PRINTER PRANKSTERS
‘I could sit and stare at it all day’
Best ride It lives for fast, flowing corners and no place on Earth plays to its strengths like the Nürburgring. Turning up there in May, my first few laps are scrappy, but by the fourth everything clicks and what follows, as the V4 floats through the next 73 corners, is one of the most memorable 12.8 miles of my life. Acceleration is so relentlessly brutal, the German straights have never seemed so short. Back in the pits I’m trembling. My senses have been sharpened to the point I could read a number plate from the moon.
Longest day Penultimate day of a Croatia road trip: 480-miles in 11 hours from Mugello to Strasbourg.
What hurt first? Right wrist (smashed and set funny in 1994).
Anything to confess? I left the ignition on and drained the battery.
High point Riding the coast road from Rijeka to Split, surrounded by mountains and the sparkling sea.
Low point Croatia trip again: it rained so hard leaving Lake Como that the left handlebar grip came unstuck.
What do you most admire? How Ducati cram so much technology, beauty and glimmering build quality into such a small, light bike.
What’s it really good at? Nailing fast, sweeping corners with devastating stability and ease.
And really bad at? It easily overpowers its rear tyre on a circuit; race rubber is a must if you want to win a trackday.
What’s broken or fallen off?
After a light brush with a hedge the right mirror stalk snapped. The quickshifter failed at 4000 miles.
What irritates? The right mirror vibrates and the sidestand is tricky to get down while
wearing race boots.
Tell us a secret It’s kind to tyres. I’ve got 5500 miles from the front Supercorsa SP and 4000 from the rear and they’re still going strong. What did you think at the
beginning? I was besotted. And now? Still besotted, but it’s harder to manage on a normal track than I thought it would be. It’s more uncomfortable than I anticipated, too. For me it’s perfect for the Ring, short road blasts… and ogling at for hours on end.