A little background.

June 28, 2011 - My inaugural post. Ok, so I bought a 1986 Porsche 911  a few years ago just before my 50th birthday.  I've been a car guy since about the age of 5, possibly before that too.  I think it was that plastic toy dashboard that I had about that age that put me over the top.  I've always had interesting daily drivers, but hated the rush, rush when ever I worked on them because the car had to be ready to go Monday morning for work.

I don't want to dwell on the Porsche on my Ducati blog, but it's been great fun and has scratched an itch that I have had for a long time.  The Porsche was in decent condition when I purchased it - should have been for what I paid.  Still, it's 26 years old and almost 100k on the clock so it needs work.  I refer to it as a "rolling restoration" - repair in the winter, drive in the summer.

Back to the Ducati.  There is a certain gene that some of us have that allows you to find pleasure and interest in working with your hands.  Some prefer electrical/electronic, some construction, some wood-working, some automotive - I'm part of the last group.  The Ducati needs way more work than my Porsche, but it's a smaller and simpler device, so it's well within my capabilities.

I had been searching for a bike just like this for over a year.  I considered Benelli's, Ameracchi's, and a few other Italian bikes.  I would have considered the right British bike.  I also thought about a Harley Hummer.  I mostly searched on Craigslist.  Around western PA and probably everywhere 75% of the older stuff is Japanese, mostly Honda's.  The next majority is British, Triumph's mainly.  A few BSA's, Norton's and other British.  The Italian bikes seem to be the rarest.  I saw a '61 Bronco in WV about 9 months ago, but the guy wanted too much for the condition.

My other chief consideration was the condition of the bike - a.k.a. the size of the project.  The two biggest categories are restored and a box of parts.  I didn't want either.  I wanted a complete bike in need of love.  So, considering that you have to sort through the different makes and the different conditions, a bike that met my requirements doesn't come across often at all.