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.

Late Summer

Things are going well with the bike, it has been tuned and ridden hard since the rebuild with all things going well. Almost. A battery issue has left a couple acid spots in the bronze frame on the left side which prompted me to get a sealed Yuasa battery. Its tiny, weighs very little and works incredibly well. It makes me wonder why the bike came stock with such a huge terrible battery.

The VeeTwo pulleys have not yet been installed as it requires using the cam degreeing tool and some time and I was ready to ride. It is on the list for this winter though, and possible powdercoating the frame red, like the newer bikes (which will also get rid of the aforementioned spots!).

The bellypan has been installed and it looks great in person. I need to figure out how to take better pictures because I never think the bike looks as good photographed as it does in person. Here's an example, using a small digital camera:



A big thanks to Brad @ Speedzone Paint & Bodyworks for the great work on the bellypan and routinely good customer service. The bike has gotten lots of miles this summer, and several trips were very long leading me to believe it may be time for a new seat. I have the Sargent seat in mind, as it is one of few that fits my older Monster's frame, but after seeing Patrick's Monster S4Rs with a stock seat recovered in a light tan leather, I'm starting to think a Sargent seat with "modifications" may be in order. The pics are from a brief ride on the Natchez Trace.

Nearing Completion

Things have been going well in the rebuild progress. The Vee-Two pulleys will wait for installation until the riding season has come to an end as it requires pulling the alternator side cover off to properly adjust them (otherwise, why have adjustable pulleys?) This will allow me to have the alternator side shipped off to be coated by Performance Coatings for a nice satin silver to match the heads/swingarm/suspension arc etc. While the motor is slightly opened up, the clutch side cover will likely be sent to DesmoTimes for Corse-style slotting, enabling the spinning basket to be visible as well as extra heat rejection.



The only other remaining piece from this past winter's (2006) planning is the Red Racing Bellypan. It is due back from paint (at Speedzone Paint & Bodyworks) by the end of next week and will be installed shortly after. Things like DynaCoils, FCR's, Ohlins Shock and RaceTech springs have been put on hold while I work on getting gear together for trackdays and a track duty bike. Current pictures are of the bike from June 18th, 2007.

A Work In Progress

It is unfortunate that the Spiegler lines do not fit correctly just yet, so the rebuild progress has slowed significantly until the problem is remedied. The good news is that Brian at Motowheels was kind enough to go out of his way to contact the manufacturer and arrange the proper corrections to be made.

Since these lines run through the front fairing area is would be silly to take the time to place new gauges on just to take them back off. So that is also waiting for a time. The new CycleCat top triple clamp does not use the standard '99 fairing mount brackets so the use of my new painted fairing will be limited. A fellow DML'er has traded me (money for parts) his new style fairing off a 2000 M900 which will fit the bill perfectly. It will be sent out to be striped when the bellypan is sent to be painted and will be installed at the same time as the new top triple.

In other news, a similar transaction occurred with fellow DML Ducseven, who is having to part out his M900. This is terrible for him and the bike (it was very well done) but it benefits me as I will be the proud owner of a Rizoma Billet Suspension Arc and rear wave rotor soon. He's a pleasure to do business with, but it is unfortunate for him to have to part out his Monster.

Without further ado, here are some pictures of the current build progress.



The new tank paint job and front end work can be seen here.



The wiring still needs to be hidden behind the frame, but this shows the removal of the side panel and rear hugger, the Nichols breather, Axle Adjuster Plates, and more of the new paint job. Things really seem to be coming together.

And this is THE Alain, who has helped so much. Notice him pulling the "Wilson" from Home Improvement:


One last shot from the front of the Duc showing the work-in-progress front end.

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