celebrity Kart Showdown. It was a lot of fun, seeing some of the World Superbike and AMA Pro Road Racing riders battling it out on four wheels with their team members. The winning team was led by Elena Myers from the AMA Pro Supersport West class, followed by the teams of Ben Bostrom (AMA Pro National Guard Superbike) and Carlos Checa. After the kart racing we wandered around again. We spent some time wandering along the pit garage frontage. Some of the garages were open so we got a good look into the pits where the mechanics were working on the bikes. At 4.30pm we decided it was time to head away, so we took our tired bodies to the car back to our hotel. We took the scenic route and ended up on the I-80 heading west and couldn’t turn around for 16 miles. Ah well… We found a Wendy’s and had a quick tea, then back to the hotel to do some much needed laundry. Saturday dawned overcast, cooler than other days had been though not cold. We arrived at the track at 8am and wandered around the paddock where they were setting up the stalls. Chris Pfeiffer from the BMW Stunt Rider team was practicing – he’s amazing with the control he has of the bike. We stood and watched for about 20 minutes. A lot of the World Superbike teams came out of their pit garages to watch as well. The race track has a shop that sells t-shirts, caps etc so we decided to pay a visit. Four t-shirts later we emerged. I had been very restrained. I had brought over some Ducati Club beanies to give to those Ducati riders who I’d missed out last year, or who were new to the World Superbike Series this year. I had a supply in my bag ready for action. First up we were deciding what to do after buying the t-shirts and who should come along on his scooter (Continued on page 36)
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CLUB REGaLIa
Due to the change of club logo here is the latest club regalia! Shirts $25 Caps $15 Beanies $15 Pins $10
Anyone interested please contact secretary@docnz.co.nz
and that doesn’t help as I’m already somewhat saddle sore before I ride. Saying that I still managed 200 miles without an issue and I’m sure it is something that I will get used to.
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Hamish anD LynDa’s exceLLenT aDvenTuRe - conT
but Shane Turpin (a US rider) who has a wild card ride in World Superbikes this weekend. I gave him a beanie and had a chat – he is a really nice guy. I had always wanted to meet US rider Jake Zemke – I’d read of him for years and this season he’s riding an 848 Ducati in the AMP Pro GoPro Daytona Sportbike class. We were hanging around the AMA pits and Hamish noticed Jake walking past. I introduced myself and gave him a beanie – I was really stoked to meet him. Johnny Rea rode past on his scooter past us and parked while he went and talked some of the local riders – I think he was wanting an insight into the weather pattern. We waited by his scooter, and when he came back I gave him the In-n-out Burger t-shirt and a card for his fairly recent engagement to Tarsh. Poor guy probably thinks I’m stalking him. The cloud started to thicken up and soon a few odd drops of rain fell. Then all of a sudden, not long before the World Superbikes were due out for their first practice, the temperature dropped and the rain started to fall – heavily at first, then turning to torrential rain with strong wind. Things were blowing everywhere – it was a really strong wind. The first practice started out in rainy, windy cold conditions. Halfway through the session the rain stopped, and by the end of the session the track was almost dry. Smrz was fastest by 1.3 seconds, followed by Melandri and Guintoli. During the day there were various musical solo acts and groups on the stage in the paddock – while I didn’t have time to sit and watch any, some of them were very good musicians. The rain had stopped but the wind got up during the afternoon, and as the cloud cleared off the mountains you could see the snow that had fallen during the morning - it looked spectacular. However, because of the cold wind I got cold and had to go to the Ducati stand in the paddock to buy a warm top – what a shame! We caught up with Cate from Salt Lake Motorsports there.
37 Second practice time arrived and the rain looked like it would stay away, but the wind was still very strong. The sky actually turned bluer as the session went on, but the wind was still as strong as ever.
Hamish and SMRZ representative
Some of the riders were having birthdays a day or two either side of race weekend, so I had some personalized mugs made at home using photos of the riders that either us or one of our mates had taken at Phillip Island in February. I gave one to Leon Haslam and Eugene Laverty, who didn’t open them up. But Ayrton Badovini opened his and seemed really delighted. I was chuffed.
We spent some of our day just sitting around people watching. It was a bit scary (in a good kind of way) that several people recognized us from last year and came up and said “hi”. We’re based up above the pit garages, in the media centre. It’s a bit surreal that we’re sitting next to Heather, Carlos Checa’s PR Manager, and Ernesto Marinelli, Ducati engineer (God to some of us Ducatisti!). Monday 28th May – Race Day!! The forecasters were right…we woke to beautiful blue sky and although it was cool the sun quickly
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warmed things up. Because we arrived at the track just before 8am, we arrived at the carpark at the same time as some of the teams. I felt a real part of the racing, walking into the track with them. Hamish and I decided that we would spend most of the day upstairs watching the racing and the monitors. We had been privileged to have been given media passes for the weekend, which meant we were based in the media center. We were standing around deciding what we’d do prior to going upstairs, when we got chatting to a very nice local man, Jeff, who was there with his Dad Neil and his dog Puppy. The rest of the family were around in the RV park, cooking breakfast. Jeff sensed my excitement and mentioned that he had only got a couple of autographs in his program. I said I’d give him a hand, so as we waited some of the riders arrived to the back of their garages, and within a few minutes he had quite a few autographs. Jeff’s a quick learner – by the end of the day he was in possession of a few little “goodies” he’d acquired!! Anyway, getting back into sequence, we called into the AMA support race garages and I left a little present I’d brought over from New Zealand for Ben Bostrom, one of my heroes. He wasn’t there but I left it with one of his team. On the way back to the media center I saw Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, the organization who run World Superbikes. I introduced myself and told him what a fantastic time I was having at Miller Motorsports Park. There had been a bad racing accident the weekend before we left New Zealand. Brent Nelson, who races a V4 Aprilia, had some pretty serious injuries. I’d printed out a “Brent Nelson from New Zealand – Get Well Soon” sign, hoping that I might be able to get Eugene Laverty to hold it up while they were sitting on the grid. We saw Pippa, Eugene’s lovely lady, who kindly agreed to hold up the sign in race 1 for us. We gave Pippa the sign, thanking her very much.
39 We were ready to go upstairs to the media center when two of Carlos Checa’s team approached us and asked if I had any New Zealand Ducati Club beanies available – they’d seen the ones I’d given Davide Giugliano and his partner. As it happened I had a couple of spare ones with me, so I gave them one each. They said they’d get me a kneeslider from both Carlos and Davide in return, which I was really chuffed about. Hamish took our photo showing them wearing the beanies.
The racing was not too far away so we headed upstairs and settled in for Race 1. The opening ceremony was very stirring, as always, especially with all the US flags fluttering in the breeze and the military presence. I always feel very privileged to be able to stand alongside the US citizens for their National Anthem. The excitement began to build and before we knew it the riders were sitting on the grid waiting for the start. The cameras panned each rider in turn, and sure enough they showed the sign for Brent, being held by Pippa. I was so delighted, I hope it gives Brent a buzz.
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The race got underway, and before long Carlos was out in front and stayed there till the checkered flag. There was some dicing down the field, but it settled down to be a relatively incident free race. As the first three place getters came up the stairs I was able to give Carlos a “well done” handshake. Marco Melandri and Max Biaggi rode very good races to take second and third respectively. I was able to give Genesio (Bevilacqua, Althea Racing’s Team Owner) a big hug on his way down the stairs with the trophy and the flowers. A great result for Carlos.
With a short break before AMA Pro National Guard Superbike race, we headed out to the stalls where Hamish purchased a new visor for his helmet. We also bumped into Pippa and thanked her profusely for holding up our sign. I’d had emails from New Zealand, so I knew it had been seen.
DOCNZ mEmBERSHIP FORm 2012
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Ducati Owners Club of New Zealand Membership Form 2012 Membership DUCATI OWNERS CLUB NEW ZEALAND I.......................................................................................................................................... ...................... [first name] [surname] of........................................................................................................................................ ...................... [postal address] [suburb / city] [postcode] ......................................................... .................................................................. [Home telephone] [Cell phone] I am happy to receive Ducati related emails Y/N ........................................................................................................................................... . [email address - PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY] I hereby apply to the Ducati Owners Club New Zealand for membership. In the event of my admission as a member, I agree to abide by the Constitution and By-Laws of DOCNZ. Signature: .............................................................................. Date: ............................................. Payment Details: Membership fees (please circle one) Full $50.00 or Family* $60.00 *Family membership - family members or partners living under same roof. Associate Membership (non Ducati Owner - no voting rights) Assoc. $50.00 You may include a cheque with the membership form, or you may pay by bank transfer: if you wish to pay this way, the details are: DOCNZ National Bank 06-0746-0276337-000 Note that you must still complete and post the membership form if you wish to pay this way. Please note that memberships expire on the 31st of January. Applications and renewals received between November and January are registered as a membership for the following year Particulars of motorcycle/s: ________________________________________________________________ [model and capacity] [year] [Rego #] ________________________________________________________________ [model and capacity] [year] [Rego #] ________________________________________________________________ assoc. [make, model & capacity] [year] [Rego #] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred method for receiving DESMOPHILES Club magazine: e-version â–Ą hard copy â–Ą Either post to: Ducati Owners Club New Zealand. PO Box 6537, Marion Street, Wellington 6141, New Zealand Or scan and email to: secretary@docnz.co.nz
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COnTRIBUTIOnS Magazine Contributions should be sent to: The Editor P.O.Box 6537 Marion Square Wellington 6141 NEW ZEALAND Email: editor@docnz.co.nz Deadlines are the 1st February, April, June, August, October and December for issues due out towards the end of the month. Display advertising is available for business – please contact the secretary. Rates above.
PICTURE CREDITS Cover photo and Short History of Superbikes: Richard Sabiston and various interest sites. Hamish and Lynda’s Excellent Adventure photographs: Lynda and Hamish Blair.
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