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While some of you went to the CMRA races at TWS this past weekend, I attended the Advanced Motorsports Texas Ducati weekend up in Dallas. Saturday had the open house at the AMS dealership, with demo rides, fashion show, and various presentations. The track day was on Sunday at Motorsport Ranch Cresson. Since this was the last weekend track day at Cresson for the year, I decided to jump on it. I also wanted to take the Monster out on the track just for kicks. Ducati designer Pierre Terblanche, the man responsible for the 999, Multistrada, and the new Hypermotord, was there for both days.
I left Houston on Saturday and arrived at the dealership late in the afternoon. Took a quick look around the store at all the pretty bikes and the pretty people dressed in their Ducati clothing. The Dallas dealership was a bit smaller than I expected, but their Alvarado location is still considered the best Ducati dealer in Texas and one of the best in the country. Took a couple of demo rides on a Sport 1000 and a Multistrada 620. There was a 999 demo available, but it was already booked up for the rest of the afternoon. The Sport 1000 was better than I expected in terms of performance, unlike some of the other "retro" modern bikes. Smooth and solid clutchbox, torquey engine, strong brakes, and a decent riding position. This particular demo also had Termi aftermarket pipes on it, so it was LOUD. The only faults I found on it were the heavy clutch pull (usually common among Ducatis) and the sharp tank/seat juncture (kept sliding into it - not fun when hitting bumps and sudden stops).
Went to the Cresson track early Sunday morning. Started to get excited just seeing the elevation changes on the track as I was driving through the gates. After riding the relatively flat tracks at MSRH and TWS, it's a nice change to have actual hills placed throughout the course. I bumped into Tom, one of the instructors at Ride Smart, as I was unloading my bike and he was nice enough to let me pit next to him under the covered area.
It was cool to see all the Ducati bikes in the paddock area. There were a few other Euro brands there too, some Aprilias, a handful of BMWs and Triumphs, and one MV Augusta F4. One thing I noticed was that there were more women riders than at other track days I've attended. They were not on starter Monsters either; a few had their 999's or 749's, and one was on her Paul Smart 1000.
Jeff Nash, the owner of AMS, held the morning riders meeting and we started breaking off into groups. I was in the Novice group since this was my first time at Cresson. Our session eventually came up and we hit the track for the usual Round Robin. The track is compact, more so than MSRH (we ran the 1.7 mile course). But it was a lot more fun and technical due to the elevation changes and off-camber turns.
Throughout the morning I tried to work on my lines and get familiarized with the track, and I started picking up speed after lunch. It was in the later afternoon sessions that I started hearing grinding noises in some of the tighter corners. I figured "must be the footpegs, they're easily replaceable, I'll just back it down a bit and try to hang off more". The grinding noise continued for several more laps until I took a closer look during a break and found the tips of the clutch/brake foot levers ground down. Eh... better than the kickstand itself to throw me into a highside. There's only so much you can lean on a Monster until the stock parts start touching ground. I could buy some rearsets for the Duc but I can't justify spending the money right now when it's used mainly for street riding.
Overall, I had an excellent time. The weather was perfect. Aside from one minor crash and a few off-roading excursions, everyone went home in one piece. Kudos to Jeff Nash and his crew for putting on a great weekend. Look forward to doing it again next year.
I left Houston on Saturday and arrived at the dealership late in the afternoon. Took a quick look around the store at all the pretty bikes and the pretty people dressed in their Ducati clothing. The Dallas dealership was a bit smaller than I expected, but their Alvarado location is still considered the best Ducati dealer in Texas and one of the best in the country. Took a couple of demo rides on a Sport 1000 and a Multistrada 620. There was a 999 demo available, but it was already booked up for the rest of the afternoon. The Sport 1000 was better than I expected in terms of performance, unlike some of the other "retro" modern bikes. Smooth and solid clutchbox, torquey engine, strong brakes, and a decent riding position. This particular demo also had Termi aftermarket pipes on it, so it was LOUD. The only faults I found on it were the heavy clutch pull (usually common among Ducatis) and the sharp tank/seat juncture (kept sliding into it - not fun when hitting bumps and sudden stops).
Went to the Cresson track early Sunday morning. Started to get excited just seeing the elevation changes on the track as I was driving through the gates. After riding the relatively flat tracks at MSRH and TWS, it's a nice change to have actual hills placed throughout the course. I bumped into Tom, one of the instructors at Ride Smart, as I was unloading my bike and he was nice enough to let me pit next to him under the covered area.
It was cool to see all the Ducati bikes in the paddock area. There were a few other Euro brands there too, some Aprilias, a handful of BMWs and Triumphs, and one MV Augusta F4. One thing I noticed was that there were more women riders than at other track days I've attended. They were not on starter Monsters either; a few had their 999's or 749's, and one was on her Paul Smart 1000.
Jeff Nash, the owner of AMS, held the morning riders meeting and we started breaking off into groups. I was in the Novice group since this was my first time at Cresson. Our session eventually came up and we hit the track for the usual Round Robin. The track is compact, more so than MSRH (we ran the 1.7 mile course). But it was a lot more fun and technical due to the elevation changes and off-camber turns.
Throughout the morning I tried to work on my lines and get familiarized with the track, and I started picking up speed after lunch. It was in the later afternoon sessions that I started hearing grinding noises in some of the tighter corners. I figured "must be the footpegs, they're easily replaceable, I'll just back it down a bit and try to hang off more". The grinding noise continued for several more laps until I took a closer look during a break and found the tips of the clutch/brake foot levers ground down. Eh... better than the kickstand itself to throw me into a highside. There's only so much you can lean on a Monster until the stock parts start touching ground. I could buy some rearsets for the Duc but I can't justify spending the money right now when it's used mainly for street riding.
Overall, I had an excellent time. The weather was perfect. Aside from one minor crash and a few off-roading excursions, everyone went home in one piece. Kudos to Jeff Nash and his crew for putting on a great weekend. Look forward to doing it again next year.
