The day I picked up the 848 EVO from Motorcycles of Charlotte it was not a bright, sunny start to the long-term relationship we were about to embark on.

The day I picked up the 848 EVO from Motorcycles of Charlotte it was not a bright, sunny start to the long-term relationship we were about to embark on. Sure, from ten paces the Dark Stealth bodywork looked wicked, and the huge inverted fork with the massive Brembo mono-block radial calipers had my mouth watering. But once up close, the bike looked pretty badly neglected. The wheels, swing arm, and forks were encrusted in road grime, and the chain was dry, rusty, and filthy. The Pirelli tires had certainly seen better days, and the rubber on the badly tarnished exhaust pipes said either burnouts or hard track miles. A deeply gouged engine cover that someone had hand-painted the scratches black made it clear it had been dropped at speed, and a few other areas from the bar ends to peg tips confirmed this. In contrast, the tank and bodywork were all brand new, which meant it had been crashed badly enough for them to need replacement.

As I flipped on the ignition, pressed the starter button, and fired the engine to life, the healthy roar of the 140-horsepower, 848cc Testastretta V-twin told me all was well with the heart and soul of the beast, though, and got me eager to jump in the saddle. The oil level was fine and everything appeared to be straight and tight. As delivered, the Ducati had no license plate or paperwork, so with a road test out of the question, I loaded up and headed for home to prepare the 848 for its first track outing.

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