Ducati Monster Forum

Howdy y'all

I was directed here from another spot on the forum because I was told someone here might be able to help.  Here goes.

My wife is vertically challenged and loves to ride.  She is not a new rider so a Monster would be perfect except for the height.  I have an old 900 Monster just sitting in my storage shed and was wondering if it would be a good choice for lowering.  The height that I am looking for is about the same as the buell lack o blast she used to have.  I believe those sit around 27".  If my old 9 won't do it any suggestions would really help.  Mostly I worry about adverse handling and ground clearance.

Thank You Very Much

Hi there,

Indeed we have lots of height-challenged ladies around here.

My first suggestion would be to try shaving the seat (both top and sides).  That will give you lowering without affecting handling at all.

Here is a FAQ for short riders that I put together:
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1853.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1853.0)

and here is a nice tutorial on modifying the seat that mangeldbug wrote up:
http://ducatimonsterworldwide.org/index.php?topic=2513.0 (http://ducatimonsterworldwide.org/index.php?topic=2513.0)

good luck!

Thank You Very much!!!!

if you do get her on the 900...

be sure to point her to the forum :)

we need to up our M/F ratio  ;)

Will do [thumbsup]

I'm not a woman (some might argue...), but I do have a 900.
The 900's have the hoop style rear, which can be lowered (I know, affects handling/geometry/clearance) along with the forks to help accomodate for her height. So maybe after seat shaving, if it still feels too tall this could be another option. And if you're feeling a bit more spendy/special, you could have the bike re-sprung for her weight, which would help with the proper amount of sag once the suspension settles to her weight.

grandpa nate,

what year is the 900?

1999

If it was a '00 - '02 M900 you could use a M620 dark seat which is lower than your stock seat. 
But unfortunately it wouldn't fit a '99 perfectly.  With slight modification you could make it work.

Looking at a Ducati 900 Monster ~ need to lower it a bit for the wifey, plus deal with the spring loaded kickstand as she cannot really reach it properly.

What's the hoop style rear you are referring to ?

Holy resurrection...

Nichols makes a replacement bolt that stops the suicide stand from flipping up automatically
http://nicholsmfg.com/motorcycle/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=11&category_id=28&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53 (http://nicholsmfg.com/motorcycle/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=11&category_id=28&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53)

Monsters made in 2000 or before used a rocker and hoop to connect the shock to the rear swing arm, as opposed to the direct connection seen in later models.

I had my side stand modified because I couldn't reach it being a shorty. I've dropped the bike twice because of the side stand flipping up.  Mines a M600. :-)

Nicola :-)