Greetings From Cleaveland

[mike75]

I have been kicking around on here for a few years now and haven't done the formal introduction so here goes,

Hello,

My name is Mike

I am a Ducatisti.

It all started for me somewhere around July 2 of 1975, or the day of my birth. 2 months prior to that my father had bought a 750gt new from Tartan Performance here in Cleveland Ohio, He had ventured into the dealer to buy a Norton Commando and was convinced by a test ride to buy the gt.

I remember being around that bike as a kid, how meticulously my Dad took care of it washing and polishing it almost every Saturday It was his daily commuter bike from mid April through October rain or shine I remember sitting on it as a kid in diapers and how big and loud it was. Mostly I remember the smell there is something about the way that bike smelled that is ingrained in my memory. As I grew up my dad would take my brother and I for rides, we would always pester him to start it up just for the noise it made then con him into taking us for rides, We had dirtbikes and enduros and other such things, but sometime around my 15th birthday my dad gave me the key and told me to go start up his bike. Once I got the thing kicked over and running he came out and told me to take it for a spin, I must have turned white as a ghost. I knew how much this bike meant to my dad and was scared to death of dropping it or causing any damage to it, and my feet barely reached the ground from the seat. I rode that thing up and down the street and through the yard never getting out of 2nd gear... It was awesome.

My first year of college 1993 My dad decided to buy a HD as :"It was more comfortable to ride long distances" at least that's what he told my mother and us. The Ducati was parked for a few years, then brought back out occasionally for a cleaning or a quick blast down the curvy roads near the park. It still made a few bike trips with my brother behind the bars, riding to Sturgis, up Pikes Peak, with my dad and his buddies while I was away at school.

After Pikes peak My brother decided he needed/wanted something a little more modern with a little more power, so he bought a M900, The old GT went back into storage with a freshly rebuilt motor and 200k miles on it. It slept well for a few years While I played with dirt and drag bikes, sport compact cars, and an old flathead Ford. My Dad Retired and Moved away to Kansas and left the GT in me and my brothers garage, I finally convinced him to let us get it back on the road, and sort out some of the bugs with the wiring (thanks for the diagrams Steve) some new tires, brakes, chain, etc. I would get new tags every year for it, without a problem never having to change the title, as both my father and I are Mikes.

About 9 years ago the dmv caught on to the fact that our middle initials were different and wouldn't let me get tags anymore. The bike was again put to sleep for a time.

One day I got a letter from my dad containing the title, signed over to me with the provision that I am the caretaker and keeper of this bike, it is not mine but it is mine to enjoy I agonized over changing it for the next 6 months, Until Dad told me he was coming to town and wanted to go for a ride with us.

That was about 9 years ago today. The bike just clicked 280k I am hoping to get to 300k on it this season.


Mike

[BevHevSteve]

Lotsa miles - welcome