So far behind on updating!

I can't believe how I've let things get away from me as far as updating this blog goes.

Lets see - I acquired another frame awhile back - yes, another M900 frame (pre-02, like the others - something about the racing 851-888-926 derivation of the early Monster frames that excites me most). So that makes 3 M900 frames and the 2V SBK.  For a swingarm, I happened to acquire a certain Febur Single-Sided Swingarm for the 94-01 Ducati Monster - so it will be a 916-Styled Swingarm on a '99 M900.  Whoo hoo!   Its not so straightforward, obviously using a different exhaust setup, different wheels, different rear brake setup, different suspension linkage and reaction rod, and get this: one-off dished/offset front sprocket. That was hard to come by (and you can bet I got a spare in case the source dries up down the road!)   I plan to use a bit of a custom exhaust setup to pull this off as I won't be able to migrate over the Sil Moto Spaghetti headers and Sil / NCR titanium pipes.

IMA Special Parts MOD4 Hybrid top triple with MOD1 Lower on Ducati Monster

Also, I've gotten another set of IMA billet triple clamps to put on the bike - but these are fancy, very fancy. They've got adjustable offset, anywhere from 25-31mm - I pick. Feel like changing? Change two bushings, and its done. IMA has gotten a US distributor now - and the 'full name' of their motorcycle parts brand is IMA Special Parts. That's worth noting since IMA SrL - the main company - does much more fabrication than motorcycle parts alone. Their bread 'n'  butter is manufacturing parts for FIAT Group Automobiles, the legendary car manufacturer (in existence since 1899!).

Here's some cool parts related to that tidbit - I can make a few short jumps (OK, some are stretches), and go from my Ducati Monster all the way to World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and to legendary automobile manufacturer Ferrari. Here we go:

IMA Special Parts MODEL 4 Adjustable Billet Triple Clamps ("MOD4"), and Adjustable Clipons

IMA Special Parts N.A. is the "North American" distributor of IMA Special Parts, the motorcycle products division of IMA SrL, of Torino, Italy. IMA SrL's main client is FIAT, and FIAT is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino - Italian Automobile Manufacturer of Torino. IMA Special Parts has just released their newest triple clamps design - highly versatile track-oriented triples for modern superbikes. They have branded MODEL 4 or "MOD4" (the next number in their products lineup. The new design is a product of a university study, with some pretty significant changes to the profile of the top triple to allow a designed-in amount of flex - and this reduces the front end 'chattering'. So you get more confidence over the front, and as they say "With more confidence, more podiums!"

IMA Special Parts MODEL 4 Adjustable Billet Triple Clamps ("MOD4"), and Adjustable Clipons (detail of profile)

"More podiums? Prove it, I say" And its not hard to see: The MOD4 departs from the basic triangle or bar configuration of triple clamps made in the last 50 years. Many manufacturers make aftermarket triple clamps from billet aluminum - whether is 6061, 6082 ANTICORODAL, or 7075 ERGAL. Big deal, nothing new there... but they are all the conventional shape with straight edges, or perhaps a decorative cutout here or there. The MOD4 has curves on the side of the triple towards the rider - like cutouts - and across the top are longitudinal cut outs - literally channels from front to rear. Its pretty wild looking. I've posted the pictures I got off their website (I'm sure they wouldn't mind) to show what I'm trying to describe. So, looking at these...I thought "I've seen this before"...and from another person related to FIAT, no less: Jorge Lorenzo uses triples like this - nearly identical to this - on the FIAT Yamaha M1 he won a world championship on!

 If you peak through the windscreen of his bike on the track, you can see the top triple pretty clearly.

And here's a detailed view of the cockpit on his pure prototype, no-expense spared, MotoGP FIAT Yamaha M1 from his World Championship season:

Same changes to the profile and same longitudinal cut-outs?! Both related to FIAT in a motorcycle capacity?!  Surely no coincidence... and sure enough: IMA has lots of pictures of on-track testing the triple clamps!  (Here's but one from their IMA SrL website)

Sometimes the world feels like a smaller place in the neatest ways.

Winter Work - 2007-08

Not too much new for the bike this winter. A set of Ducati Performance Reverse Megaphones has replaced the Ex Box as the classic, or retro look was desired. Gold Anodized Vee-Two cam pulleys have been installed as well as CA-Cycleworks Ignition Coils to liven up the spark. Alain @ Corse Motorsports supplied the work, but obviously the slipons were a breeze to install, and the cam pulleys were relatively painless (said Alain) and just required proper degreeing. The ignition coils installation has been covered ad nauseum so it would be silly to remind you again how painless this install is.



On order from Motowheels is a custom Sargent seat to replace the stiff, improperly angled stock seat. The often colored welt will remain black on my seat, with the Italian Flag on the side and the CarbonFX seat material insert. The seat cowl will still adorn the rear as it fits over the Sargent without too much issue. The underside of the aftermarket seat has increased storage making stowage of a wheel lock or wallet much easier.



Shifting has changed as the bike is now setup with a GP-style shifter from Motowheels. Their new style reverse shifter has an upgraded curved look with your choice of anodized color for the toe piece, but is unfortunately too long for Monsters with the large diameter bolt kickstand and stock rearsets. Their other unit, with replaceable toe piece is shorter, however, and should work fine. Riding with the new shift pattern may be tricky but a post-it on the tach reminding "down for up" will help me. Pictures will be featured below within a few days.

Next up on the list? Tail Chop, Reworked forks, New
rear suspension, clutch plate & cover.

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.

More Parts for the Bike, Tank Update -

Lots of New Parts have been ordered recently. Here's the breakdown (quick and dirty).

From CA-Cycleworks, I will be enjoying a Nichols Crankcase Breather, I didn't forget the crush washer, and while I was there I picked up a matching CRG Hindsight Lane-Split Mirror for my RH Side, as well as the DesmoTimes Case Saver Insert. Might as well pick up the necessities while I'm there I figured.

To go with the Nichols Crankcase Breather, I have ordered the K&N Filter & Air Box Plugs Kit from TPO Parts. While I'm picking things up there, I decided to try out there "Custom Xenon Headlight" for Monsters, as a brighter lighting option. Since things things are adding up, I've chosen to equip the Duc with a less expensive method for letting the rattle out, and that's with the Clutch Cover Spacers Kit.

To take on the predicament of fluid reservoirs at the handlebars for the clutch and brake M/C's, I have decided to go with the Rizoma Bottom Outflow Reservoir's with Window (CT0017) in Titanium. This round the CycleCat bars, which are also in Titanium to give a less conspicuous mounting. The reservoirs are being shipped from PJ's Parts, as I have had several pleasant dealings with them so far.

The last of the parts come again from MotoWheels. To begin the clutch improvement, I ordered the Titanium Clutch Spring Bolts & CycleCat DSK-1 Billet Spring Keepers in Red. The future plan is for the pressure plate to be gold, red caps, behind a titanium color SpeedyMoto "Flow" Cover. The Titanium Spring Bolts and Billet Caps go with the SS Clutch Springs and STM Clutch Pin Holder already installed on the bike. The main reason for this shopping extravaganza began with the CycleCat DKS-35 Billet Sidestand in Silver. This is the slightly longer sidestand to relax the lean angle when the bike is at rest. My stock sidestand is completely nasty and covered with scratches, etc and this will go well with the rear ride height raise that is being done by Corse Motorsports while its in getting put back together.

TANK NEWS:
Brad emailed from Speedzone to let me know that everything looked great and just required a little more time before it was shipped to avoid impressions from the shipping packaging, etc. The decals came out fantastic, and it looks like the bike will be back on the road and running by Christmas.

Tank Repair & Painting

After a quick call from Brad Diez from Speedzone Paint & Bodyworks, I was informed that the tank had been successfully repaired without any problems and was about to be painted. He insured the design we had was as before, Red with White Center Striping, with old-style logos in white with black outlining. The conversation couldn't have gone any better and besides running a top-notch business, Brad was fun to talk to. The tank should be done and back to me in a matter of a few short weeks. Things are finally coming together for this rebuild process and I will be dropping off all of the parts for the bike to Corse Motorsports around Thanksgiving (one week away). Pictures to come soon!

Tank & Fairing Repair

Tank & Fairing repair is key for the rebuild. The tank will be repaired, removing all dents and dings and then repainted the stock Ducati Red color. The tank, headlight fairing, and seat cowl will also be striped white down the center and the tank logos will be changed to the old 60-70's era logo. The stock (original) Logo and the new 'Retro' Logo can be seen below. All tank & fairing repairs will be completed by Brad Diez of Speedzone Paint & Bodyworks. It should be noted that after millions of emails and responses to and from Brad, he has not gotten frustrated.

His commitment and level of customer service is beyond A+.

Original Logo

"Retro" Logo

And this is a cartoon representation of what the tank will look like. Thanks to fellow DML'ers for helping me photoshop the appropriate tank logos, color, striping and gas fill cap on a stock image. The tank is currently at Corse Motorsports for disassembly, draining and shipment to California.