Although I got The Monster home from the mechanic on Saturday, and back into in the garage on Sunday, I had not yet had a chance to take it for a spin. So, since I’ve got a late evening ahead of me anyway (GMAT class), I figgered I’d fire up Il Mostro this morning before heading to the DayJob.

So I roll it out to the bottom of my driveway, turn the key, hit “Run” and push in the starter. Nothin’. Silencio. Huh?!!?!? /groan. Not again!! I started it successfully without issue the past three successive days – wtF is goin’ on now?!! Frustrated I wheel it back up into the garage, fiddle around with dials, switches and whatnot for a couple of minutes without success. Maybe I gotta tap the relay, like Rob has previously suggested, but I thought we’re beyond that! After all, that was the primary component the Ducati mech replaced/fixed (!!?!?). So anyway, off comes the seat; tap tap tap the relay; replace seat. Turn the key, hit “Run” and push in the starter. “VROOOOOOM!!!!!” YES. sweet.

After a few poor attempts to get out of first gear (not as many as before, thankfully), I’m off and running laps around the neighborhood. It’s nice to have my bike back and fun as hell to be riding it (even at 25 miles an hour. in 1st gear.) I do get brave enough later in my session to up it to (gasp!) second gear, and practice the whole up/down-shifting thing a bit.

Twenty minutes later, I’m back in the garage and happy. I can’t wait to go out again… Next on my list: starting and stopping confidently. Needta find a long open stretch of road that I can easily get to…

btw, pix of the new clutch pressure plate & cover I had installed are up on my Flickr account. The dudes at Spectrum Motorsports did a fantastic job (on everything) and I recommend them highly.