^^^honda hawks (NT650, i believe) are sweet. i'd like to have one as a track bike. last time i checked, they cost way too much for what they are, though. kind of a cult following.

don't you have to drop the entire engine out for the valve adjustments on a Duc? and every 6200 miles is REALLY often!

and while you won't get valve float with the desmo valves, you'd better believe that all of the reciprocating parts in the engine (conrods, etc) wouldn't like to keep revving.

the 748/916/996/998 series are the best looking sportbikes ever made, i think. the new 749/999 are growing on me, but they don't have the classy good looks of the old bikes.

9/13/2005 9:26:17 AM

The TLS is still a twin, correct, but I have never heard a good comment about the S version. I'm pretty sure the motor is not as powerful and I heard it handles like shit. When I was looking at TLRs, my first thought was to buy an S and put the lower bodywork on it. I wish I could remember what all of the differences were.

I'm curious as to how long Ducati will keep the current 999 look. I hope they change it within the next two years because I will definately be looking for a second bike by then and I would like to have some choices.

9/13/2005 3:30:16 PM

i dont think TLS was ever available in the US. i have never seen one on the street at least. also tls and tlr have a significantly different frame, tls having a sv-like tubular cage and tlr having an aluminum twin spar frame, and a different set of bodywork, so it's really not the same bike.

9/13/2005 3:55:45 PM

Everything you said is correct except that the TLS is in fact available in the US. The TLS came out a year before the TLR, which would mean its first year was 1997. It was sort of thrown out there to provide a stepping stone for the R, and neither did well. I have seen quite a few S's, in fact I have probably seen more S's than Rs. There was one getting serviced at Matison when I bought my 748. Not a good choice at all after the reviews I read. I read one article that attributed the failure of the TLR to the horrible reviews that the TLS received when it was released the year before.

9/13/2005 4:02:36 PM

i've seen more TL-Rs than TL-Ss, but they def did sell the S in America.

9/13/2005 5:01:45 PM

ECturbo-yea i park in that lot that fills up daily up by hillsboro st. A buddy of mine got a ticket for parking on the sidewalk right behind it a week or two ago so heads up. My bike is stock except for a 1 tooth down front sprocket which made it much easier to get around in parking lots and traffic, but i wish i had the $1000 for Sato mid mount cans. I've heard RC's with Sato pipes before, they sound unreal! I'll holla if i see you up there.

about the TLR, the one i rode was a ragged out piece of shit that i test rode for a friend who was thinking about trading a mustang for it so i didn't ride it hard, but it felt sloppy and the weight was much more noticable than my bike. Acceleration was comperable but the power delivery wasn't as smooth(likely tuning related since it had pipes) and not quite as much pull up top. It did sound badass though and really made me want exhaust. Not the same quality, but it would have probably been a different experience if it was well maintained. If i had bought one (in good condition) i'm sure i would have been happy with it, but now i'm spoiled after 4k miles on an RC51. If you get a good deal, buy one, they're nice bikes!

9/14/2005 5:38:20 PM

Who wants to explain the "Desmodromic Valve" to me

[Edited on September 14, 2005 at 10:09 PM. Reason : http://www.ducati.com/bikes/techcafe.jhtml?detail=article&value=technical&part=technical&artID=2]

9/14/2005 10:07:35 PM

instead of a cam opening a valve and the spring closing it

the cam is directly connected to the valve and it opens and closes the valve

this way you can rev to the moon and not worry about the valves not keeping up

9/14/2005 10:36:05 PM

If everything else could keep up, then yeah, to the moon. Isn't quite that spectacular in practice. Just another reason for them to charge you an arm and a leg. I'll scan some diagrams from my manual in when I get a chance. I was curious as to how it worked too.

9/14/2005 11:44:02 PM

^ that's a badass bike

9/14/2005 11:53:28 PM