M900 V v. W

It has been sometime since I have updated this blog. The projects in the garage have progressed, and I've added a second 1999 M900 to the garage. This bike has the "W" stamped heads rather than the "V" stamped heads among several other odd features, and will be referred to as the M900W (where the "W" stands for the heads it is equipped with, or 'wife', take your pick).

This bike is for my wife to learn to ride on and for me to piddle about in comfort (as it has been setup with comfort in mind). The bike came from a gent in Northern Arkansas who did horrendous and unthinkable things to the bike, the least of which was spraypainting the already red-powdercoated frame a dingy black color. (The true frame color, under the red powdercoat is the antique gold, like my original 1999 M900V).

Beyond the frame paint, which my wife has since resolved, the bike was not properly running. The fuel lines, fuel vacuum petcock, fuel pump, and carburettors were in disarray. The fuel filter looked dark through the white plastic exterior. The swingarm had been chewed through by a malfunction cush drive lug on the rear wheel.

The bright: A quick perusal of eBay got me a black powdercoated swingarm in good condition, and a clean cush drive. These things went in straightaway, as well as a new sprocket set: 14/39T ratio, 520 pitch. The front wheel turns out to have been bent - back to eBay and that problem is also resolved.

Perusing the Ducati Monster Forum, eBay, Ducati.MS and other classifieds, I was able to locate a carbon fiber oil-catching bellypan, carbon underseat sidepanels, carbon rear hugger, and other bits and pieces of carbon. My M900 recently received a second set of IMA SrL Triple clamps with superbike fork diameter boring, along with a BST front wheel, TPO lightweight front axle, and 996 era forks with Ohlins internals (more about that in a later post).  That meant that the IMA triples that were on my bike, along with the forks with upgraded RaceTech internals were free to use on the M900W.

What's great about the IMA triples for the Ducati Monster is that they are true in shape and bolt location to the original Ducati triples, meaning that one can still mount a bar with riser to the top triple, and more excitingly, the original 'old-school' 1998-99 style front fairing. (This was not true of the CycleCat triples for that era bike).  As luck would have it, the previous owner had the original fairing brackets and fairing (and I still had the front fairing from the M900V as well), so I was able to mount that up along with the upgraded forks and triples.

More good: I still had a sidemount Ohlins steering damper from my M900V that was on the shelf unused (I preferred the under-triple location of the Motowheels kit with 68mm damper). So on it went with no issues. The front end was not only functional, but now substantially upgraded from stock (More for me to enjoy than for the wife to learn on).

The bad: I sat on the bike with the new front end to feel the balance and was horrified. The back end sank down like an overloaded pickup truck. Enter Motowheels and an Ohlins rear shock with remote reservoir, and billet reservoir mount! This has just arrived and will be installed shortly to complete the suspension upgrades on this bike. All three components of a suspension system have been upgraded now: The forks, the shock, and a steering damper. The chassis has been upgraded in the front with new triples, and the only missing element to upgrade would be a billet rear hoop. Turns out, Style & Performance still has these in stock in Europe, and Anthony @ Desmoworks was able to order one up. When this gets in, the bike will essentially have all the great upgrades one could look for in a chassis/suspension for this era Monster. (The only two possible other upgrades is a braced swingarm from Metmachex/JMC and Superbike forks with good internals).

Las Vegas

Getting ready for a big trip from Dallas, TX to Las Vegas, NV. I've ordered new clip-ons so the ride will be less taxing on my wrists (total trip distance = 2,800 mi). The CycleCat clipons will be coming off in favor of a set of the New SpeedyMoto Tallboy clip-ons, from Motowheels. This will likely require a new brake line since the bars will be an inch or more higher than before, and some time is involved as well. A big advantage in switching away from CycleCat is SpeedyMoto does not use proprietary parts so replacements will be easy to come by should I break something. This is not the situation with CycleCat, who has run itself out of business and has only select parts pandered through OnCycles.com (no thank you).

This requires removing top triple, existing clip-ons, and everything on the existing clip-on bars, putting them on the new bars, installing the new clip-ons, replacing the top triple, and a lot of adjustments to get things "just right". 

As far as gear goes, I'll be wearing my Dainese lightweight mesh jacket (don't worry - still armored up and complete with backprotector), and to carry changes of clothes I'll be using a new Kriega R25 Rucksack, from Britain and provided by Matrix Motorsports. 

The bike will also get new tires (finally). Replacing the ancient dunlop front and michelin pilot power rear will be a matching set of Michelin Pilot Roads. I had thought heavily about the Road 2's, with the 2CT compound but the price isn't quite where I could do it just yet.  Along with basic maintenance like tires, I'll be changing the oil and replacing the old, O-ring chewing oil drain plug with a newer unit from Nirvana Racing that also includes a magnet to remove debris from the oil. 

Some small electrical changes have been made, including more robust starter wires from DesmoTimes, and I had to replace a Rizoma Signal where the wires had been severed. PJ's Parts delivered the signal, along with a pair of spacers so I could remount the blinkers on the headlight brackets instead of using the GSG Moto fork brackets. This required new headlight brackets with signal holes drilled or the drilling of the existing brackets. As embarassing as this is going to sound, I don't have a drill nor an 8mm drill bit. So carbon fiber brackets with the holes already in them came from MonsterParts.com and several bolts were replaced with titanium from RaceBolts.com

Pictures next time, I promise.

Italy & Australia

Two big parts came in recently. The Rizoma Belt Covers (ZDM018A's) brought to me from Italy by PJ's Parts and the Vee-Two Pulleys (V2-12-305) straight from Australia. The pulleys are billet with gold anodizing and one of the last of the color anodized sets available. They are adjustable and the gold anodizing will be visible through the windows in the billet belt covers. This improves significantly on the appearance of the motor as the stock belt covers were worse than ugly and the pulleys were non-adjustable. It is luck that the gold was still available as it has been discontinued (they only make 'clear' finish now) and this piece compliments the majority of the billet on the bike which is gold (the rest being silver, save the handlebars and new top triple, see below).

Also in recently with pics up now are the Spiegler custom brake lines in red and gold, with gold banjo bolts and gold fork preload adjusters to boot. See the pics below. From Motowheels.



The other big thing to come in recently is a CycleCat DTC-2 Top Triple in Titanium anodizing. This matches the CycleCat DBR-3 clipon handlebars (also in Titanium) that are currently on the bike. The top triple was technically a blem though you'd be trying really really hard to be able to find a blemish anywhere on it. It is simply beautiful. Purchased directly from OnCycles.com

My Tank is Here

Brad did a phenomenal job on this tank. The pictures don't do it justice (but are included below, of course). I look forward to seeing it back on the bike soon. Note the retro (60's-70's era) logos and the Corse-style center stripe.

All the dents are gone and the paint looks so deep and glossy. The fairings are smooth and plastic damage has been repaired. I couldn't be happier with the job from Speedzone Paint & Bodyworks. Brad really did a fantastic job with my crashed tank.




Below are images of all three parts that Brad did for me:



Meanwhile, I have also received several parts to complete mods while the bike is in the shop. A little housekeeping is to be done and the DesmoTimes Case Saver Insert is to be installed soon. The rear ride height is going to be raised to quicken turn-in and to compensate for the increased lean angle at rest, a CycleCat sidestand that's a little over 1/2" longer will be used.




To clean up a large amount of tubing mess behind the motor, a Nichols Crankcase Breather and K&N Breather Filter are also going to be installed. As many of these mods have costly parts, the open clutch cover, a SpeedyMoto Flow Design, is going to have to be put off even further. Meanwhile, I have decided to slowly 'spruce' up the internals so when the open clutch cover is installed, there is already a considerable amount of "Bling" to show. To do this, I had already installed Stainless Steel Springs, but I now have Titanium Spring Retention Bolts and Red Billet CycleCat Spring Keepers.



The collection of new parts came from a number of different sources. The vendors include TPO Parts, CA-Cycleworks, and MotoWheels. An image below shows the collection of new parts that will be installed at the beginning of next week (hopefully.)

Parts are in, Tank on the way!

The K&N breather filter Kit, Nichols Crankcase Breather, CRG Mirror, Custom Xenon Headlight, CycleCat Billet Spring keepers & sidestand, DesmoTimes case saver insert, and the like have all arrived, no problems. Parts from MotoWheels, CA-Cycleworks, & TPO Parts. Looks like the full rebuild is a go.

I have CAD'ed up a license plate bracket and bought the sheet of aluminum, I only lack specific hole location measurements now before I start the tail chop process. I'll be ordering frame plugs from DesmoWorld.de, as their plugs have a unique design to them, and I'd like to do business with the guys at that shop. Should something arise and I find the STM plugs on a large discount I won't be hesitating to buy them as I also like the look of those, inasmuch I like any of the billet pieces, just not plastic plugs!

Recent phone call to Brad of Speedzone Paint & Bodyworks. The tank is shipped and billed, I should have it by the end of the week. He broke out the cost for me shown below, the total was $880.00:

• Tank Repair + Ducati 'Rosso' Red Paint - $440.00
• Tank Striping - White Center Stripe - $75.00
• Tank Decals - Retro Logo in White with Black Border - $40.00
• Seat Cowl Repair + Ducati 'Rosso' Red Paint - $135
  
• Headlight Fairing Repair + Ducati 'Rosso' Red Paint - $115
• Seat Cowl and Headlight Fairing Striping - White Center Stripe - $75.00

The $880.00 total (plus free t-shirt) is considered more than justifiable/reasonable to me. The tank had multiple dents, and I wanted a non-standard paint job. The logo's required a third color (black) as an outline on a red tank to make the white decals 'pop' out.

Brad was incredibly easy to work with and I would recommend him to anyone (and I will be recommending him!)

Pictures should be in by the end of the week.

Rizoma Indicators & CycleCat Components

The Rizoma Indicators (Track '01' Style) are in and they look phenomenal. They were shipped practically the same day I ordered them from PJ's Parts - a topshelf company if there ever was any. The price can't be beat for Rizoma products and I had them in a few short days. The finish is fantastic and there length makes me curious as to if I should get a second pair to peak out from behind the fairing on the front. I think they'll look trick as soon as they are installed.

...a topshelf company if there ever was any.

In other news, the bar ends for the CycleCat clipons arrived safely in California at the MotoWheels shop. Once they arrived, I called Brian to order the CycleCat reservoir brackets and they should be shipped out today with the CRG-style bar end sliders to complete my handlebar set up. I'm anxious to see the whole set up on the bike. It looks like I may be ordering the Rizoma Fluid Reservoirs to mate up with my system before the end of the month. (I have a birthday coming up - 11/22). To continue to throw praises at MotoWheels as well, Brian is a topnotch employee, and they "get" the whole customer service idea. A quick phone call, and he remembers me, asks about the bike, etc. It left me with a good feeling about everything when the call was over, and that's the way it should be.

My turn to Ship parts

Shipped out the tank, headlight fairing, and seat cowl to Speedzone Paint & Body over the weekend, and they depart today. The shipping wasn't as expensive as I had imagined for UPS Ground but the insurance in case they "lose" my tank nearly doubled the cost.

In a non related shipping event, the bar end sliders for the CycleCat Clip-Ons sent to me were the standard large size bar ends and unfortunately I needed the CRG style ends. Not a big deal, a quick email to MotoWheels and the matter was cleared up. This was shipped back at the same time to California as the tank. In the email conversation, Brian will include the CycleCat reservoir mounting brackets as my new brake M/C does not have a bracket built in, nor do I have any existing bracket apparatus. There will be additional costs but I find they will likely be negligible. I could go on for days about how great the staff at MotoWheels treats the customers.

2nd Delivery

MotoWheels Box o' Goodies was delivered on time as promised by the folks at FedEx. A large Quat-D box that was unmistakeably for me was awaiting my return from an oil change today. In the box was:

• Complete Quat-D Ex Box System for M900 Ducati Monster
• 2 Quat-D Stickers
• No Quat-D Installation Instructions!
• Several Italian only "Authenticity" papers for Quat-D
  
• Brembo Radial "GP" Master Cylinder 19x18
• Speigler Dual Line Brake Switch Banjo Bolt
• Swirl Pattern Billet Aluminum Steering Head Bolt
• Titanium Crankcase Cover Bolts (2)
• Titanium Color SpeedyMoto Crankcase Cover - "Iron Cross"
• SpeedyMoto Stainless Steel Crankcase Cover Bolts (2)
• CycleCat DBR-3 Adjustable Riser Clipons - Titanium Colored
  
• CycleCat Installation Instructions
• CycleCat Bar End Sliders
• CycleCat DS-7 Frame Slider - Spare Delrin Slider

Seen below are pictures of various parts included in shipment.