Mary#17

83 is nice south of Millersburg if you can hit it with no traffic which is near impossible.

That's actually a thought. We could always end Day 2 down there. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

and, that answers my narrow question. Thanks.

Thank you! Yeah, I have reservations for the Holiday Inn. Any recommendations for restaurants there? We tried CJ Maggies and it was meh... We are probably heading to get gas at 83 and 82. My husband's Monster gets like 85 miles before we have to get gas. Makes for some interesting road trips. Smoke hole looks super narrow in some of the videos. Is that just a skewed view?

We are doing 3 days. Looking to use Elkins as a base camp. Any good roads east of 33? I'd like to do some kind of loop that takes us back to the hotel. Trying to keep at about 250 miles a day give or take. PS - we trailer to near Marietta and then ride from there.

Oops! Sorry, just saw the post about 15. Might have to try that one.

Looks like the weather is finally going to work and hope to head to WV this week. I'm planning my route now. Any thoughts on Route 5 and Route 15? Anybody ridden lately and know the road conditions? Thanks.

Man, I would love to see this section paved.

56 was repaved from 278 to 328 for sure. We rode that last week. And 278 north of 56 to about the wooded area is also paved. Unfortunately, they did not do the whole wooded section but they did hit the really bad area. Sadly, it was raining (shocker there right?) so we had to take it way slow but it would've have been great without the rain. The part they didn't pave isn't in bad shape so 278 from 50 to 32 is actually in really good shape.

I just noticed that you thought your old 675's were not the best for street riding. The Ducati is a not a traffic/commute friendly bike. I haven't ridden the 899 but my 1098 is awful for around the town trips. 50 miles of putz commuting is like 300+ miles of back road twisties in terms of comfort. The bike doesn't like to go slow and makes you feel it.

Wet. Operating it, really no difference. I'm old school though and would have a hard time giving up the dry clutch but the smaller Ducs 848/899 etc never had the dry clutch anyway. I'd pick the Ducati over the Triumph even though I really like the 675 but both bikes are great.

LOL.

I'm up north. Cleveland suburbs. We do most of our rides in southern Ohio but they are almost always last minute and over night trips. Those links above might be a good starting point for you. Finding a group of just female sport bike riders might be tough. I almost always ride with my husband (it's our "date night") or in small groups. Hope you find what you are looking for! Mary

Congrats! C-sections suck. I've had two. She's a cutie! Mary

Welcome.

Wow! wouldn't that be nice.

Not to mention, it goes on record. Somebody else might file a complaint as well. Enough of them get filed and some action might happen. Mary

Welcome to the forum. Happy riding! Mary

Congrats! You will love the bike. See you around! Mary

We went on a ride yesterday and stopped to get smoothies at Robeks. It's next to a Starbucks. Just doing my part to keep the stereotype going......................... Mary

any word on when 60 (or is it 62?) will be open? That closure screws up all my routes for that area.

Got pulled over in Lancaster a couple of years ago for doing 57 in a 55. I asked the cop if he was serious and he said "he figured we would run". My husband said "sorry to disappoint". State trooper. Actually wrote me a warning. Got pulled over on 71 near Ashland about 4 years ago. Part where the trees divide the highway. I won't even mention how fast we were going. I think the officer was surprised to be pulling over a 1. Female 2. 2 forty year olds. He was very very very nice. Said he rides and gets it but we can't be doing stuff like that. We agreed, apologized profusely and he let us go. We try to avoid highways if we can.............. We are always respectful even with the Lancaster cop who was just fishing for a chase. Many motorcyclists (and drivers in general) are jerks so I can't blame cops for being a pain on occasion. Most have been quite nice and normal.

Anybody using armored shorts (undershorts) out there? I'm considering some to go under our Kevlar jeans. The jeans have knee armor but only offer slight hip padding. Thanks in advance for any recommendations. Mary I was considering these. https://www.ridersdiscount.com/motorcycle-armor-protection/shorts/icon-stryker-shorts-121083

I have a kids helmet. Let me find it tonight and see if it would work. Might be too small for you as my kids couldn't fit but they have big heads. I'll let you know. Mary

Steve, Monsters are very rider friendly especially the lower HP versions like this one. My husband has an S4RS and it is ridiculously fun to ride and probably one of the most confidence inspiring bikes I've ever ridden. The only thing that might be an issue is the clutch. Most Ducs have very heavy clutch pulls (can't think of a better way to describe it) and people with smaller hands can have issues with it. I put an aftermarket slave on mine and it made a world of difference. Not sure if that is as big of deal on this bike though. Mary