< BACK TO GALLERY | 2017 Ducati Panigale 959
New bike day
february 3, 2018
Fast forward a few years to the 2017 NYC Motorcycle Show where my wife and I attended. Seeing as how I was "outgrowing" my Ninja 250, I was looking to make an upgrade. I went mainly to sit on the brand newly redesigned Yamaha R6. I thought it was beautiful from every angle I had seen it in but I needed to sit in the seat and feel it out for myself. And I did along with a bunch of various bikes here and there. While I still loved the way it looked, my wife could see that I ultimately did not like the way it felt. The seat was wide, it felt a bit plastic overall, and I felt I'd have to change a lot to make it feel and look the way I'd want it to. The star for me was the Aprilia RSV4 in silver. I feel in love with it. My wife saw it too and she began asking me about it. "It's a dream bike," I exclaimed. "It's like the Lamborghini of the motorcycle world. Ducati would be the Ferrari."
She asked me very simply, "Why don't you just buy your dream bike instead of buying a Yamaha? You'll end up modifying the hell out of the Yamaha and buying every part for it and then in a few years you'll want to sell it for something else and then you'll modify that thing out and then ENOUGH! Just buy the end-all-be-all bike and modify that and be done with it." Mic drop.
A few weeks later, I find this barely used 2017 Ducati Panigale 959 sitting in a Ducati dealership in Manhattan. A few emails later and I'm committing to checking it out in person, meaning I'd have to muster up the courage to walk through the front doors of this Ducati dealership. With my wife by me at my side, it was easy. As I walked in, I was overwhelmed by beautiful works of art dripping in Ducati red for as far as I could see. I walked up the stairs to the used bike section and there we met for the first time. And it was instant love. I looked at the salesman and said, "This won't be too hard of a sale for ya." I'm a brilliant buyer.
So why the Ducati instead of the Aprilia? TBH, I'm not sure. I think one major thing that drew me to the Ducati, which many people may disagree with me on, is I felt like it was what the Yamaha R6 styling department was aiming for. It is fucking beautiful and there's not much I really need or want to do to it. The previous owner installed a fender eliminator kit and a Ducati Performance comfort seat and both of those mods were perfect for me. The price was within my budget as well.
The salesman asked me, "Have you ever heard one of these fired up?" And at that point as crazy as it sounds, I'd never have. So in the store he started a new one up on the showroom floor and gave it a rev. I felt it in my bones and in my soul. The sound the Ducati makes might be more beautiful than the way it looks.