I started riding about a year back and have come to really enjoy the time on my motorcycle, a 1973 Harley-Davidson custom FX-1200 bobber willed to me by my uncle. The bike reminds me of him and his passion for it and his focus to create exactly what he wanted in a motorcycle. I'm a different build than he was so the bike never fit me well. I've made mods to it to increase my comfort level on it but it's the definition of a bar bike-short trips and lots of style and attitude. Not great after A longer ride however. Freeways were a challenge at best.
I have wanted to take some longer road trips and see some of my customers who ride and had been looking at newer Triumph Bonneville's and other similar flat seat classic looking bikes like the 2014-2017 Honda CB-1100EX. Wire spoke wheels are just something a motorcycle should ride on to me. PITA to clean but the look is perfect to me. I also dig a polished exhaust system down low on a street bike. Poking around local CL one day I came across a an ad for a Ducati GT-1000. I'd never heard of the model before though the sound a Ducati makes always catches my ear. I scheduled a time to look at the bike the two days out but was told the next day it had sold. That sent me down a Ducati rabbit hole learning about their Sport Classic series, a line of bikes that leant a lot on 1970's styling cues but with current power trains, fuel injection, brakes, and systems. These bikes were made from 2006 until 2010 and went off the market just as the retro/classic look started to take off especially for Triumph.
So sufficiently engaged I opened up my searches online and found a nice example on eBay right here in MI though across the state. I spoke with the owner, an amazing guy with a life long love of motorcycling and a very impressive collection of newer and vintage bikes and decided to take a road trip to see the bike. It was exactly as described-8500 miles, beautiful shape, all records from new, and almost every accessory from the factory including the panniers, Termignoni exhaust and remapped ECU, small front fairing, and a fully adjustable set of Ohlins rear shocks and front forks. He installed a set of Halcyon stainless steel bar end mirrors which I love on my HD. He also had two custom seats made for the bike as well. The GT series was the lowest equipped and lowest cost model within the line-up but as a GT bike had raised handlebars abs intended for longer trips. Perfect for me I hoped. I won the auction picked up the bike last Friday and love it so far.
New tires and belts go on soon.
Right, now where's them pitchers?
HAHAHA! Thanks for the not so gentle prod Tim!
This is right off the trailer last Friday.
Good looking bike, congrats!
Those are so pretty. Nice bike.
I really like the juxtaposition of modern performance and classic appearance. This bike fits in that place perfectly to my eyes. I hope to have a good experience.
Congrats
nice bike. I drank the ducati kool aide in 1998, and purchased 2 new street bikes of theirs. Love me my single sided swingarm
that said I have followed this bike locally for a bit - but $12k is too high for a cruiser for me
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/d/santa-clarita-2007-ducati-gt1000-gt/7150871871.html
I am deeply in love with the MH900e of that era from Ducati. Ride it in good health those things are fantastic.
Thanks all! I was out just blasting around tonight. Bike ran well and sounds great. Got some compliments and some thumbs up.
That is a beautiful bike, I hope you enjoy riding it for a long time.
Wow! Long hot day but got the tires changed. Shops around here were booking service appts 3-5 weeks out for drop off tire swaps. That’s not gonna work at all! I pushed the Cougar off the lift and used one column, some rubber shipping pads, some blocks of wood, my floor jack, and some ratchet straps and got her off the ground and somewhat stable. A definite sequence of ops needed to disassemble and reassemble but I took my time, some pictures, and some patience and got the wheels off and to a local shop. Two hours later and they were done and I was headed home for the reassembly. Torqued to spec and inflated, cleaned and polished and that job is done. Not too bad but I worked slowly as it was my first time doing this job. I need to do 50-100 miles to burn off the mold release and then let the miles pile on.
I installed Michelin Pilot Road 4, new tubes, and rim strips and cleaned the hubs, spokes, discs, mounting bits and rear sprocket. I cleaned and greased the cush drive and cleaned the swing arm and front suspension while it was apart.
Nice machine! Those are getting kind of hard to find.
mr2s2000elise said:
Congrats
nice bike. I drank the ducati kool aide in 1998, and purchased 2 new street bikes of theirs. Love me my single sided swingarm
that said I have followed this bike locally for a bit - but $12k is too high for a cruiser for me
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mcy/d/santa-clarita-2007-ducati-gt1000-gt/7150871871.html
I saw that one while I was doing research on the Sport Classic line. Gorgeous bike!
Tires freshly mounted yesterday afternoon. Wheels cleaned and shiny.
This morning after taking the dog for a long walk I hit the road to scuff the tires. Downtown Detroit is a great riding destination for me and on the Detroit River is Belle Isle, a long time family favorite place. Here is the bike in front of Scott Fountain on the island. Unfortunately the 100+ year old plumbing prevents the fountain from being regularly functional. Today it was shut down.
Detroit also has a huge presence in the powerboat racing world with a focus on hydroplanes. I've been watching these races with my family since I was a kid. The Chris Craft and Gar Wood boat works were a huge factor in the early races. At the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, the Miss Pepsi dual V12 hydroplane is kept in a temperature controlled display.
I took the freeway downtown and surface streets back home. Woodward from the Joe Louis fist to the suburbs shows a range of what the city is, was, and can be. New construction, revamped old buildings, decrepit housing and store fronts and back to the suburbs makes for an interesting ride for me. Weather showed rain today but I thought I could beat it. I was wrong! Oh well. A little over 75 miles on a mix of freeway, surface streets, high speed, low speed, turning, braking, dry roads and wet roads should have the tires cleaned up. I got home and made pancakes and bacon for the family and we ate on the covered porch during the rain storm that caught me out. Now I need to detail the bike. There are worse things to do on a Sunday.
wawazat said:
I saw that one while I was doing research on the Sport Classic line. Gorgeous bike!
Yeah very close to me. Has had it for months up there. Keeps putting new ads. Great bike, but for me not worth what he is asking. Obviously, market agrees.
Lovely pics of yours. Enjoying this thread.
Thanks! Im really falling for this bike.
While beautiful, I don't think I'd be comfortable on that version. Clip ons/low bars and fat guys of my vintage don't quite mix well. The grips on my bike are cracked and falling apart so yesterday I ordered a set of Motogadget m.grips and a an aluminum LSL bar with a bit more height. It looks like I'll need to get some new adapters from Halcyon to mount the bar end mirrors as they are 14mm and the adapters in the steel bar are not going to budge short of a shotgun, which sadly I've yet to purchase. I've not seen a reference here on GRM as to efficacy of .45 Long Colt or .22 Magnum for vehicular disassembly tasks so I'm thinking maybe my plasma cutter, cutting torches, or death wheel.
There is a similar SC close to me for sale for a similar price though with markedly less mods. I like the thought of the AL wheels but like the look of the chrome steelies on the bike now. The local Ducati dealer has a 1000S version with no miles for sale for about $30k. Beautiful to look at but makes my lower back twinge just thinking of riding it.
I havea 748, 998, and a 1299 here. I have been toying with getting rid of the 748 to get one of these, to mix it up. Will follow your thread with interest. The AL wheels are gorgeous though.
I’m afraid I don’t know the convoluted world of Ducati nomenclature. I love a lot of their designs however. This bike, and the whole Sport Classic series, always caught my eye even before I was looking for a new bike for me. The MH900E Wearymicrobe called out above has some stunning design elements. The Paul Smart silver and green bike is tasty too.
This bike has enough power for me and good torque. The sound is perfect, the fit is good for me, and the ride/handling are a good fit for my still limited riding experience. Can I get in trouble on it, yup but it’s less challenging than a bike with another 30 to 50 horsepower/torque.
Looks like the same 1000cc motor they used in my 2004 Multistrada DS1000. I really liked the power delivery on that bike. Decent torque and it didn't mind revving for an air cooled twin. Enjoy every second of it!
Cam belt covers are labeled DS1000 so I think it is the same engine. Good tractable power, air and oil cooled, and used in a wide range of their motorcycles from what I understand. This one, should it prove reliable, seems like a keeper to me.
I took it out Friday night and got a a bunch of cool bike from 20 somethings. Tonight’s Target run got me some nice motorcycle from two young ladies. The panniers held the package of ladies underwear I was returning for my wife very nicely. 
