On Geometry

Recently, I've made two changes to the bike's geometry. The 1999 Monster is a member of the 1993-2001 Monster Frame series, which shares many features with the 851/888 bikes. The main differences are an additional brace near the steering stem was removed to accommodate the Monster's air box and the rear section of the frame is welded on, rather than being a subframe (subframes ARE used on all 'new' Monsters, a la 696/1100 and generally all other Ducatis, including the Hypermotard and the Superbikes).

A distinguishing feature of the 851/888/Monster's frame from the newer 2002-2009 ST based Monster frames is the hooped swingarm suspension. The swingarm connects to a hoop or arch that connects to a pivot or lever arm, which in turn is connected to the top of the shock. The hoop is originally made of steel and comes the color of the bike's frame. Thus, mine was antique gold. Until I changed it. For several years, I've been running a lighter and stiffer billet swingarm hoop. It left the geometry essentially the same, but gave a slight amount more feedback while looking really good. It came to my attention that DMF Member sweir1171 was making a ride-height adjustment kit. The kit features two machined, threaded risers that will raise the tail of the bike a few cm. They work fantastically and went right on.



Such a modification will change the wheelbase of the motorcycle and quicken steering.



While I quite liked the quicker steering and change in feel, I was also interested in improving the feel of the front end. The forks have been reworked with a basic respring, revalve and re-oil using RaceTech components, but aside from the slightly stiffer and lighter CycleCat top triple and clipon handlebars, not much else had changed. This is when I contacted IMA SrL. These guys are fantastic to work with.

There are a few differences in the pre-02 Monster frames and the newer Monster (02-09) frames beyond the rear suspension assembly. The older frame Monsters, along with all Supersports, utilize a narrow steering stem and are equipped from the factory with tapered roller bearings. The offset (the distance between the centerline of the forks and the steering stem) is 25mm. To put this into perspective, superbikes frequently leave the factory with 36mm offsets, and aftermarket triples may change this down to 32 or even 30mm. Several vendors sell triples with offsets as low as 27mm (Ducshop).

Newer Monsters (02+) have a bigger 30mm offset from the factory, use a much larger diameter steering stem and do not come with roller bearings from the factory (though one could upgrade to SpeedyMoto's set if they like). The rake change from old style monsters to new style monsters is a small but perceivable 23 or 23.5 (depending on the source you read) to 24 degrees. IMA produces beefy billet aluminum triple sets (upper and lower, including steering stem) for older Monsters and Supersports that increase the offset to 30mm, same as the new Monsters, and even allow for the use of a Monster-esque bar on a Supersport (if one was so inclined). They provided me with a black anodized set for my Monster.



Installation involves suspending the front end of the motorcycle, removing the wheel, gauges, controls and anything touching the triples. Once that's all taken care of, the triples are loosened and removed from the bike. The inner races must be knocked out of the steering stem before the new races may be inserted. Then a new tapered bearing that has been well greased is driven on to the IMA triple's stem. The factory uses SKF bearings, and that's what I replaced the set with (obtained from CA-Cycleworks in SpeedyMoto's convenient packaging). Then its all put back together, titanium bolts all around, and you get:



From a bit of a distance:


Update - 3/29/2010
The finished product has a trail of approximately 90.5mm, and started closer to 96mm. original wheelbase was 1430mm, and the final result is minimally smaller. The feel is fantastic on the street, though I've only put about 1,000mi on since the original writeup. I've yet to find really great roads outside of DFW like I had nearby in Middle Tennessee. Looks like its time to start taking off bling so I can track this bike. Or perhaps its time to invest in a 2nd bike for track only.

Santa Came!

This year's Christmas was more eventful than expected. While my close friends may recall I had an eventful summer, this had me expecting things to stay quite low key, at least for me, during the Holidays. Surprisingly, it wasn't as mundane as I had anticipated. From her parents came the Ignitech Sparker TCIP4 Programmable Ignition, via CA-Cycleworks! Very unexpected. This is a really neat unit. You simply unplug and remove the factory equipped ignition units, and plug this beast in. You can connect your computer using a serial-to-USB adapter and edit the ignition curve advance. Very trick.



The Ignitech has many great features and Brad Black's writeup is not to be missed regarding this ignition. I find it a great compliment to the DynaCoils kit on the bike, removing any weak spots from the Ducati's ignition setup. This will be especially handy when high compression pistons and performance cams are installed in the Monster.

Additionally, the added engine performance will be balanced with a little more 'stop'. New ISR rotors are being equipped, obtained from DesmoWorks. Everybody should have the opportunity to work with Anthony Creek, he's fantastic. Really makes you happy there is a good lot of folks in the Ducati community (such as Anthony with Desmoworks, Chris at CA-Cycleworks, and Brian and the Motowheels crew among many many others).



These are getting mounted with the titanium rotor bolts and the brake calipers are going to get some love as well, in the form of new titanium thru-bolts.

Parts, Winter Plans, and Local Help

Some new parts are on their way, mostly funded through the sales of old parts that I no longer used, or found alternatives for. Among these are DP/DPM Billet Cam End Covers and Valve Covers with Oil Cooler Mount (which should go nicely with the a)VeeTwo Cams yet to be put on and b)Rizoma Billet Oil Cooler). Things will look nice, machined, and tidy on the motor. Only thing left is some actual motor work in the indefinite future (putting in the cams and high compression pistons, maybe 944 kit).

Some paint work will be undertaken this winter as well. A new 'cafe' style rear cowl is being made by a former DFW Ducati rider, Jesus, which will be bolted up for evaluation and later sent, along with my carbon fiber front fender, off to paint. New to the DFW area is Brad Miller, of Motion Ducati, who will perform some paint, powdercoating, and engine work (when that time comes around).

Also here to help is a friend who enjoys doing the mechanical, and an extra set of hands will be quite handy during the IMA triple set install. This requires removing front wheel, forks, controls, gauges, the triples, and the bearing races that will be in the steering head, as well as installing new tapered bearings (original equipment on pre-02 Monsters) and races, and butting it all back up.

So far behind...

But fear not. New pictures and post are soon to be added.

Wiring has been moved. Powdercoating things will be done. Here's a few pictures to keep you going until I can post up some substance:

Ready for Vegas

The bike is officially ready for Vegas. New Michelin Pilot Road tires are on the bike, and the DDM HID headlight has had to come off. The incredibly long, automobile-derived wiring loom is far too much for underneath my tank and was a short ride from melting into oblivion. The AG Hammer rearsets (AGgressive Hammer is the full name of the manufacturer) work very well, and all necessary adjustments to actuate the brake light and pedal position have been made. 

The Nichols flywheel performs very well, however there was a bit of a challenge in getting the VeeTwo basket/hub and Barnett Clutch to perform. The malfunction, however, was at the slave cylinder side, and was the result of the shorter (225mm) pushrod of my 1999, compared with the longer (235mm) pushrod of the later bikes. Also, the STM pushrod pin (cup that fits into the pressure plate bearing) had the small bearing inside it seize, and had begun to drill into my original pushrod, and similarly the clutch pressure plate bearing had all but given up as well. The combination of tight spot in the bearing, short pushrod, and seized pushrod pin bearing had the bike unable to shift gears very well (The clutch wouldn't disengage without repeated pumping of the lever). Stuart Rust was able to identify the problem, and we replaced all failing components, and bolted up a new Ducati Performance slave cylinder as well. (Turns out the malfunction was from no fault of my own!)

Here's a pic from about a week ago, and but they don't include the new slave cylinder, or new tires yet. New pics tomorrowish with the bike geared up and ready to go. 

After the trip, the bike is due a valve inspection, and there's a set of Sil-Moto Spaghetti pipes waiting at home as well.