[acammer]

Living with the Ducati for a year made me realize two key things. #1 - although competent off-road, it lacks sufficient travel to offer both a compliant ride and acceptable ground clearance - so you have to run it STIFF to hold up to any significant pace off-road, which makes it a very rough ride. I also worry about he fragility of the bike in crashes. I never had it down, but when you ride in the dirt enough, that's a foregone conclusion. #2 - I'm a horsepower junkie, and while the Ducati was sporty, I wanted more performance on-pavement.

So, I did the only logical think and sold the Ducati so I could pick up another VMax - this time a 2006. The VMax is the muscle-car of motorcycles, and it's perfect for the kind of riding I enjoy - spirited 1-2hr cruises. This one has really good suspension on it - which is the sore spot on these bikes stock. It's got a great exhaust, jetted, really nice bike, and the perfect on-road bike for me.