1

May / June 2009 #38 DESMOPHILES

2

3

DESMOPHILES

The Newsletter of DOCNZ

Ducati Owners Club of

NEW ZEALAND

May / June 2009 Issue 38

COMMITTEE PRESIDENT Chris Marer 027-447-4299 SECRETARY Lynda Blair 027-454-5373 TREASURER Nick Brandon 021-974-487 EDITOR / PUBLISHER Chrissie Whitfield 021-769-826 WEBMASTER / EMAIL COORDINATOR Greg Monahan 021-851-916 SOUTH ISLAND EVENT COORDINATOR Stu Jordan 021-062-5239

NORTH ISLAND EVENT COORDINATOR Bill Myers 021-854-262

REGIONAL CONTACTS Auckland Chris (Haldane M/C’s) 09-303-0624 Wayne Lyons 027-4728-343 Waikato Heath (Hamilton M/C) 07-849-1919 Garry Robinson 07-855-9370 Manawatu Trevor Smart 0274-660-459 Hawkes Bay Phil Greaney 025-386-441 Wellington Todd (Motomart) 0800DUCATI Tony Cottle 021-850-509 Motueka Richmond Grant 03-528-0086 Nelson Greg Monahan 021-851-916 Marlborough Graham McDonald 03-578-2490 Christchurch Craig (Casbolts M/C) 03-366-4401 Phil (Desmocycle) 03-344-1916 Dunedin/Deep South Gary Winter 03-476-7515 021-206-9866

the above members and also the

Ducati Dealer Network

All Magazine contributions and Membership Enquiries to:

DOCNZ P.O.Box 27203 Marion Square

Wellington 6141 NEW ZEALAND

Email: secretary@docnz.co.nz

www.docnz.co.nz

4

Good grief!! Where is this year disappearing off to in such a damned hurry? No sooner had I breathed a sigh of relief that the last magazine was sent off in one piece to the printers and then here we are again! Not that it’s an issue … (get it?!) I am really enjoying putting the magazine together for your reading pleasure, but I must admit that a few more hours in the day wouldn't go amiss right now! As I noted in the last issue, I was very disap-pointed to see that the dates for the first VMCC round at Taupo clashed with a wee trip I had had booked for sunnier climes. I hear that eve-ryone that went had a fabulous time for the first round, and I am looking forward to catching up with the racing at Round 2 at Manfeild on the 20th and 21st of this month. My daughter in law has just passed her full bike license so I am looking forward to seeing what new toy will soon be residing in their garage… dare I hope for an Italian offspring? I guess I will have to patient and wait for news of any new arrivals. Can you guess that patience is NOT one of my virtues? Can’t wait for the family ride to be or-ganized though and might just have to pop down to Christchurch and see if I can ‘help’ her check out a few choice European items before accom-panying them both on a wee ride on those beau-tiful South Island roads to celebrate. NO riding for me for a wee while! What is with that? I have to admit that I have toyed with the idea of using the bike to ride to and from work to zip in and out of the traffic in the mornings, but the trouble is that I am never awake enough to zip in—let alone zipping out, so I admit to taking the slack route and patting the bike on its rear as I walk past it to the car in the mornings. Lets face it, some of us are morning people—and some of

us definitely are not. For this issue I am pleased to have received a couple of pieces to the ‘Letter to the Editor’ page(s), and have to say that I am continually im-pressed with the quality of your articles and photo’s and I sit down to read them as soon as they arrive enjoying the feeling of being the first person to read them! This is our first issue of an additional colour page to show off all your wonderful photographs and penmanship. Please keep sending through your feedback or any suggested changes that you would like to see. Ideas, emails, feedback, suggestions, articles, emails to: editor@docnz.co.nz Keep warm and stay dry! and see you back here for the next issue Cheers, Chrissie

EDITOR’SSAY

5

6 SECRETARY’SREPORT

Well, have we had some winter weather or what? The good news is that over the wet cold weekends when only the hardy souls are rid-ing (and let me state here and now that I am NOT one of those!) we’ve had some great racing from the northern summer to keep us entertained. In WSB, I think Ben S is going to give Nitro a run for his money, but I really really really want Nitro to win the title. Congratulations to those hardy souls who braved the Brass Monkey…I’m sure it earned it’s title this year. Before the cold set in we took the bikes up to Morrinsville at Easter to see my Dad. Every time we travel at Easter, there’s so much traf-fic on the roads that I vow and declare that I’m never doing it again…but of course I al-ways forget. This year was no exception, travelling up on Good Friday it was bumper to bumper until we got to Wanganui. We had a quick stop at the McCafé for food and a hot drink (it was chilly!) then up the Paraparas where thankfully there was the normal very light traffic. For a change we came back via Taupo and SH1. We’ve had a few short rides on the odd fine-and-not-too-cold weekends, mainly to the summit of the Rimutakas. For those who aren’t from around the Wellington area, this is a bit of a Mecca for motorcyclists, from time immemorial. You sit at the top, sometimes for hours, and watch those coming up, and going down, and talk with those other like minded souls who also gather there for a while to talk and swap war stories. You grab a coffee or a sammie at the café, and you go to the loo when you need to get rid of the coffee. Or should I say you used to. For the last 18 or so months I’ve been corre-sponding with the local Council who were trying to shut the toilets. They reckoned the toilets didn’t get used. Hamish and I sat up there one weekend and counted.

Over a two day period, 478 people stopped at the top and used the toilets. Not used? Yeah right. However, all my efforts were to no avail. A couple of months ago the café, in between owner/operators, burnt (or was burnt) down, and a day or so later the Council bulldozed the toilets. At least I know I had tried my best. So if you’re touring and heading be-tween Wellington and the Wairarapa, make sure you have a pit stop before you leave. We headed to Taupo in mid May for the first round of the Vic Club Winter Series. The weather was cold but the racing was good. The five remaining rounds are all at Manfeild, one a month up to and including October. It’ll be well worth a visit to the track if you’re in the area. An added bonus is that the McDon-ald’s at Feilding now has a McCafé (yes, I know it’s sad but my life seems to revolve around food, coffee and racing…). We’ve recently got WOFs for several of our bikes. Not that that fact in itself is newswor-thy. But it annoys me that not all VTNZ things, that the inspector needs to hold a full motorcycle licence. It annoys me because all the advertising is “come and get your vehi-cle

7

cle warranted at VTNZ”…but motorcycles are vehicles too! I wonder how many motorcy-clists turn up only to get turned away. Two of the VTNZs closest to us don’t have anyone qualified to do bikes, meaning we have to travel some distance to get our WOFs. Yes, we can go to a motorcycle shop, but for ease we get our warrants on a Saturday morning, and VTNZ open earlier than the bike shops which gives us more riding time after getting our warrants. I must put finger to key-board and write to VTNZ. There’s been lots of doom and gloom in the news recently…Swine Flu, plane crashes and what have you….but the good news for me is that we’ve just bought our tickets for the WSB round at Phillip Island in Feb next year - yay!! Cheers Lynda

SECRETARY’SREPORT (Continued)

8 PRESIDENT’SPRATTLE

By Chris Marer

Winter!! What a difference a couple of months make eh! When I sat down to write my last piece for our magazine it was 22 deg C outside & I had just come back from a quickish fang around some of my favorite back roads. Today I sit down to write my piece looking out the window with a howling southerly and snow flurries!! Yes, bloody SNOW in Wai-kanae!!! First time since 1972 apparently, Global warming Eh! Consequently I haven’t being doing much riding. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any-thing Ducati related going on in my life, thank god for SKY TV I say! I’ve been glued to the screen watching Nitro Nori & Young Michel Fabrizio taking their 1098R Superbikes out on the race tracks of the world & showing the rest of them how proper sports bikes really go!! Also I’ve been amazed at those guy’s in Moto GP with the races running under the new “Flag to flag” format i.e. you can pit & change machines if it starts to rain or goes from rain to dry as it has in a couple of races this sea-son. They are starting out on a wet track with the bike on full wets, then as the track dries out coming in & swapping machines, all under full race conditions! The rider chooses when he does this ……come in too early with the track still a bit

wet…..you risk crashing. (Rossi at Le Mans) ….Stay out to long on the wets on a drying track & the tyres destroy themselves, costing you seconds per lap…..basically it’s a huge gamble on the riders part. The skill that these guys have to race as fast as they do, in very tricky & ever changing conditions, is amazing to watch. Even better the fact that Casey Stoner is leading the championship on “The Red Bike”. On a more close to home front, I have just taken delivery of some more goodies from NCR to fit to my bike, can’t say too much at this stage, but suppose to be good for about 10% - 15% more HP & about the same in-crease in torque. So winter isn’t all the bad as long as you have got SKY and a heater in the shed. Stay warm Ciao Chris

DISCLAIMER Unless expressly stated, the opinions and comments in this newsletter are those of the contributors only, and are not

club policy. Nor does the club guarantee any advertisers products or servicing suggestions made. Although all material is checked for accuracy, no liability is assumed by the editor or DOCNZ.

Our Advertisers and Sponsors Support Us Support them and Support your Club

Whenever you see the services of one of our advertisers (and isn't that all the time?) let them know that you saw the ad in DESMOPHILES. That way they will know that their advertising dollar is being spent wisely. It will help your club, the service provider and above all it will help you (there may be a

9

DUCATI SPECIALIST Dave McDonald

NZ agent for ‘Vee-Two’ performance parts Bel-Ray and Penrite Motorcycle Oils Over 20 years Ducati experience and

expertise! Bevel Drive and

Belt Drive Two Valves a specialty 28-30 Joseph St

Palmerston North 027-682-7083

10 Treasurers Report

The weather and other matters have kept me off the bike apart from the trip to Herbertville reported on elsewhere. As I write this report on Queens Birthday week-end, some of my mates will freezing their prov-erbials at the Brass Monkey Rally in Central Otago. I don’t go every year unlike some ob-sessives (such as Steve Ferguson who has been to 20 plus) and I’m quite glad that I missed this one with some very cold weather forecast for Sunday and Monday. In respect of financial matters, the Turismo made a small loss due to some prices increas-ing after setting the budget. However I feel that this event is so popular and well supported that the Club should be prepared to subsidise these sorts of events. Don’t forget the NDR next year – it should be a ripper. I know that Clare and Nigel will do a fantastic job and of course the Hawkes Bay’s natural attributes will always attract Ducatisti

from far and wide. We have about $10,000 in the bank and it’s not doing us any good there so please think about ways to spend it for the benefit of members and pass your ideas on to commit-tee members. Keep the rubber side down.

Nick Brandon

11

CLIVE, NEW ZEALAND

12 LETTERS to the EDITOR

Here is your opportunity to make your maga-zine work for you. Comments, suggestions, feedback and questions all welcome.

Email me at: editor@docnz.co.nz

Dear Ed, 1098 Two Years On I've had my 1098 for a little over two years, which means the warranty has now expired. In the past - with earlier Ducati models - that would've made me nervous, but with the 1098 I don't have any real concerns. Sure the bike has had a few recalls, and these have all been handled swiftly and efficiently. And sure I've made a couple of warranty claims (one indicator, and one clutch master cylinder). But for some reason I just feel more comfortable with the quality of the bike this time round. This is particularly handy because I don't plan on replacing it for quite some time yet! The 1098 has been superceded by the 1198, which for all intents and purposes is the same bike with a bigger engine. An extra 10 horse-

power on top of too much in the first place, and a handful of other very minor changes isn't tempting me to buy the newer model. The fact that Ducati made so few changes in creating the 1198 shows just how right the 1098 was when it went into production. The fact that the 1198 is comfortably the best bike in the World Superbike Championship right now (Spies is riding the wheels off that R1 and you know it!) shows just how right it still is. The fuss - and there was an awful lot of fuss when 1098 was announced back in Novem-ber '06 - has died down completely. The 1198 didn't really raise too many eyebrows. More power, and a little fettling, was pretty much expected after two years. The 1098/1198 family are now commonplace (well, they are in Ducati circles at least). Eve-ryone has seen one. Many people have rid-den one. But while they may not be the talk of the town these days they still do draw a crowd when they're parked outside cafes and service stations. The aura of Ducati is still there. And even the youngest of bike fans

know they're looking at something special when they're looking at a bright red Bologna Bullet. Jamie. Editors Note: GREAT photo Jamie and I’m with you all the way, the aura of Ducati is definitely here! I love the term—Bologna Bul-let’ and I’m going to use it now.

13 Here is your opportunity to make your magazine work for you. Comments, sugges-tions, feedback and questions all welcome. LETTERS to the EDITOR (Continued)

Dear Editor At risk of being laughed at, I would really ap-preciate a simple explanation of how my Ducati’s desmodronic valves work. Yours in Ducati-ism Interested Housewife Wellington Editors Note: Good question and definitely no laughing matter! I am pleased to be able to tell you that the answer can be found at www.ducati.com Ducati Technical pages - “Desmo for Dummies” http://www.ducati.com/bikes/techcafe.jhtml?artID=2&detail=article&part=technical [Quote] The word "desmodromic" is derived from two Greek roots, desmos (controlled, linked) and dromos (course, track). It refers to the exclusive valve control system used in Ducati engines: both valve movements (opening and closing) are "operated". We usually say that action on the valve is "positive" in both cases, in other words, both strokes are "controlled". In mechanical terms, the word desmodromic is used to refer to mechanisms that have dif-ferent controls for their actuation in different directions. Here are a few clarifying examples: imagine a saw cutting a tree trunk: the act of pushing and pulling the saw is a des-modromic action. By contrast, the movement of a door handle is not controlled by a desmodromic mecha-nism: this motion is only controlled in one (opening) direction, while the return is auto-matically obtained via a spring, in a less con-trolled manner. And finally, an example for bikers: you must

know the difference between a "single-pull" and a "push-pull" throttle cable (desmodromic) twistgrip. The current Ducati desmodromic system, beating under your tank, can have two or four

valves: The "closing" and "opening" definitions ap-plied to rocker arms and cams are basically not correct, because each of them partici-pates in both types of movement. Have you ever seen a stripped Ducati head and observed the presence of springs? Don’t wince: the system is, indeed, desmodromic, the springs are only necessary to take up the closure system slack.

(Continued on Page 26)

Family Desmo due (two)

Desmo quattro (four)

Superbike - All

SuperSport All -

Monster 400 600 750 900

S4

SportTouring ST2 ST4 ST4S

14 The New Zealand Turismo - before , after and during

The New Zealand Turismo - before, after, and during

Hamish Rose, Melbourne

It seems like so long ago now but it’s only been three months since I spent 15 days riding around New Zealand. Maybe because plan-ning a trip like this always takes so much longer than travelling. As the trip drew closer we had a huge heat-wave in Victoria, temperatures of up to 46 de-grees in Melbourne and huge bushfires across the state. I have to admit I’d never looked for-ward to the prospect of cool days and a bit of rain more in my life. The trip was supposed to be me on a Bimota DB2 that my brothers and I had purchased, and my father (Stafford) on his Monster. As it turned out Dad was injured and could only ride for about an hour a day and so my brother, Willie, joined us for the trip from Sydney with Mum (Lynne) as support crew in the car. As we got off the planes in Auckland where Dad met us, there was an eagerness and ex-citement between the three of us that was ap-parent at a glance. With riding gear in tow, we went back to Mum and Dads’ to prepare and inspect the bikes and ready ourselves for the two weeks ahead. Willie and I were riding from Auckland to the start of the Turismo in Havelock where Mum and Dad were to meet us. The first two days were spent getting to Wellington from Auckland and the promise of plenty of roadworks and a bit of rain did not disappoint as we travelled the back roads down through Otorohanga, Te Kuiti, Taumarunui, and out to Ohakune for lunch. The good roads I had remembered riding as a teenager were at this time of year nothing but roadworks and, tempered with a bit of drizzle, made for a few

treacherous and butt clenching moments. The great twists and turns were still there but with marble sized stones on the road we tended to be a bit cautious - it was the first day after all! From Ohakune the roads were clear and dry and we headed out to Waiouru and down to Vinegar Hill to our first overnight stop in Palm-erston North. The ride from Palmerston North to Wellington took us over the Tararua ranges towards Mas-terton where we again encountered a little rain but not enough to worry us. We came this way to ride over the Rimutaka ranges and the 100 kms of straight road would surely be worth it - drizzle, slippery roads and slow cars - worst luck. Of course that was only on the actual ranges. We spent the night in Wellington and headed to the ferry in the morning. Dad was amongst the 20-odd other bikers on the ferry. Lots of riders talk and meeting new people. Everyone was so friendly we felt right at home. We got off the ferry and proceeded around Queen Charlotte Sound to Havelock. A beauti-ful piece of winding road, with a few scary camper vans - something that I would have to get used to on South Island roads.

15 - By Hamish Rose (Melbourne)

Registration was in Havelock and our first en-counter with Lynda, Turismo Coordinator. With riding crop in hand she laid down the law and handed out the following day’s ride sheets. Everything was so well organised, something we would all be so grateful for over the next seven days. Havelock to Westport 294kms. Dad and I started the ride and followed the great winding road to Nelson where we were to meet with Mum and Willie. In Nelson we had a coffee and then Willie and I headed off to find some back roads. We had the general ride sheet but you can always find another road. As we headed down a police free back road I had my biggest scare of the trip ploughing into a hawk at just over the speed limit. Honest! It cart wheeled into the bush not to be seen again. The highlight of this day would have to be the Buller Gorge. Stunning scenery and a great twisty road ticked all the boxes. Westport to Haast 422kms. This was the long-est day and one of the most scenic. As you head down the West Coast of the South Island you have the ocean to your right and the South-ern Alps on your left and with the crisp clear day that we had we could see 100s of kms - to Mt Cook. We cruised down the coast as there are a lot of open spaces and a few police as those who contributed to the consolidated fund on this day will attest.

Next stop was Franz Joseph where we all boarded a helicopter and headed up the gla-ciers for a scenic flight and walk on the snow. Stunning. As we headed south from here we started to encounter more twisties and were awestruck by the thick fog at Bruce Bay, which disappeared as quickly as it came once we passed the bay. From here were some fast open corners and road that got us to Haast in double time. The day was only dampened by the news of an accident by one of the riders. Luckily he was fine but the bike was a write off and he would not be joining us for the rest of the trip. Haast to Crowell 300kms. We decided to head south to Jacksons Bay before heading over the Alps. This is the end of the road on the West Coast and is only untamed forest for the next 300km. A beautiful little township on a beautiful coastline - the only problem was the car-sized sand flies hitting our visors and trying to eat our faces, but well worth the extra 90km ride. From here back to Haast and up and over the Haast Pass with Jason, Nigel and Perry, who we would ride with for the rest of the trip. This would have to be my favourite ride of the trip, fast open roads and corners that were tem-pered with stunning mountain scenery and deep blue lakes. Jason summed it up best - “just when you think you’ve seen the most

16 beautiful thing, something more stunning comes along and ruins it.”

Peninsula. The only damper to this day were the logging trucks we encountered on The New Zealand Turismo - Hamish Rose (Cont)

beautiful thing, something more stunning comes along and ruins it.” Once we were over the alps and had run down to Wanaka we headed to the Cardona Hotel for a quick thirst quencher then down the mountain and through the Kawarau Gorge to Cromwell. The stop to watch planes land in Queenstown between the mountain ranges was amazing. Cromwell to Ashburton 345kms. This took us through Central Otago and Canterbury. Here the roads really opened up and the twisties were replaced by straights. The threat of rain, wind and the cold were problematic but an easy day if not a little boring once on the Canterbury Plains. The day’s highlights were the side trip up to Mount Cook township where New Zea-land’s tallest mountain could be seen quite clearly and the Lindis Pass heading into Omarama - a beautiful open winding piece of

road. Ashburton to St Arnaud 379kms. A day where once again the straights seemed to dominate the first part of the day as we headed from Ashburton to Waipara, with even the back roads offering no relief. From here though, the roads showed some promise again as we headed toward the Lewis Pass. Once past Culverden our prayers were answered and again the road tightened up and riding through the forest was pure joy! We got to Springs Junction for a short breather before heading up to St Arnaud in the Nelson lakes region for the final night - another great night and a lot of fun with the 60-odd people who had been on the Turismo. The next day we all headed our separate ways. Willie, Perry and myself headed south to ride

17 Arthurs Pass over to Christchurch - the only pass we hadn’t ridden yet. The day started foggy and cold and the air stung as I had to ride with my visor up to stop the inside fogging up. Once we reached Reefton it was fine and we continued over the

) to ride Arthurs Pass over to Christchurch - the only pass we hadn’t ridden yet. The day started foggy and cold and the air stung as I had to ride with my visor up to stop the inside fogging up. Once we reached Reefton it was fine and we continued over the pass where a ‘scenery and beautiful road’ overload seemed to take hold. We skirted around Christchurch, farewelled Perry and headed up the coast to Kaikoura. From Kaikoura we had a beautiful day to ride up the coast to Picton to catch the ferry. Not so pleasant - a fairly rough though bearable crossing, then on to a second stop in Palm-erston North. Having not had enough riding!!! we headed East out to the Hawkes Bay then up to Wairora, Gisborne, Opotiki then Whakatane. A beautiful part of the country with some of the

best and emptiest roads in the North Island. After a nights rest in Whakatane we headed for the Coromandel to Cooks Beach via Waihi Whangamata and Hahei for a well deserved (continued over page)

The New Zealand Turismo - Hamish Rose (Cont)

18 The New Zealand Turismo - Hamish Rose (Cont)

(Continued from page 17) two night break. The Coromandel’s roads are wonderfully tight and twisty, at times with some great hill climbs and descents. We loved it! After resting our backs for two days we headed for Auckland going the long way, of course, around the Coromandel Peninsula. the Western side but the beautiful beaches more than made up for it. Back in Auckland we were both happy and sad to be off the bikes. We could do with a rest but we were going to miss it. Mum, Dad, Willie and I would like to thank eve-ryone we met on the trip and who made us feel so welcome. We made some great friends and look forward to seeing you all in 2 years time. A big thanks to Lynda Blair for all the work she put in to make this one of the most memorable trips of my life. Hamish Rose

19 route’ toward Ashburton, which proved to be heavily

“

20 SUPERBIKE Calendar and Championship Standings 2009

March 1 Phillip Island Haga 1st Fabrizio 6th Laconi 7th

March 14 Losail Haga 1st Laconi 7th Fabrizio 11th

April 5 Valencia Haga 1st Fabrizio 4th Laconi 6th

April 26 Assen Haga 1st Fabrizio 4th Laconi 8th

May 10 Monza Haga 1st Fabrizio 3rd Laconi 7th

May 17 Kayalami Haga 1st Fabrizio 2nd Laconi 8th

May31 Salt Lake City Haga 1st Fabrizio 3rd Laconi 11th

June 21 Misano

June 28 Donnington Park

July 26 Brno

September 6 Nurburgring

September 27 Imola

October 4 MagnyCours

October 25 Portimao

Australia

Qatar

Spain

Netherlands

Italy

South Africa

USA

Republic of San Mar-ino

Europe

Czech Republic

Germany

Italy

France

Portugal

21

22 HOW Did It Happen?

Yes well how did it happen?? There I was happy as a sandboy with my first true love - a 2002 900IE Monster. A bike with capabilities that far exceeded my own. Then one day while looking at the Ducati website I saw my true loves big sister all re-splendent in her multicolour livery (and twice the HP). Many thoughts raced thru my head the first being the need to win lotto so I could afford two bikes. How could I justify getting her the new love of my life. In the back of my head was Madam Whip's dulcet tones, “Don't forget to get new tyres on your bike's for Turismo 09”. Then it came to me, I could blame Madam Whip, new tyre's for Turismo, of course that's it, a new bike comes with 'new tyres' problem solved. So after much to’ing and fro’ing between Haldane's and the bank manager the deal is struck and the anxious wait begins will she make it in time for Turismo. That was the easy part of the shopping, so begins endless trolling on the internet and buying trinkets with which to bling her out with to which those ‘Turismo tearaways’ can attest to, they did indeed arrive in time to adorn her fine form, a many and varied list. But the

ones I was asked the most about I will give you the websites for. 1st a Tri colore reflector from www.spareshack.com

2nd A flash rego holder with many thanx to Stafford and Hamish Rose and www.regoprotube.com.au

So back to the story. Yes she arrived in time and for a brief mo-ment (about 20 min) I joined that "club", I owned two Ducati Monsters, the 900IE and her big sister, the 999 engined MS4RS Tri Colore.

23 23 By Perry Dunfoy

So with a tear in my eye and a stupid grin on my face I left Haldane's, Tri Colore in tow to get her home and fit the newly acquired bling. Those that attended Turismo also know that vanity got the better of me and I did not hold back, with a new Arai helmet in in hand I ap-proached Stir Helmets in Auckland and asked the impossible of Mark (the owner, painter, magician), and boy did he come through with what I can only call a stunning custom paint job.

He matched the helmet to the Tri Colore paint scheme with plenty of style and a handful of pearl flake for bling. If you want a custom paint job check him out Mark James, Stir Hel-mets, Auckland. He is also an authorised /approved Arai painter. And on a final note I would like to thank the Turismo committee and their support team for all the hard yards they put in before the ride and each and every day of the ride to make this an excellent event once again. And to the cast of idiots that were repeaters and to the first timers thanks for the fun times and memories and see you at NDR 2010 and Turismo 2011. Editors Note: Great write up and photo’s Perry, I hear a wee rumour that your new pride and joy might have had an ‘unplanned trip’?! Glad no harm done ;-)

24

25 MOTOGP Calendar and Championship Results 2009

12Apr Losail Circuit Qatar Grand Prix Of Qatar

26Apr Motegi Japan Grand Prix of Japan

03May Jerez Spain Gran Premio De Es-pana

17 May Le Mans France Grand Prix De France

31May Mugello Italy Grand Primo D’Italia

14Jun Circuit de Catalunya Catalunya Gran Premi De Cata-lunya

27Jun Assen Netherlands TT Assen

05Jul Laguna Seca United States U.S. Grand Prix

19Jul Sachsenring Germany Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

26Jul Donnington Park Great Britian British Grand Prix

16Aug Automotodrom Brno Czech Repub-lic

Grand Prix Ceske Re-publiky

30Aug Indianapolis Indianapolis Indianapolis Grand Prix

06Sept Misano San Marino GP Di San Marino E Della Riveria Di Rimini

20Sept Baltonring Hungary Grand Prix of Hungary

04Oct Estoril Portugal Grande Premio De Portugal

18Oct Phillip Island Australia Australian Grand Prix

25Oct Sepang Malaysia Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix

08Nov Comunitat Valencia Valencia Gran Premio De La Comunitat Valencia

Casey Stoner 1st; Nicky Hayden 12th

Casey Stoner 4th

Casey Stoner 3rd; Nicky Hayden 15th

Casey Stoner 5th; Nicky Hayden 12th

Casey Stoner 1st; Nicky Hayden 12th

Casey Stoner 3rd Nicky Hayden 10th

26 LETTERS to the EDITOR (Continued)

(Continued from page 13)

WHY DESMO? What pushed "ingegner" Fabio Taglioni, and everybody else at Ducati, to persevere with the desmo system? In an interview of 1989, Taglioni himself ex-plained that, in mechanics (which means, in real life) there is not ONE best solution in absolute terms. The secret of success is to develop one’s intuition with devotion, logic and ingeniousness. "...it was just by doing calculations that I had to conclude, at the end of a series of logically connected, very clear engineering considera-tions, that it was necessary to eliminate the spring preloading!" Taglioni knew that it would be a road bristling with obstacles connected with designing and manufacturing, but he wanted to leave behind the two traditional drawbacks of a spring system: • heavy spring loading, which meant more engine work (and the resulting power loss)

• "valve bounce" at high RPM. In other words: To obtain good results with a spring system, it is necessary to find a compromise between heavier spring loading requirements (possibility to turn at high RPM, while prevent-ing valve bounce) and lighter spring loading requirements (loss control, loss being the amount of work necessary to open the valves against the spring loading: it should be re-membered that the camshaft is driven by the engine; and smaller sizing of the parts in-volved, proportional to the spring loading). These problems are all solved by a des-modromic system: smoothness (and conse-quently, decreased losses) at low RPM and reliability at high RPM (without valve bounce) are obtained. Ducati has consistently used its desmodromic system ever since 1956. It is the only manu-facturer in the world to have applied it to any-thing from standard production bikes to Su-perbike glory: the achieved standard of excel-lence mirrors Ducati corporate technology. [\Quote] Editors Note: Phew that was a wee bit long-winded but I enjoyed the research—hope that helps:-)

27 National Motorcycle Expo — Matt Meads

The National Motorcycle Expo is billed as world class. A bold statement, but with the quality and variety of entries that the show attracts, it is definitely a fact. The American, British and European motorcy-cles which are entered in the National Motor-cycle Expo are of such a high standard that they would compete favourably in any show throughout the world. The 2009 National Motorcycle Expo was the 13th Anniversary of the event. It has been organized and presented by the MAGOG MOTORCYCLE CLUB bi-annually since 1983 to enable the general public to view a sam-pling of the vast array of immaculate non-Japanese motorcycles in New Zealand . On my display I had both my bikes the F1 750 and 1098 tricolore plus Adams 1098R (cool bike) after spending far to much time getting

ready as I do it looked damned hot with me getting 4 great trophies when I have never seen anyone winning more 2 trophies. Best competition F1 750. 1st excellence in paint 1098 tricolore. Best individual display all bikes. 2nd modern era 1098 tricolore.

28 Desmo’s Go To Herbertville

Desmo’s go to Herbertville When Tim & Lorraine Campbell invited Wendy and I for a Saturday night in Herbert-ville my first reaction was where the #%$@ is Herbertville? Had a look at a map and found it tucked just south of Cape Turnagain on the east coast of the North Island roughly on the border of be-tween Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa. But the name - Herbertville – hmmm maybe it’s the place for Herberts to hang out? Would we see any of the rare spotty Herberts? Tim assured me that it was relatively civilized and had a camping ground across the road from a pub where you could get a meal. So we said we’d be there even if it was just to satisfy our curiosity about the place with a name like Herbertville – but we were keen to find out more so said yes we’ll see you there.

Wendy had to get back from Wanganui and was a little later than expected so I had the bikes ready to go with gas, tyre pressures sorted, chains checked and lubed. It was a mid afternoon departure from Masterton in warm sunny conditions. Unusually heavy traffic meant it was a fairly dull trip up SH2 through some the Waira-rapa’s more notable burgs such as Maurice-ville, Eketahuna, Paihiatua, Woodville, and Dannevirke where we turned off and headed east towards the coast. About 70 km of good secondary roads and suddenly there was the camping ground. The accommodation was INTERESTING. The camping ground didn’t seem to have many tents, it was almost fully occupied by a collection of old caravans and house trucks which clearly never slowed traffic anymore and some of them connected by rough sheds. Mod cons were limited to power.

29 By Nick Brandon

Mice were compulsory sleeping companions. Everything else was to be found in the com-munal facilities. So there were three Ducatis in residence – Tim and Lorraine on the Multistrada, Wendy’s Monster and my 998 plus a matching pair of Suzuki cruisers. After pre dinner drinks it was over to the pub for more drinks and a meal. The fresh Gur-nard was very good but the other items on the seafood platter were fresh out of the freezer rather than the Pacific. Very few locals in the pub but we didn’t let that put us off. Wendy was up bright and early and took a few photos – a small selection appears be-low. It was a much better ride home – low traffic and good speed made with no taxation.

We were tempted to take the back roads to the east of SH2 but were advised that Tran-sit’s annual end of financial year road works campaign had taken the fun out of it so it was back the way we came. Would I go back to Herbertville?

The general area is very good for motorcy-cling and the scenery is picturesque in a uniquely Kiwi style. But having previously stayed at another small village called Porongahau which is about 20 km north and a bit more civilized, I would rec-ommend that location. And the road from Waipukerau to Poron-gahau is also worth the diversion.

30

As those of you who have been members for a year or two will know, in the past Ducati Italy have sent us yearly “membership kits” for each financial member. The kit consists of a little badge, cloth patch and sticker, all etched with the current year. We have just been advised that for 2009 the way the kits are distributed is being han-dled differently. If you would like a kit, you will need to click on the link below and register on the Ducati.com website. The items in the kit are shown on the first page. We (as a Club) will be alerted that you have registered, and we will verify to Ducati that you are a financial member of our Club. Ducati will then send the kits to us and we will distribute them to you. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU DO NOT REGISTER THEN YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A KIT. If you have paid a $60 subscription for a couple, and you would both like a kit, you will need to register twice, once for each of you. Note that you will need a separate email address for the second kit - the registration website won't accept the same email ad-dress twice. Please be aware that we are not sure how long it will take from you registering until we receive the kits, so once you have registered, please be patient. We also don't know if there is a time limit for ordering, so we suggest that if you are wanting a kit, that you register straight away. Copy this link into your address bar: http://www.ducati.com/news/09/news_club/welcomekit/kit.jhtml

Ducati Membership Kits

31 Turismo Photographs

32 Turismo Photographs (continued)

33 DOCNZCLUB NIGHTS

Auckland Headquarters Restaurant and Bar, 132 Beaumont St, Westhaven 1st Wednesday of each month from 7.30pm Hamilton Hamilton Motorcycle Centre, Te Rapa Road, Hamilton 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm Palmerston North Icons Stadium Bar, Main St, Palmerston North 1st Wednesday of each month from 7.30pm Wellington The Featherston Bar and Grill, Corner Featherston & Johnston Streets, Wel-lington 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm Nelson Mapua Village Inn, Nelson 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm Christchurch Speights Ale House, Tower Junction 1st Tuesday of each month from 7.00pm

NOTE: New location for Christchurch

34 DUCATI.com News (MotoGP) www.ducati.com

POSITIVE TEST FOR STONER DESPITE ILLNESS, HAYDEN FAILS TO REPEAT THE RESULTS OF THE RACE WEEKEND After the well deserved podium earned last Sunday at the Catalunya GP, allowing him to main-tain his joint lead in the classification, Casey Stoner yesterday returned to the same track, de-spite his weariness, to participate in a post-race test session. The Australian rider was still feel-ing weak and under the weather, so much so as to have to terminate the testing two hours early, having completed just 38 laps, but he was nonetheless satisfied with the work that was com-pleted with the GP9. Nicky Hayden barely got off his bike today but was still unable to get the maximum from the lat-est updates for his machine. Nevertheless, his team were able to collect a great amount of data and this will be analysed in order to give Nicky the best possible chance at Assen so that he can develop on the progress made over the Catalunya race weekend. CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 5th - 1:42.763 (38 laps) “This morning, when I woke up, I had some cramp in my legs and a backache so I did some physiotherapy con Freddy (Dente, the team’s physiotherapist) and then got on the bike. I was not in perfect shape and I couldn’t make more than a couple of runs at a time. Despite this, we man-aged to test what we needed to test, the set-up of the bike, the carbon fork and a new rear shock. I’m fairly happy because the test has confirmed what we thought and I think we are im-proving bit by bit. We are still lacking some rear grip but we we’ve found a few ways to improve the bike and I am optimistic. Now I’m looking forward to resting and to getting back to 100% fit-ness in time for Assen.” NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati MotoGP Team) 14th - 1:44.1 (98 laps) “It wasn’t the day I had hoped for, seeing the progress we had made over the weekend. In Satur-day morning’s practice, when it was a little cooler and the conditions were similar to those of to-day, I lapped in 1m43.6 while here today I haven’t gone under 1m44 and right from the start I didn’t have the same feeling as I had over the weekend. I don’t know why, also because we worked so hard, but I hope that the data collected is of use to the engineers so we can prepare well for Assen.” Test times, Monday 15th June 2009. 1. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) 1:42.230 (69 laps) 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1:42.434 (58) 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1:42.446 (80) 4. Mika Kallio (Ducati) 1:42.637 (98) 5. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1:42.763 (38) 6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) 1:43.188 (83) 7. Randy De Puniet (Honda) 1:43.247 (76) 8. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1:43.299 (83) 9. Alex De Angelis (Honda) 1:43.360 (69) 10. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati) 1:43.391 (90) 11. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki) 1:43.506 (89) 12. Toni Elias (Honda) 1:43.708 (60) 13. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) 1:43.819 (45) 14. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1:44.1 (98) 15. Gabor Talmacsi (Honda) 1:45.056 (53)

June16, 2009

35 DUCATI.com News (SBK) www.ducati.com

Noriyuki Haga

1999: World Superbike Championship, 7th Yamaha 1998: World Superbike Championship, 6th Yamaha 1997: Japanese Superbike Champion / World Superbike Championship, 13th Yamaha 1996: Suzuka 8 hours winner / Japanese Superbike Championship 8th / World Superbike Cham-pionship, 22nd Yamaha 1995: Japanese Superbike Championship 10th Yamaha 1994: Japanese Superbike Championship 9th Ducati 1993: Japanese 250 Championship 13th 1992: Japanese Championship Novice GP250/SP250 (Yamaha)

(Continued over page )

Personal Stats Age: 33 Nationality: Japanese Date of Birth: March 2nd 1975 Place of Birth: Nagoya (Japan) Marital Status: Married to Yurie with two children, Akito and Ryota Height: 168cm Weight: 65kg Hobbies: Watersports, Golf, spending time with friends and family Race Number: 41 Career 2009: World Superbike Championship (Ducati Xerox) 2008: World Superbike Championship, 3rd Yamaha 2007: World Superbike Championship, 2nd Yamaha 2006: World Superbike Championship, 3rd Yamaha 2005: World Superbike Championship, 3rd Yamaha 2004: World Superbike Championship, 3rd Ducati 2003: World MotoGP Championship 14th Aprilia 2002: World MotoGP Championship 4th Aprilia 2001: World MotoGP Championship 14th Yamaha 2000: World Superbike Championship, 2nd Yamaha

36

DUCATI.com News (SBK) www.ducati.com

Noriyuki Haga (Continued) Noriyuki Haga, also known as ‘Nitro-Nori’, came into the public eye on an international scale when he won the Suzuka 8 hours endurance race in 1996 alongside American rider Colin Ed-wards. In that same year he scored his first World Superbike podium finish, when he accepted a wild-card ride at Sugo, his home track. The following year he triumphed in the Japanese Super-bike Championship to take that title, as well as achieving four top-five finishes in the World Su-perbike Championship while substituting for an injured Edwards. At the 1997 Sugo round he took his first ever Superbike win. In 1998 Noriyuki turned his attention to racing full-time in the World Superbike class, adopting the number 41 that he has used ever since. In that year he won five races and concluded the sea-son in sixth position, despite never having seen many of the circuits on the calendar before. He went on to finish seventh in the standings in 1999 and then followed this up with a much stronger performance in 2000, when he took 4 wins and 11 podiums, to close the season as vice-champion behind the winner Colin Edwards. In 2001 and 2003 Noriyuki moved across to the MotoGP series, racing a WCM Red Bull-sponsored Yamaha 500cc motorcycle in 2001, and with MS Racing’s MotoGP Aprilia in 2003.

He had two difficult seasons and finished both in a disappointing fourteenth position, his best result a fourth place finish in 2001. 2002 was a winless season in World Super-bike but a return to the category in 2004, rid-ing this time for the Renegade Ducati team with the Ducati 999RS, saw Noriyuki in con-tention for the title right up until the final round. He won six of the seasons races, be-fore eventually finishing third in the standings. This performance was repeated in 2005, this time riding for Yamaha’s factory team, with ten podium places, and again in 2006 after scoring eleven podium place finishes.

The battle that Noriyuki fought against James Toseland in 2007 led to the closest championship finish to date, a year in which Noriyuki clocked up six race wins and fifteen podium places, in-cluding the double win at the final round of the final round of the season at Magny-Cours. De-spite all this, he still had to settle for second place, just two points behind title winner James Toseland. In 2008 Noriyuki continued on with the Yamaha Motor Italia team for the fourth con-secutive year, and a strong set of results that included a double win at Nurburgring and Valle-lunga meant that he closed the year in third position behind second-placed man and team-mate Troy Corser, and Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox), crowned World Champion in 2008 for the third time. Noriyuki replaces the now retired Troy Bayliss in the Ducati Xerox team in 2009 and is hungry for a championship title, having finished second or third in the standings for the last five years.

37

Nitro Nori !!

DUCATI GOLD INSURANCE

Ducati Gold Insurance has a significant addition to their motorcycle policy on the horizon that may well be of great interest to multiple bike owners who don’t insure their second or third bikes.

For a slight premium increase on your main motorcycle pol-icy, you can be insured for any bike you own, and are riding, based on the principle that you can only ride one bike at a time....the full details will be announced for the first time here in the next issue of the magazine.

38

ROUND 8 AND THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM IS BACK ON HOME TURF; WORLD SUPERBIKES TRAVEL TO THE ADRIATIC COAST With half of the 2009 Superbike races now completed, Noriyuki holds 38 more points than last year’s leader, former Ducati Xerox rider Bayliss, held at the mid-way point and also has a greater points advantage over the second placed rider at this stage. If he makes the podium of both of Misano’s races, he will reach obtain the 100th podium finish of his Superbike career. Michel has already collected 201 championship points this year, compared to the 106 he held at this point in 2008. There is however still a long way to go, as Noriyuki and Michel both realise, and the key to success is clearly consistency. Last year’s Misano podium finisher, former Ducati Xerox rider and current World Champion Troy Bayliss will also be visiting Misano over the weekend in his role as Ducati ambassador, partici-pating in signing sessions and assisting with prize-giving duties. Noriyuki Haga (1st in championship, 265 points) This weekend will be Noriyuki’s tenth World Superbike event at Misano and the 34-year old Japanese rider is determined to bounce back after the somewhat disappointing results of Salt Lake. “The Misano track is very small and tricky with high-speed corners that require aggressive brak-ing. I prefer the new layout but it remains nonetheless a difficult track for me, I don’t really know why. It's always so hot there too, so the tyre choice really comes into play. Anyway, it will be good to be back in front of the Italian crowds, Misano has been the "home" race for Ducati in the last years so I'm sure it'll be crowded with Ducatisti! After a crash and the less than perfect re-sults at the last round of Salt Lake, I plan to be back on form and fighting to win at Misano.” Michel Fabrizio (3rd in championship, 201 points) Michel has not had an easy time of it at this Italian track in the last three years; this needs to change in 2009. “Misano is not one of my favourite tracks as I’ve had a lot of bad luck there over the years and have never been able to get strong results. Having said that, the support of the fans there is al-ways huge so I hope that this season they will spur me on to achieve my best ever Misano re-sults! I'm back in third place in the championship but, after Salt Lake, me and Ben are extremely close now so I'll be looking to bring home as many points as possible from the track this week-end.”

June 16, 2009

DUCATI.com News (SBK) www.ducati.com

39

(

40

DUCATI GOLD INSURANCE

A specialised tailor-made insurance package for Ducati Owners featuring:

Highly competitive rates

Sensible excess Flexible payment options

Bonus – interest free monthly payment scheme Reduced premiums

0800 helpline service for policy holders Accessories and riding gear cover

included in each policy

Phone, fax or e-mail for a no obligation quote

CASBOLTS MOTORCYCLES 39 MANCHESTER ST

CHRISTCHURCH

Ph 03-366-4401, Ph & fax 03-366-4402

E-mail sales@casbolts.co.nz

41

I ........................................................… ...…….................................................… [first name] [surname] of ......................................................… ...........................................................… [postal address] [suburb / city] ..................................… ..................... ...........… …......................................... [postcode] [Home telephone] [Cell phone] ......................................................... (I am happy to receive Ducati related emails Y / N )

[email]

hereby apply for

Full m/ship [$50.00] Family* m/ship (family members or partners living under same roof) [$60.00] Associate m/ship (non Ducati Owner – no voting rights) [$50.00]

of the Ducati Owners Club New Zealand. In the event of my admission as a member, I agree to abide by the constitution and by-laws of DOCNZ.

I enclose payment of $....................................... by cheque made out to DOCNZ. I wish to pay by direct credit. (Our account details are: DOCNZ National Bank-Palmerston North 060746-0276337-00 Please ensure your name is included in the information. Please note that you must still send in your membership form, noting you have paid directly.)

Signature: .......................................................... Date: ............................................. Please note that memberships expire at the end of January. Applications and renewals received between November and January are registered as a membership for the following year. Particulars of motorcycle/s: ________________________________________________________________

[model and capacity] [year] [VIN / Chassis or Rego #] ________________________________________________________________

[model and capacity] [year] [VIN / Chassis or Rego #] ________________________________________________________________

assoc. [make, model & capacity] [year] [VIN / Chassis or Rego #]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICE USE ONLY Cheque No ____________________ Rcvd: ___/___/___ Amt: $__________ Clearly state name on back of cheque DOCNZ Interim Membership: Received the sum of...……......... from……………….....................................being for membership renewal / application. (to January 31 2010) Signed .................................................... on behalf of DOCNZ Committee Ducati Owners Club New Zealand. P.O.Box 27203 Marion Square, Wellington 6141, NZ Email: secretary@docnz.co.nz

DOCNZMEMBERSHIP FORM

42

Front cover— Scott Smart BSB (Oulton Park) Superstock 1000 - photo courtesy of Perry Dunfoy

The NZ Turismo (page 14) - photo’s by Hamish Rose

HOW Did it Happen (page 22) - photo’s by Perry Dunfoy

National Motorcycle Expo—photo’s by Matt Meads

Desmo’s Go To Herbertville—photo’s by Nick Brandon

Turismo photo’s by Stu Jordan

IF YOU'RE IN THE BUSINESS OF DUCATI MOTORCYCLES YOU MAY WISH TO REACH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE THROUGH THIS SPECIAL INTEREST CLUB MAGAZINE

SIZE 1 ISSUE 3 ISSUES 6 ISSUES

1/8 page $15.00 $30.00 50.00

1/4 page $20.00 $35.00 $60.00

1/2 page $35.00 $70.00 $110.00

Full page $65.00 $110.00 $200.00

Payment is due at the time of placement of advert. Club Classifieds Free classified advertising for club members is available on the DOCNZ website. Registered users can surf to www.docnz.co.nz, click the Forums link, and use the Buy/Sell/Swap forum. If you have any queries or need help please email webmaster@docnz.co.nz.

Contributions should be sent to: The Editor DESMOPHILES

P.O.Box 27203 Marion Square

Wellington 6141 Email : editor@docnz.co.nz

Deadlines are the 1st February, April, June, August, October and December for issues due out

towards the end of the month.

Display advertising is available for business – please contact the secretary. Rates above.

DESMOPHILES ADVERTISING RATES

CONTRIBUTIONS

PICTURECREDITS

43

44