Ducati Monster Forum

My poor bike.  Cut her butt.

The CORRECT bar ends should be here tomorrow (finally!)  Now for other easy things to do!

And I just thought-  I wish I could find a garage that I could work on the bike like that garage in the Stephen King Book/Movie Christine.  But not run by a drug and cigarette runner... and not having a haunted car.  But I want to do some work on my bike myself (so I can learn) and well... there are still some of us who don't have garages!)

Man, that would be cool. :)

I would love to a bike like with Christine's personality.  No one would mess with her.  I liked the Garage in F&F Tokyo Drift, best part of the movie IMO

Oh god  no... my bike needs NO MORE PERSONALITY.

She's slipping into (and out of) neutral more often now.  She did it to me on Tuesday when I was doing a turn.  Great timing there.  I might throw a glass of red wine in the tank next time I fill her. Not sure what her problem is.

OH...

and I ONLY get 80-93 miles before my fuel light comes on. For some reason, this seems VERY WRONG to me.

My first few tanks with my S2R I only got about 90.  After about 500 miles I started getting 110-125 depending on how I gentile I was.

I think Ducatista has the best tail chop.  I'm looking for a pic of her bike.

Try race shifting where when you shift hold the lever with your foot until you let release the clutch.  This helped me.

I have a buddy whose car has Christine's personality...1963 Buick Riviera that lets people know if she doesn't like them.  ;D If certain people are allowed in she starts backfiring, sputtering, and the brakes act up. Within 5 minutes of any of those people getting out she's running perfectly again.


oh, and the day he bought her I went over to take a look. while we were sitting in her discussing what work needed to be done the radio turned on, played half the song from Christine, then turned off again....without us touching anything, and with the keys in the house. All sorts of glad I'm one of the people she likes lol [thumbsup]

I have no haunted vehicle stories (house, yes).  I do have a garage - with just enough room carved out of the accumulated crap to work on the bike.

You may want to consider switching oil brand and see if it affects the neutral-slip problem.  When I went from MX4T to Shell Rotella T Synthetic, the false neutrals I used to get all the time disappeared.

90'ish on a tank before the light comes on in city driving isn't bad. If I am not in traffic or pushing it, I can get 120, but that is rare.

Popping out of gear? Dunno on that one.

I was reading somewhere that I should get 125 about...

But yeah.. I live in Chicago.  I guess I understand.  She's taking a break right now and I'm using my bicycle because I remember that is what keeps me in better shape.  She was supposed to be just for fun anyway... I ride her a little too much. =p

I got my tail chop "kit" from a guy who went by the name of "cookie" on the old Monster forum..

How many miles on the bike? I believe fuel consumption lessens (MPG goes up) after the first service, but that's usually at about 600 mi. Try different oil for bikes with wet clutch troubles, and its supposed to help out a lot. If you use anything from Autozone, make sure it is specifically for motorcycles - Mobil 1 is not the same as Mobil 1 Motorcycle, fyi - lot of folks make that mistake (but only once!).

Different weight oils also make the wet clutch behave differently.

IMO the closest to the cookie is the Competition Werkes  (http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/1DMON/Accessories/1DMON.html)

I have no idea what is in her-  She just had her 6000 service.  I did make a point to check all the levels on the bike the other day too because she's smelling a little funny-  I expect her to smell of gasoline- she was smelling more oily-electrical.

I wish I could put her up on a center stand and just turn her on and watch and see if something looks amiss. She's been garaged all winter and I dunno how much use she got with her previous owner.  This IS my first Ducati so maybe it's nothing.  I just don't like seeing her slip into neutral on a turn.

I have a friend coming into town next month who knows bikes. I may bribe him to take a look at her for me and risk the 45 mins "stud" lecture I'm going to have to hear after it for the sake of my safety.  Or maybe get a beer to shut his trap up after he does me this favor.  I just want to be sure he shows me what he's doing.  You know guys-  they like to keep their secrets from the women in case we show them up once we understand. ;)

hmm, so that's past the service I was thinking of. Mileage been at this level the entire time you've had the bike?

If so, got slip-ons? (Exhaust) or Open Airbox? Anything that affects the air-fuel mixture can sometimes adversely affect gas mileage if the ECU or Carb isn't informed of the changes.

if the dealer did the oil change, that might not be the culprit either, but might be worth a shot anyhow. How firm a click up-wards are you giving it prior to leaning into the turn? (Or is it on the next upshift as you exit said turn?)

I switched to the reverse-shift (GP Pattern) a few years ago because I didn't like all that linkage business. Now shifting is much more positive. But you have to remember "down is up, and up is down" forever after, which may make multiple-bike ownership more difficult. Just a thought. (If you go this route, might I suggest the shorter, designed for Monsters reverse shifter from Slingshot Racing)

Monsterparts sells the Cookie Kit, and the Comp Werkes.

http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/COOKIEKIT/Accessories/COOKIEKIT.html (http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/COOKIEKIT/Accessories/COOKIEKIT.html)
http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/1DMON/Accessories/1DMON.html (http://www.monsterparts.com/pc/1DMON/Accessories/1DMON.html)

FYI: go to your local HD dealership and pick up the Buell taillight, it'll be almost identical to yours, but the bottom will be clear, allowing for license plate illumination, which is required in many states. Its a dirt cheap part, and they likely even have one in stock.

Wow.. I never ever thought of that.  I will keep that in the back of my mind.  I know that when I was working in Europe, not all the manuals cars were exactly the same and I managed but I was younger then. 

Thanks for the idea.

And if I do the tail chop, I want that expensive ass LED light that does all that knight-rider (old school Hoff- none of that nu-skool stuff) stuff before I stop.  I've wanted it since I brought the bike home because the way cagers ride on my ass really, really, really makes me nervous.  I've not been on a motorcycle in 4 years and am being reminded how poorly car drivers start to drive once they get complacent.  I believe that light has the plate illumination in it.

My bike never had the fuel light come on before 110, usually after 120-130 miles. That's counting city only and track day. Your bike must be running extremely rich, especially considering your stock exhaust/udder/ECU set up. Have it adjusted again by the shop who did the 6,000 service? (my 0.02)
FYI - the tanks on our bikes are smaller than advertised (about 10%) and the fuel light (mine and others) doesn't come on until there's only half of the advertised amount of gas left. I only get about 15 miles after the fuel light warning. YMMV.

Cookie1 is still on Jeff's listing (MonsterParts.com) So is the Cometition Werkes kit. If you decide against the chop (would you chop your own butt?) Jeff also have the no-chop carbon tail. http://www.monsterparts.com/c/Accessories/Accessories.html (http://www.monsterparts.com/c/Accessories/Accessories.html)

I'm a big guy and think I need the bike to stay as large as possible - also I prefer to not "wear the road" when I ride in the wet.
So, I did this.....

(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l394/stopintime/beertray007.jpg)

Cool, not sure if its a replacement LED board to go in your stock tail light lens, or if its the complete shebang. If its just the LED board, you may still want to change the lens to the HD/Buell lens or a Clear Alternatives lens.

Reverse shift has another advantage, in that you don't have to dig under the shifter to go up a gear, which is handy when ground clearance is in short supply, such as exiting a left hander.

While I'm a fan of tail-chopping, I have to agree that the factory provided extra tail is a huge benefit if you ride in the rain much. Without it, your back is going to get quite wet.

FYI before you do the chop, be aware that many "saddle bags" like the DP and Givi models will not fit since they a bolt under the ash tray.  

THANKS!!

I forgot about that question!  If you tail chop, does your butt get wet?  And can you NEVER have a passenger again?

(I don't want to two up at all but like my case next month when I need to pick up someone from the airport, I don't own a car so its nice to have in worse case scenario)

And I try not to ride in the rain- mostly because I don't have gear yet.

Finally, I won't do bags on that bike, ever.

No, passengers are unaffected because the part you are removing is behind where they sit, not their seat. leave the passenger pegs on, and they are fine. Uncomfortable, but fine. It might be a little unnerving to have absolutely nothing behind your ass if you were riding cupcake, but that's it, as far as I know. I've had a passenger on my bike after the tail chop (but before I removed any passenger peg options).

And yes, you will have a serious case of swamp-ass when it rains.

+1, and if at all possible don't pay $100 for a tail chop kit.  All you need is a few L-shaped aluminum brackets with holes drilled in them.  Make a friend with the tools and space and fab up your own.

This makes me not want to do it.

I mean, I rode for about 2 hours in the rain on the way to a Pie Run a few saturdays ago and when I got there, my knees were still the wettest part of me, from front tire spin off and rain nonsense. It wasn't that big a deal, but you oughta know that there's less ability to deflect it with the tail chopped off.

I also have the rear hugger removed, which makes more fling up occur as well.

But it looks so much better! you'll be glad you did. Also, if you have a passenger, You won't get wet  [laugh]

Other than having smaller indicators, there are a couple of other things you can do:

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=23274.0 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=23274.0)
http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1333.msg12564#msg12564 (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1333.msg12564#msg12564)

Also, just for laughs, I am including my favorite tail chop thread (from the 'other' board): the comments are priceless.  [laugh]
http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/accessories-mods/121580-low-budget-tail-chop.html (http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/accessories-mods/121580-low-budget-tail-chop.html)
(http://tinypic.com/j0xro2.jpg)

The viz-tech ones.. thanks

And I just found a place today to powder coat the forks, swing arm when winter comes.

The bike is coming together in my mind's eye! Yay!

Can you powder coat exhaust pipes?  (when I removes the bladder and put in arrows).  Or is taping better?

You would want to ceramic coat the pipes due to the temp they run at, and most people get their forks anodized, powder coating can change the diamenter so they don't fit together on in the triple as well.

What color are you doing your swing arm?

Black.  Everything black but the tank, cowl and fairing.

You can't go wrong it that, it is the fastest color on a Ducati  [thumbsup]

if I can get the parts black out that I want, its going to be soooo sweet! =D

you meant to say matte black of course.... 8)

Of course the extra reflection of light makes glossy black a hair slower.    ;D

matte surface = rough = resistance = slowest.

Everyone knows there is only one color for a Ducati.   [roll]   ;D

MsTek - there is a high-temp powdercoat for exhaust systems.  I believe both this and ceramic coating have been discussed on the board. 

Be careful with powdercoating the forks.  The thickness of the powdercoat makes fitment difficult (there's a thread on that too).

forks = hard anodize black.
dont powdercoat them, it will crush in the triple clamps and your forks will end up rocking you in the face one day when you hit a pothole.

http://www.motostrano.com/ridubeco.html (http://www.motostrano.com/ridubeco.html)  <-- want but in black.

*sigh*  SO if  annodize the forks then I'd have to to the same to the swing arm to match all the blacks?  This is my concern-  The blacks must match.

Meh.. perhaps I should ride my bike out to someone in fall and show them my drawing and specs, then come back in bring and bring her back.  I KNOW what I want it to look like!! =D

The Rizoma belt covers are offered in black too. (but I still think stock black plastic actually looks better ;))(or maybe carbon fiber)

Mixing different black finishes isn't such a bad idea - our bikes "should" look a little mix matched - on of the trade marks of a Monster is the rough and unfinished look, IMO. When it would be wrong to mix match, is if you had everything powder coated and only one item anodized - that would look weird. The right way to mix match is to make it look random (IMO).

 [laugh] You really caught the mod virus fast  ;)

^^  Lol.. not really.  But I know in my mind eye how she should look. I wish I had the talent in illustrator to do it.  There aren't that many changes-  just expensive ones (swingarm, forks, and exhaust).  The rest are easy/cheap in comparison.

*sigh*

Yes, Ducati is recongizable to the outsiders by one color.  But we all know that YELLOW is the fastest color in Ducati

I have read some bad things about trying to annodize the swingarm.  I don't think the process bonds will with the cast swingarm.  I might be wrong, but it would be worth looking into beforehand. 

As far as tail chop kits.  I used the TPO kit.  It was only about $60 bucks and was easy to install.  It has mounting holes for a tag light.  I bought a $13(I think) Shock Racing LED tag light from monsterparts.com.   I also used the Clear Alternative integrated signal / brakelight.  Cleaned the ass end up nicely and wasn't super expensive.
(http://i44.tinypic.com/2dha043.jpg)(http://i42.tinypic.com/xcnddv.jpg)

Chopping this much will eliminate all chances of mounting bags. 
I know that the Ducati Performance bag (that mounts on the opposite side of the exhaust) needs the frame in tact past the second set of mounts that run accross the frame.  Past the brake light.  The rack mounts there and on the left side passenger footpeg. 

So the problem once again is the forks since I am getting a big 'OH HELL NO!  BAD IDEA' with that.

How do we get the blacks to match.  The puzzle continues!

I would have to guess that a powdercoated swingarm and vinyl wrap on the forks would be the closest.  Still not perfect though. 

+1  This is your answer.  My forks are hard-anodized and they look great, but if I were to do it over again, I'd seriously consider vinyl wrapping them. 

+1

I have no idea where I would get the vinyl stuff done.

Any sign shop can do this nowadays.


In regards to mileage, I soley ride in the socal canyons, and my light never comes on before 125-130. I'm running a full Termi setup with ECU.

I'd have that 800 looked at.

This threads all over the place  ;D the tail chop title is misleading lol. I would say make your own but it seems like you don't have the space/tools to do so.

As with most of these threads...  I think this one should be moved to NMC