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
Quote from: grandpa nate on December 22, 2008, 06:03:51 AM
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 :-)