Brake Lines & German Parts

So it seems I have finally conquered the front blinker dilemma (The "GP" Brembo master cylinders were positioned alarmingly close to the turn signal stalks, and the length of the Rizoma Track '01' Signals appeared to conflict with the headlight fairing so I had to figure something out. Removing the fairing was not an option as I had just paid to have it painted) .

A phone call to Wild Hair Accessories led to a very pleasant phone call and the solution. Fork mount brackets for the signals. The brackets are made by GSG in Germany and are CNC machined clamps that look quite slick. Unfortunately they will be shipped from Germany with an estimated time of 3-4 weeks but with the weather like it is, I am in absolutely no rush. I recommend Wild Hair Accessories, especially with their policy on customer service (talking with the customer=good and it alleviates possible mistakes, highly important as parts are coming in from Germany).

Similarly a quick phone call to ensure that the custom brake and clutch lines were coming along left me still a very-satisfied customer. Brian @ Motowheels had all the answers and personally checked to make sure the preload adjusters in gold were actually in stock, as well as getting gold banjo bolts all around to match the brake & clutch fittings. There will also be a set of high performance plug wires in the package to add to the look as well as the overall performance of the bike.


Above is a shot of the recent gear that was added to the bike. The DP tach and carbon fiber cluster as well as STM frame plugs (20mm) and the set of Rizoma Track '01' Indicators for the front. Things have come together and it looks like I may almost be finished (for the time being of course...)

Latest Progress

Tomorrow is the final day I'll be able to work on the bike in person for some time. I was able to resolve several issues with fitments and decide on my game plan for the next few weeks.

The brake/clutch lines are due in late next week or the beginning of the following from Motowheels in California. Again, Brian & Ed have done much to make things go as smooth as possibly for me. Along with the brake lines I should also be receiving a set of billet fork preload adjuster knobs for the tops of the Showa forks. They'll give me the opportunity to change the preload when I desire, and just as important, they will look quite nice.

Unfortunately for me came the realization that the sidestand mounts on my M900 are the older much larger diameter style and thus the CycleCat Billet Sidestand (DKS-35) will not work with my system unless I change the mounting to a newer style configuration. This looked quite feasible until the costs were investigated. A quick look at the mounting plates and costs through BikeBandit schematics show that the system is around $100 and at this point I'm not willing to spend nearly 250 big ones to have a better looking and slightly better functioning sidestand.

The installation of the Nichols Breather went without any problems as one might expect and the K&N filter slid neatly on top of it and came supplied with the necessary plugs to close off the airbox where existing hosing ran. Quite convenient and easy to use. In the same neck of the woods the gas vapor canister and oil breather box have been completely removed as have the carburetor vent pods. Other body parts I have decided to remove from the bike include the model indicating side panels as well as the rear-hugger. I may decide to revert to a rear hugger after several rides so I am keeping all parts for just such an event.

The removal of the existing license plate bracket and blinker mounts in the rear went smooth, though it required the removal and disassembly of part of the rear brake light to access all the appropriate bolts. The TPO license plate bracket bolted right up and the wiring for the blinkers, etc was relocated to the under seat area. The Rizoma blinkers were slightly trickier to plug in than I originally anticipated but not because of the stock wiring but because of the proprietary plug in the middle of the LED signals wiring. Apparently my fingers were a little big, but with a narrow straightedge the problem was solved.

Alain installed a new tire on the rear as it was due while he replaced the chain and both sprockets. The tire is a Michelin Pilot Power while the chain is a D.I.D. 520ERV3 purchased along with the AFAM sprockets in a group buy on the DML. This proved a very cost effective method of changing to a 14T front sprocket and a 40T rear. While installing the tire, chain and sprockets, I purchased from Corsair Industries a set of billet chain adjuster plates that are much nicer looking and have less "slop" in them (as Alain defines it).

In other news, the fiberglass short bellypan purchased from Red Racing will be mounted tomorrow morning and trimmed as necessary before it shipped out of state for paint. This is to be coupled with the receipt of the Ducati Performance carbon dash with tachometer in the mail to me that should be here on the 16th. Talk about things all coming together! Sorry There Were No Pictures in this LONG Post!

Lots of To-Do Recently!

There's been lots of To-Do recently regarding the rebuild progress.

I ran into a problem mounting the Choke Control seeing as I have upgraded the clutch master cylinder with a billet Brembo "GP" 16x18 unit. Now things are beginning to look a lot better up front but the choke formerly mounted on the old master cylinder. You might think redoing a choke control to be easy as pie, but it proved to be more daunting than one might think. Brian of Motowheels has been most helpful as he has a quite similar if not more personalized Monster. Brian also has a custom set of brake/clutch lines coming that will not only allow my new master cylinders to function, but will aid in performance and look quite slick.

The other recent concern was the mounting of indicators. I have never liked the look of the stock units and upgrades to billet LED systems are not cheap (even though I have redone my rear ones with Rizoma Track '01' Signals). The upgrade became mandatory recently when I learned that it not only cluttered up the look of the handlebar area, but it also could be in the way of my levers of the new master cylinders. The solution came way of aftermarket mounts and a lower placement near the bottom triple. Mounting brackets were not as easy to find as one might think, the appropriate search name for such an appliance is a "fork tube clamp" and this turns up only a few relevant results.

I plan on using the same signals as I had previously ordered for the rear in the front application. I got them before from PJ Pijanka of PJ's Parts and plan to do so again. The prices for Rizoma pieces can't be beat and the service is top notch friendly. One catch - a Paypal account is a must.

Newly opened MonsterParts.com is going to supply the new Ducati Performance tachometer and carbon fiber instrument cluster. The site is run by Jeff H. who was most curteous is his response to my emails as well as investigating a part for me.

The images below are the current build progress. As you can see things have been going a little slowly, but progress is steady. Alain has been most helpful and the Corse Motorsports shop is a terrific place to do business as well as visit. A big thanks must go out to my friend Will in Knoxville for pointing me in the right direction here in Nashville.