Ducati Monster Forum

So I decided to start this thread simply because I love LOVE build threads and I hope to be able to possibly provide some entertainment in return to all those who have so generously provided before me...well, and to those who haven't ;D.  My '99 Monster 750 has been through a lot, I purchased the bike when I was a sophomore at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.  I found my monster through Craigslist, it had been salvaged and rebuilt in colorado where the current owner had previously lived.  The seller had owned the bike for almost 2 years(+ the original owners time) and it still only had about 3500 miles on it, although I was promised everything was new and in working order...well, you all know this story ;). So new battery, starter solenoid, belts, plugs and oil later I was sitting pretty with a nice looking Silver Stock(ish) 750 with a decent amount of carbon.  This sufficed until that first summer hit and I started making enough extra cash for modding to be a realistic option and like any proper enthusiast I haven't been able to stop since.

Like everyone else I tend to really wrench on the bike all at once, I'll save a bunch of stuff up and then try to complete most of it by taking the bike down only once.  The first major bit of this I did over the course of that first summer.  I removed all the emissions stuff, swapped in and painted a 5.5" rear with a conti sport attack, bought spare footpegs from yoyodyne and made a set of custom single person rearsets, new nrg plug wires, bought a 1098s can and made a semi-underslung low mount, swapped in a clear LED tail with integrated lights, swapped in mini LED front signals, installed a rear brake hanger/MC/lever from a superbike, custom cut and lexaned a set of 1 piece stock  belt covers, did a gloss black rattlecan job on the tank, seat cover and sprocket cover, made a custom plate bracket, 07 GSXR 1000 clutch master, renthal grips and third eye bar end mirrors.

I was fairly satisfied with this change and I felt it really suited me, I knew I wasn't done of course but I still enjoyed it.  The bike ended up looking basically like this
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/IMG_0811.jpg?t=1249088907)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/IMG_2151.jpg?t=1249088917)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/IMG_2154.jpg?t=1249088920)

I continued working/schooling and once school started again I really didn't have the cash to do anything besides keep it on the road.  Over the course of that year I picked up some 06 GSXR 1000 forks/brakes/MC and a second stock rotor.  I toyed around with the idea of creating my own exbox type system but never actually built anything, it all stalled out in the design phase after I built some real models and kind of lost interest.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/EXHAUST2-OvalExitt21.jpg?t=1249089689)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/EXHAUST2-OvalExitt11.jpg?t=1249089698)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/EXHAUST2-ROUNDEXIT1.jpg?t=1249089701)

WELL, I graduated in May of '08 and spent most of the traditional summer dicking around Atlanta with friends and what not.  I Miraculously landed a really decent job...in Chicago...trouble was I had to be moved up there within 3 days and really had no means of taking the old girl with me. The bike spent the next year in my parents basement while I settled into a $1300 a month :o studio apartment here:

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/9-26017-1.jpg?t=1249089986)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/9-26014-1.jpg?t=1249090226)

Extremely long story considerably shortened, economy tanked.  I wasn't laid off but there was basically no work for me to do and therefore no money for me to make, I packed up shop in Chicago after a little over a year and made my way back to Atlanta. Surprisingly the bike was exactly as I'd left it, my father had the "courtesy" to ride it every couple of weeks to keep everything from getting stale.  I got the bike back on the road and I've been riding it pretty much everyday since I returned, I recently took a week trip up to NC with a college friends family and, well, lets just say we found a dragon ;D

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon22.jpg?t=1249091119)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon9.jpg?t=1249091148)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon6.jpg?t=1249091172)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon8.jpg?t=1249091175)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon4.jpg?t=1249091185)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon3.jpg?t=1249091194)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon24.jpg?t=1249091262)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon23.jpg?t=1249091264)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon21.jpg?t=1249091266)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon2-1.jpg?t=1249091269)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon17.jpg?t=1249091344)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon15.jpg?t=1249091347)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon13.jpg?t=1249091349)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon14.jpg?t=1249091353)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon11.jpg?t=1249091413)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon10.jpg?t=1249091417)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/dragon1-1.jpg?t=1249091417)

So after that week I knew it was time to continue with the modding and that brings us up to the present ;D

I recently added passenger pegs to the custom rear sets, powdercoated the swingarm, painted the swingarm end caps, powdercoated the shock spring and sprocket red and added some misc. brass and stainless hardware.

As it sits ready here's what it looks like

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7283.jpg?t=1249091601)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7282.jpg?t=1249091604)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7284.jpg?t=1249091606)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7297.jpg?t=1249091596)

And what I've got planned...the first task is going to be cleaning up and removing as much of the wiring as possible.  I'm ditching the guages and stock headlight/bracket, whoever did the repair job after the original owners accident didn't bother to keep most of the harness intact and therefore the gas light doesn't work nor do I have any use for most of the dummy lights.  I'm going to strip the harness of as much as possible and then try to accomplish a few things.  I'm thinking about running a single trail tech scmr16 hid light(http://trailtech.net/single_hid_scmr16.html (http://trailtech.net/single_hid_scmr16.html)) in an offset/tucked position, since this will delete my high/low beam I may try to wire it so that I can use the stock high beam switch as a headlight on/off.  Secondly, my stock throttle tube has a chunk missing out of it from the original crash.  This doesn't interefere with operation but the throttle grip has the be cut to allow that, this has always bothered me.  I originally started looking for a standard ducati replacement, then I decided I might try out an ebay alloy dual cable unit, just the other night I remembered that I was shipped the 06 gsxr 1000 throttle tube with integrated bike start switch.  Well, I'm going to try to swap in the gsxr unit as it's practically brand new, would integrate the throttle and start/ kill switch(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7291.jpg?t=1249092671 (http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7291.jpg?t=1249092671)), and my old unit is all faded(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7292.jpg?t=1249092874 (http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7292.jpg?t=1249092874)) and what not...it seems like it will be a simple swap so long as the throttle cables are long enough/fit.  I'm also going to core the 1098 can and install an actual baffle with glasspack. New bars, new grips, new light, new throttle, new tires, gsxr fork swap(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7295.jpg?t=1249092879 (http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7295.jpg?t=1249092879)), powdercoat the clutch cover and replace a bunch of stuff with stainless and brass...there's more but it's escaping me.  Anyways,  I'll document each step here, so far I've replaced the stand and rearset bolts with brass/stainless
(http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/?action-view&current=DSC_7285.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7286.jpg?t=1249092660)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7288.jpg?t=1249092664)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7289.jpg?t=1249092668)

And yeah, the chain and sprockets are all gonna get swapped as well ;D (P.S. it normally doesn't look that dirty/bad ;)

 [thumbsup]

nice bike! wish I had fab skills

I dont claim to be a road racing champ,and im not trying to be rude, but you've got some body positioning to work on.

seems like a nice leisurely pace positioning. especially since he's been off the bike awhile.

Good luck man the bike looks great so far.  [thumbsup]

if your reffering to the locked elbows, and foot position thats somewhat excuseable but its the back, hip, leg positioning that has me ???

its cool though, im sure it will all work itself out.

i got it solved. it was freaking hot.
he had just came from chicago.
his shield is up with no eye protection, and his knees were out to soak up cool air.

That's what I was thinking as well. ;D [thumbsup]

That exhaust is interesting. How does it sound? Is it cored or modified at all?

Hah, yes I do suck.  Although it's hard to tell from most of the pics I'm actually just puttering along in traffic.  I couldn't seem to find a time when there wasn't much traffic, the one time I did manage to avoid traffic I happened to have a passenger with me [roll].

Anyways,  My first goal was to core the exhaust.  Like the stock Monster cans the 1098 cans have a similar mechanical baffle design that doesn't provide much in the way of sound quality.  I followed a tutorial on ducati-superbikes.com for coring and replacing the stock baffle design with a traditional perforated tube/glass pack.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/DSC_7290.jpg?t=1249350940)

I haven't had the time buy rivets yet so no finished pictures as of now, although I did bolt everything back up and it sounds great ;D.

I've also started ordering parts,  I bought a set of these bars.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/bar.jpg?t=1249350235)

and these grips, although in red
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/progrip.jpg?t=1249350537)

I'm not completely sold on the red grips but when I went to buy exhaust packing at the local shop they were on sale for $7 dollars, didn't seem worth passing up.

Once I get the exhaust back together I'm going to go for a short ride to drain the tank.  The plan is to remove the tank and airbox and start on the rewiring first before I start adding all the new junk ;).  I'm thinking I'm either going to use a bicycle speedometer or a trail tech vapor or endurance computer,  I haven't completely made up my mind as of yet.  I know some people have swapped in vapors but had tach issues anyways, did anyone ever get the tach working properly?  Anyways, more soon

So I decided to ditch the old exhaust and create my own exbox setup ;D,  It was more difficult than id imagined, so far I have maybe 30 hours of work into it.  I started by building a cardboard model, I then completed one box about 80% before I scraped it and started on a second box with a much better interior design.  The box contains separate chambers for each cylinder with a traditional baffle design and a balance pipe between the chambers.  The pictures show just the mockup with everything completed, the box and pipes have yet to be fully welded together.  It's already several pounds lighter than what I had on and it's all directly under the bike.  I used some scrap 20 guage sheet that was lying around plus cannibalized the old system which means I spent exactly $0 dollars putting this together so far.  I'm thinking of finishing the box and connected pipes in black and then polishing the pipes from the heads.  Anyways, more to come as I get there ;D.  Oh, and I PC'ed the clutch cover

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/photo-1.jpg) 
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/photo2-1.jpg)

P.S. sorry for the phone pics [roll] I'll do better once it's finished.

Looks good, I'd like to see it a little closer to the engine though. Too much space above the "box" for me...

I agree, looks good, but I also would have tucked it up farther.

When I built mine I built it as tight as possible.

(http://i26.tinypic.com/1fzn9x.jpg)

Yeah, I considered mounting it higher at first but the horizontal pipe would have necessitated some weird box design that I didn't feel like dealing with.  The box is maybe 1" from the little upside down L in the bottom of the case, I think once I have the mounting tabs attached the gap will disappear a good bit.

I think it would be neat to see a cad designed machined aluminum box that bolts together, I may try designing something like that later on.

Mine I just posted above was Aluminum.  The bottom was Tapped and you could remove the bottom plate. The pulses were so great that the bottom soon blew out. The rear cyl. blew a hole in 1/8 plate aluminum.

did final welding on the box and then coated it, pipes from the heads have yet to be polished.
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/photo2-2.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/photo-2.jpg)

GSXR fender finally arrived, scored on eBay for like $10
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/photo3-1.jpg)

Won a trail tech kit on eBay as well for about 1/3rd of the cost of one of their hid units so that frees up some of the budget for other stuff.  Going to powdercoat the housings black.
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/photo4-1.jpg)

more to come ;)

 [popcorn] [popcorn]

 [popcorn]

That "muffler" looks great. Nice work...

I like the story a lot,i envy people with skills and hands on like you do man!!!  [thumbsup] makes me want to love my monster more and ride it.You sound like a guy that really enjoys dyi.Great job and good luck with the monster.

little more progress on the exhaust, I was out of town in Boston and NYC for a week and some so progress has been slow but I'm back to it now ;)

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/ihpone285.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/ihpone286.jpg)

I'll be updating again tonight a little later.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/iphone001.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/iphone004.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/iphone006.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/iphone007.jpg)

Put the exhaust on for the second to last time, it's done besides the hanger that will be connected to the open hole right under the brake MC holder.  My plan is to do this in brass and then rivet it to the box and my question is...does anyone know where one can buy expanding bolts? similar in style to what you might find on a bar end? I know my bike had one in that location when I bought it but I'd since removed it and now can't find it.  Anyways, while I'm back there I'm planning to make a rear fender out of brass as well and possibly do the rear under-tray in the same fashion.

Let's see, I picked up a practically new bt015 for literally $1 and I also bought a knock-off crg so those are new additions.  I also PC'ed the alternator cover black today although no pictures of that yet.

I think after I finish with the brass I'm going to tackle the fork swap.  My plan is to buy some tygon tubing and ditch the rear reservoir  in favor of capped tubing and then use the little brembo 15cc res. on the front, that should be everything I need to get the new front end on.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0875.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0874.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0873.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0872.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0871.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0870.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0868.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0867.jpg)

So I PC'ed the front valve covers and the triples/clamps.  Everything is bolted up now and I'm just waiting on spacers before it can be patched up for good.  The 08 cbr 1000 has 5mm spacers for its Tokico calipers so I'm going to order those and then I can get the measurements for everything else. I've run into what might be a small issue, the gsxr forks have adjusters poking out of the top of the fork caps making them much taller than my stockers.  The problem is the bars I've bought have a slightly longer mounting section and I'm afraid the taller caps may interfere with them.  My first thought is to cut and reweld the bars, the only complication is that they are gold anodized, the weld may be hidden by the bar clamp though so it may not be a huge issue.  I've also resprayed my belt covers as they were starting to flake, I'll install them once everything is going back on.  Despite just having finished the exhaust I've come up with a new idea for custom double mid mounts, making them will require having something machined though so I may hold off on them until later.  Anyways, More soon ;)

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0898.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0901.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0902.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0904.jpg)

started working on the headlight mounting situation, I want to tuck the lights in as far as possible.  They'll be moved up slightly and tilted correctly later on.  The mount is made of aluminum, I tapped the bottom of the stock guage mounts and then counter sunk two pieces of  bar so that the socket cap bolts are hidden inside.  The headlight mount portion is strictly on the right side and consists of two loops to connect the lights, a much thinner piece of bar is going to be fitted between both mount points to act as a cable guide.  I'm thinking of PC'ing the whole thing in a dark bronze color.  Anyways, I'm not welding anything on the mount until I get the bike back on the ground...which has stalled things.  I'm waiting on spacers and bolts and then more spacers so I can make sure I only have to do this once.  More soon

Very cool. Looks like it'll b e sweet!
Also looks like a lot of fun building it.
 [thumbsup]

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0910.jpg)

Progress has been slowed quite a bit due to the fact that I'm now just waiting on spacers and stuff to arrive.  I decided to do away with the red on the sprocket, it was never my intention to put very much red on the bike and I was getting really tired of looking at a big red sprocket. ANYWAYS, I stripped it and went with a semi-gloss black which is much closer to my original vision of just blacking out the bike.

At this point, since the work has stopped, I really just want to ride it again.  All of the downtime has given me time to think of where I want to go with the bike the next time I get the urge to take her apart.  I'm thinking 900,1000 or 1100 swap keeping it carbed and running a 696 swinger.  I've also got ideas for a new exhaust and new rear sets.  It's difficult to be satisfied right now as my fabrication skills keep improving(IMO) with each iteration or item and so every time I finish something I feel I could improve upon it given a second chance.

Anyways, more later.

696 swinger? the hard point for the spring is different. you definitely want a DSS? find me a SSS M1100 swinger and i'll trade.

ebay.co.uk   One of the big uk breakers has 696 prts in their ebay shop. They have a swinger for £100.

the motor for £750.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0922.jpg)

So some spacers FINALLY came, these are the 5mm units required to space your calipers out for 320 mm rotors.  If anyone else out these is contemplating doing this swap you may find it useful to know that starting in '06 Honda decided to give the cbr-1000rr 320 mm rotors.  Honda uses Tokico calipers(the same as Suzuki) and instead of changing up the spacing on their forks they decided to just use a spacer to bump the calipers out, This spacer works just as well on GSXR forks that have the locating spacer for the calipers.  You can buy these from any Honda dealer/Bikebandit/eBay connection you like.

As for the 696 swinger, I know the frame will have to be modified to accommodate the upper shock mount.  I have nothing against SSS, I do like them, but I just don't love them and I've always kind of thought they looked funky on older monsters with swaps(IMO).  I like the 696 swinger a lot, I also like the boxy XX9 series swingers, So I think this is the direction I'll move towards once they start showing up/coming down in price.

Those headlights look awesome!!! [bow_down] I may have to stael that idea or do something similar. Nice work [clap]

So just some fiddling today, nothing major.  I moved the breather filter up and back so that it's covered up by the carbon side cover.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0924.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0925.jpg)

I used some clear tubing on my STM breather and it makes the line disapear. I think it helps open it up visually a bit as well.
Keep up the good work.

 I have the TPO kit but did not like the way it ran when it was installed. I may try it again once I do th eexhaust and ECU. It really looks nice.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0931.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0933.jpg?t=1253579842)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0936.jpg)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0937.jpg?t=1253579887)

Little progress, enough for an update at least ;).  As you can see I've got the calipers bolts up now,  I've measured multiple times and it appears that I need 5mm rotor spacers instead of the 3.5mm listed in the tutorial by RB.  I attribute this to the fact that the drawings provided in said thread were designed for an s2r, if you are attempting this swap make sure to measure yourself before you just go out and get spacers made up from the plans!

I finally got the balls to cut up the brand new bar I bought.  I tried thinking of any other possible solution to the problem but nothing seemed feasible, bar risers came to mind but that's the opposite of the direction I wanted to go 8).  I ended up cutting 4 inches out of the bar center and they now fit perfectly, and look totally bad-ass IMO.  The new bars are much lower and have less pullback than the stockers, this gives them a really neat flat track kind of look.  The bars also came with a top brace so I've cut that to match, I'm going to PC match the bars and brace to the headlight bracket once that gets welded.  I've inserted a snug rod between the cut on the bar and I'm going to have it professionally welded since my Aluminum skill level is still very low.

I had the new tire mounted on the newer 25mm axle rim, my crappy bathroom scale says it's about a half pound lighter than the older solid axle combo.  The rotor spacers are being water jet cut tomorrow so hopefully the front end will be back on the ground really soon.

Anyways, more soon.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0948.jpg?t=1253739134)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0950.jpg?t=1253739148)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0951.jpg?t=1253739160)

Bars are done, need a little more filing and then they're gonna get powdercoated.  I'm pretty happy with the overall look of them.

The business I chose for the rotor spacers seems to be dragging their feet a bit, they're saying middle of next week.  I'm gonna try to make a decent parts trip this weekend to try and get everything left for the front end together.  Copper colored powder in an effort to match the bars to the gsxr forks, proper rotor bolts, can of ATE super blue racing brake fluid and a proper headlight connector.  This should pretty much wrap up the front end for the time being.  I've decided to go with a trail tech vapor unit since they just released a stealth(black) case model, once some more parts sell I'll be ordering one of these units.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0963.jpg?t=1254262650)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0966.jpg?t=1254262663)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0969.jpg?t=1254262675)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0971.jpg?t=1254262686)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0976.jpg?t=1254262699)

So I've been making slow progress lately but things are still moving.  I attempted to match the bars to the forks with some copperish colored powdercoat but I really wasn't digging it so I went with a mix of gloss and semi-gloss black instead. I've got the reservoirs remounted with some tygon and the front brake with a new brembo 15cc unit.  It seems to have a much smaller diaphragm than the older ones so I'm not too worried about fluid level, although the positioning is a bit high for my taste.  If I had the scratch I'd prefer to go with an integrated master from ISR, maybe someday.  

The axle spacers are done and now I'm just waiting for the rotor spacers(read: shop taking forever), once they come in I'll drop the front end back on the ground and get the headlight mounts all finished up.

Gauge is gonna be taken care of by a trail tech vapor unit so I'll place an order for that when the time comes.  Only a few final things are really bothering me at this point.  I want to redo the exhaust in a totally different style so if i come into about $250-$300 extra dollars I'm gonna go for that.  I'm also really not digging the old belt cover setup I've got going, so if I can round up some pantah covers or some single piece covers I'm gonna jump on that as well.  The last thing is getting a decent braided line up front, the stocker will do for awhile though.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0985.jpg?t=1254353194)

added a small reservoir holder to the front brake master, just a tiny piece of aluminum rod.  The small size of the master combined with the really short hose length already has the cylinder really well supported, this has it totally locked up. Anyways, more to come...

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0997.jpg?t=1254435887)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0990.jpg?t=1254435899)

So Kopfjager brought it to my attention that I ought to lower the front brake master,  I couldn't agree more but initially it didn't seem possible.

Today I spent some time disassembling the master;  after removing a rubber plug, a snap ring, and the bleed nipple itself I was finally able to rotate the fitting.  So I ended up lowering the reservoir even with the top of the master bleeder,  It looks WAY better.  Mount is a mock up but I'm going to use the same method, just gonna straighten things out slightly.

Anyways, spacers tomorrow hopefully.

So I finally received the rotor spacers today and managed to get the front end back on the ground without a hitch.  I've also ordered a Stealth Trail Tech Vapor which should be here on Wednesday, so that takes care of everything on the gauge front. The current belt covers have really got to go so I'm replacing them with a Pantah set, have my eye on a few but haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet.

The headlight mount is proving to be difficult, mostly because my Aluminum skills are pretty much non-existent at this point and the pieces are tiny.  I've tried welding the mount and cable guide twice now ruining both sets in the process, tomorrow I'll give it another shot after I cut/file everything again :-\.  I may just end up building it out of steel as this would take me about 1/10th the time but I really want it out of Aluminum so I'll try the AL at least until I run out of material.

Anyways, really hope to have it back on the road soon, I'm dying to ride it.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1024.jpg?t=1255405015)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1023.jpg?t=1255404911)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1038.jpg?t=1255404935)

Keep it up!!  [thumbsup]

So I'm going with steel, I gave the aluminum several more tries but just can't get anything I'm actually satisfied with.  Here's the first shot at steel
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1047.jpg?t=1255491686)
and with light mount welded on
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1050.jpg?t=1255491764)

I'm diggin' it so far, decided to give the steel a second go around as I had a better idea for the mount right as I finished :P.   TT Vapor ought to be in my hands tomorrow, ordered a set of Pantah covers which should be here next week and that about wraps up the current bit of it.

I want to redo the exhaust in a more traditional style with spaghetti headers and twin cans in a style like this
(http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/uploads/GP_Evo_Exhaust__UK_rgb.1.jpg)
So If I come into some bike money or sell more parts I'll probably do that next.

SO...

Headlight mount is done, lights are mounted.  TT Vapor arrived and it looks great, really nice in all black.  I PC'ed the light mount and the TT Vapor mount black. 

The electrical and cable routing nightmare has begun ;).  The issue is this, the clutch line is still the stock factory unit with the 90 fitting on the master side and it's about 4 or 5 inches too long.  The Nissin radial unit really needs a line with a straight fitting on it, this was less apparent with the giant stock cluster and the factory headlight.  When I bought the vapor I added in one of their cheap little mounts for it, the thing looks great but the way it mounts has it bolted to the center of the triple which looks good but leaves little room for routing all the cabling that needs to go through there.  So my plan of attack is this, since I pretty much have to buy a clutch line I'll do this first...assuming this doesn't leave me with enough room to get everything fit then I'll draw up a little mount in CAD and have someone local cut it. 

Anyways, Can anyone recommend someplace for inexpensive custom clutch lines? I've thought of spiegler and Hel but I'm guessing they're both gonna be over $70 or so...anyone have any other ideas? I may try the local moto shops to see if they do anything of the sort.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1051.jpg?t=1255571834)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1053.jpg?t=1255571850)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1054.jpg?t=1255571868)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1057.jpg?t=1255571881)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1058.jpg?t=1255571900)

The lights look great. I like the look of the forks dominating the front end.  [beer]

Great job so far.  IMO...I think having four (4) of those headlights would balance the look out in the front, plus more light to be seen at night. 

Thanks ;D, I like it too. In person it looks stripped down and light, the profile view from above is my favorite...it just looks killer to me.


Thanks, the thought had crossed my mind but I actually really like how it looks when it's not symmetrical at all.  As for the light issue, these ought to be as bright as stock and TT offers 75 watt bulbs if I wanted to go brighter with these...alternatively I could pick up some hid units from them [evil]

You can try Galfer for your clutch line.

looking good man , i dunno how i feel bout the headlights in the forks , but to each there own.  [thumbsup]

Thanks, maybe once it's all finished and I can get it out of that dark basement for some nice shots I'll be able to change your mind ;D

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1059.jpg?t=1255918559)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1070.jpg?t=1255918571)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1072.jpg?t=1255918584)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1076.jpg?t=1255918596)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1078.jpg?t=1255918609)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1083.jpg?t=1255918621)

Pantah covers came in, I stripped them and then PC'ed them gloss black.  Found a place that does stainless lines with a neat black sleeve for a great price so I'm gonna test them out on the clutch line.  I have a few different ideas for mounting everything now, wiring everything is still going to suck but there's really no escaping that.

I'm thinking my next large purchase may actually be rear sets,  that is if I can find some for way less than like the $500 everyone wants new.  The more and more I do, the more they seem to stick out at me and the worse they look.  I have an idea for another custom set but really don't want to go through the trouble of making them again at this point, think I'll buy a pair for a change.  Anyways, If you're selling any that would fit a '99 then let me know whatcha got ;)

I'd also like to invest in some other little bolt on bits; billet frame plugs, billet sprocket cover, new gas cap, maybe some billet axle adjusters...Anyways, all of this stuff can be added gradually at a later date.

we will see , i do like the belt covers they look good , i been looking for some new rear sets to if you find anything that cheap let me know  ;)

Well...just about everything is mounted now.  I decided to mount the gauge using a similar design as the headlight mount.  I already had a spare cross bar made from when I did the light mount and I used the TT mount I bought as a template for the steel part I cut and welded to the bar.  This puts the gauge roughly where it would have been otherwise, about an inch higher and an inch farther out, the view from the saddle is perfect.  The nice part about this setup is that I didn't have to wait for the new cables to come in and it gave me some extra space for all the cabling through that area.

I did a temporary wiring job for the new lights and the vapor just so I can road test it before I take it all apart for a real rewiring.  So far I've got the vapor hooked up to keyed power and I'll take care of the rest of the tach wiring tomorrow.  The vapor is really great so far; it's neat, small, and seems really well put together.  Everything else that I've kept seems to be running fine, the lights work, the gauge lights up...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I was thinking today that it would be neat to add two small led indicators for low fuel and neutral into the plastic key cover area, haven't looked into this much yet but it's def. something I'll do before I start rewiring.  I changed my mind about the red grips, gonna find something else.

All that's left before I can take it out for some ride time is a few bolts for the triple, oil, oil filter and then bleeding all the lines.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1087.jpg?t=1256005968)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1092.jpg?t=1256006960)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1097.jpg?t=1256006980)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1100.jpg?t=1256007004)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1101.jpg?t=1256007023)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1105.jpg?t=1256007038)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG1110.jpg?t=1256007050)

I love the almost invisible headlight look!  I'm surprised more people don't do it.

Headlights are not for me.

The rearsets you have on there look great.

You've got your ride height adjustment bottomed out, below the factory settings it appears (the hoop is bottomed out on the nut which is bottomed out on the rod end). Do you have short legs and needed to do this?

If you raise it back up to factory height (or higher) your bike will be much more responsive going into turns.

I am short actually, like 5'9" and around 150.  I have thought about jacking it up many times, especially during the few times I've had the swingarm off.  As it sits I can just barely flat foot the bike, when I was commuting on the bike for like 2 years this really seemed more comfortable to me as I was just doing stop and go around Atlanta mostly.  Now that I'm not solely riding the bike I may raise the rear a bit, I've got to change the chain in the next couple hundred miles so I'll probably give it a whirl then. 

I do like the rearsets but I'm just kinda tired with them, I want something fancy and machined looking on there now.  I'm hoping to pick up a pair somewhere and then make another (different) exhaust, this will give me the option of running a bunch of different combos of rearset/exhaust/etc whenever I want.

The Headlights aren't going to be for everyone,  The crappy camera and the fluorescent lighting in my basement really isn't helping matters here, I don't think I've really captured the bike very well yet.  That said, I like the headlights today but I have other ideas I want to try out as well.  Maybe in the same vein as the exhaust/rearset issue I'll have a couple of interchangeable units as time goes on.  I want to upgrade to some TT HIDs at some point so I'll do a new setup then, that and I still have the stock setup.

I completed the rough setup of the bike today, everything is on and working.  Tomorrow will be the first ride since this thread started.  A few small things still need to be changed including a new front brake line and then redoing the wiring for the headlights and gauges.  After that It's pretty much all new stuff that I haven't really decided on yet.  I'll take some pics outside tomorrow and see if I can get some video of the TT running.

please tell me 5'9" is not considered short. i barely hit  5'10" when i don't slouch.

as far as the lights... maybe it's the size... i think i would like it more better if they filled the space a bit more.
but it's a cool concept. and would love to see the finished bike.

The more I stare at the headlight setup, the more I like it.  But the red grips have to go.
The opposite is true for the exhaust, the more I stare at it, the more it looks unfinished...just my $.02.

I'm only 5'7" and 175 fully geared.  i don't have any problem w/ footing on my s2r and I increased the rear ride height about 1/2".  Sounds weird that at 5'9" you were having trouble at the factory height.

Couldn't agree more, both are going shortly.

Maybe I have short legs or you have long ones ;), who knows.  I'm sure I can easily hold the bike up with it raised, I was just into the easy flat footing when lounging at oily city traffic lights for minutes on end.

Anyways, I RODE THE BIKE TODAY.  Everything went well, The TT is working fine but the tach isn't reading correctly so it's going to require some fiddling with to get right.  I might powdercoat the shock spring black when I take the rear end apart for this chain swap, I'm not sure yet...I'm also pondering running one of those little shock sock deals as I could get rid of the little hugger then.  Anyways, Tach first ;D

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0026.jpg?t=1256167970)

Got the tach working well, reconnected it to the spade on the coil and everything seems much better.

I'm gonna go look for grips tomorrow around the local shops to see what I can come up with, I'm thinking just something simple and black for now.

Can you post a pic of where its mounted. I want to see for future changes meself.

Yes, but where what is mounted exactly?

The tach-fix.

So to connect a Vapor to your coil you're going to want their wire kit with the resistor in it (raptor model).  Remove the battery and a single coil, there should be three things underneath the coil; a right angle type spade connector with 2 red wires, the spark plug wire and a single spade connector with a gray wire.  Take the positive(red with the resistor in it) wire from the TT bundle and connect it to the grey spade, the black wire you will run to ground.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0030.jpg?t=1256170327)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0035.jpg?t=1256170328)

So I've been thinking about the exhaust issue more and I know that I def. want to go back to double low mounts maybe in a slightly more aggressive position/angle than the factory or aftermarket cans would be in.  I've been searching for affordable cans to use and I've come up with a few options.

I found these first, eBay units from china...kind of the style I was looking for and they're decently inexpensive but the quality looks eh.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GP-STYLE-Exhaust-Honda-CBF-1000-2006-2009_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem563554e008QQitemZ370261942280QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GP-STYLE-Exhaust-Honda-CBF-1000-2006-2009_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem563554e008QQitemZ370261942280QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GP-TITANIUM-Racing-Exhaust-Kawasaki-Z-1000-Z1000-03-06_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4ceb13ba72QQitemZ330361453170QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GP-TITANIUM-Racing-Exhaust-Kawasaki-Z-1000-Z1000-03-06_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4ceb13ba72QQitemZ330361453170QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories)

Then there's http://www.carbonpartz.net/id94.html (http://www.carbonpartz.net/id94.html) which makes custom cans, I hadn't heard of them until recently but they seem to have a pretty decent reputation.  I emailed them and they got back to me right away, really great communication thus far.  I'm mostly interested in the stainless cans around 300mm in length and from what I've gathered so far they're just slightly north of $200 a piece.  I'm thinking I may try them out as the quality looks nice and I like the service so far.
(http://g8c0xlswlx.web.aplus.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/DSC02965.JPG)
(http://g8c0xlswlx.web.aplus.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/DSC03033.JPG)
(http://g8c0xlswlx.web.aplus.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/bl1.jpg)
(http://g8c0xlswlx.web.aplus.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/bl2.jpg)

Anyways, I took the bike out for a spin today and got about 2 shots before my camera battery died so maybe tomorrow I'll score some sweet pics ;)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0036.jpg?t=1256244626)

i think the all black looks good man , maybe paint the oil cooler cover black ? ;)

Just stumbled on this thread and love the attention to detail, man!  As with others, I envy your fab skills - and patience.

Kudos on the lights.  I'm digging the one-of-a-kind, asymmetrical look, but what I'd really like to see is a night shot of those bad boys.  Your mods are not for everyone, but that's kind of the point, isn't it!?

ps: this is probably a little nit-picky, but you may want to do something about the white oil filter too, since everything else is flowing so nicely.

more i look at it, i would like to see the side covers off.

You mean the carbon parts? I was actually just thinking about that the other day.  Couple things need to happen before I can take a look at it, there's wiring and the breather filter running behind them.  That said, I never really like the way it looks on other bikes I've seen so I'm kind of doubtful I'll like it here.


Thanks ;D.  The filter is just something I threw on because it's all I could find in a hurry...It's actually chrome [puke].  Gonna change it as soon as I make it down to ducshop to pick up a ducati filter.

reason i say that is there is sooo much tube frame everywhere else, frame, rearsets, etc. i think covering them up makes the rear almost look heavy and doesn't flow with the rest of the build. so minimal and then these covers?

but this is customization, and it's your custom. so if you like it that way, (and i'm not saying it looks bad) then go for it.

Yeah, We'll see about the covers.  The welds and tabs underneath them don't look very good either so I'm not too certain about the look.

So my starter solenoid crapped out on me, this is the second one during my ownership.  This one was the Yamaha unit that Ca-Cycleworks sells, it lasted about 2 years before it too fell to whatever it is that seems to kill these so fast on monsters.  I decided that this was as good a time as any to go through the whole harness so I've totally stripped it out and started hacking away at it, pretty scary stuff :o. 
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0056.jpg?t=1256778758)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0055.jpg?t=1256778759)
So far I've removed a good deal of wiring and I've shortened the rear harness by about 8 inches.  The plan is to run the harness up the middle of the bike and over the vertical head so as to hide as much of it as possible.  I've seriously considered going to pod filters as this would be the easiest route for wiring but I really don't want the headache of rejetting and everything else.  I want to relocate the starter solenoid as it's pretty much impossible to access in the stock location and I'm going to run a new starter line down the left side of the bike anyways.  I've yet to find a suitable place for it,  one question I do have about it though, can the hot and starter wires be reversed(terminal wise) without changing the function of the unit?  Also relocating the horn and possibly installing some LED's in the plastic ignition cover for neutral and fuel.  I'm also thinking I want to do the k&n breather filter directly on the crankcase vent and I want to do a shock sock as well so those are probably the next few things I'll do.

Work continues ;D

I've got a lot of the harness sorted out now, pretty much all of it actually.  The only part left to tie together is right at the very front, I've got the left control, key/ignition, start button and lights all run right up to the front but haven't yet got the packaging to a place I'm satisfied with yet.  I desperately want to use a mil-spec circular connector to run everything into a single plug but the tool alone is like several hundred dollars, still...they're so awesome looking. Rewiring and trying to hide the harness with the factory airbox has been a real chore, there just isn't that much room in the front of the bike to route everything.  That said I routed everything up over the vertical cylinder and then over the battery and airbox, I would have liked to have gone under but that will have to wait for pods.  When I can score some cool heat sheath material made for hoses I'll route the fuel hoses over the vertical cylinder as well, need to make a trip to summit racing. 

I've also been working on the exhaust front.
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0057.jpg?t=1257980251)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0058.jpg?t=1257980266)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0061.jpg?t=1257980279)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0062.jpg?t=1257980291)

I contemplated buying a set of round gp styled pipes but then stumbled upon a used set of round cans for a Honda 919 on Ebay, picked them up for $50.  So far I've chopped them down to 300mm in length and started blasting them, the caps look awesome and the sleeves need another blasting to even them out a bit more.  The caps are SS and the sleeve is aluminum, I'm going to add rivet straps and possibly slash cut titanium end caps.  I need to find some decent muffler straps though, does anyone have a lead on where I might find some neat straps? The cans are round/86mm diameter. I think I'm gonna go with a stock header for now to keep cost down, I'll probably blast it as well now that I have access to a sandblaster that actually works.  I'm actually contemplating blasting my tank and matte clearing it too [evil], it needs a repaint and this just seems like it might be awesome.

I am loving this thread.  Keep it up. [clap] [clap] [thumbsup]

I likely the slash cuts! [thumbsup]

I like slash cuts as well!

Cut out
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0069.jpg?t=1258500794)
That's the majority of the wiring I've removed so far, have yet to get the neutral switch out.  It's...a lot, the bike looks so much cleaner already and I'm not even done.  One important thing recently is that I've decided to toss the stock kill switch housing out, I've literally never used it and it's caused headaches in the past that necessitated taking it apart.  I'm going to mount a tiny waterproof momentary push button in the plastic guard that surrounds the keyed ignition unit, this really cleans up the wiring a ton and gives a lot of extra room on the bars.

The exhaust cans are pretty much ready to go, I'm still looking for sexy mount straps but besides that things are moving forward.  I've been researching the best blast media to use on the tank so as not to damage it, I'm torn between having it done locally and just doing it myself.  it's something I'll look into more after the exhaust and wiring are all done.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0079.jpg?t=1258667449)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0080.jpg?t=1258667460)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0084.jpg?t=1258667471)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0087.jpg?t=1258667482)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0089.jpg?t=1258667499)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0093.jpg?t=1258667520)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0096.jpg?t=1258667537)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/mount1fullsculpted.jpg?t=1258667547)

I haven't mentioned this yet but it's what I've been working on for the last few days.  When I bought the TT vapor the problem was that because of the spacing on the monster triples there was no factory available mount for it.  I eventually got a little mount going out of steel but I just wasn't satisfied with the way it came out.  So I spent the last 2 weeks teaching myself CAD ;D

Anyways, after tons of measuring and an hour or two in Autocad I had my file and a day later I had my part.  I used a local machine shop with a waterjet mill(same one that did the rotor spacers) and the part came out really great and it was super cheap as well :).  I'm doing a little redesign on the front end as it was just too cluttered so this is just the first part of that.  I extended the gauge outward 10mm and it sits about 5mm lower than it did before.  I'm moving back to the factory headlight mount(with some changes) to facilitate cleaning the front end up so I plan to powdercoat that plus this mount in textured black, I'll probably pick the powder up this weekend.

It's been a fun little excersize and I've got a lot more stuff planned for the future(like rearsets, initial sketch http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/?action=view&current=sketchmodel2.jpg (http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/?action=view&current=sketchmodel2.jpg)).

Anyways, I thought I'd put this out there if any of you with aging monsters are desperately seeking new gauges.  If there's interest I'll put together a little package with the mount(sand blasted, powdercoated, raw, whatever) and titanium hardware.  I'll offer these at my cost to anybody here that's interested.

More soon...

Looks great!

looking good , so are you going back to the stock headlight too ?

Nah, sticking with non symmetrically mounted duals for now...I'll eventually figure out something I like ;D

Don't listen to these guys. Stick with the current headlight setup.

Don't worry, it'll still be different ;).  Really the reason for the switch back to the u-bracket is simply because I can't figure out a better way to simultaneously route and hide the hellish amount of cabling that runs through the triples.  As it stands I've got one of the headlight ears flipped and reversed, I'm going to experiment with a couple of different ideas once I get some new light posts from Trail Tech and some Titanium nuts to mount them.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0117.jpg?t=1260832615)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0120.jpg?t=1260832703)

 [evil]

That is all, more in a few days ;D

how much was that chunk of metal?

Only about $30 and it's 1"x7"x30" chunk of machine quality 6061-T6.  I've become a big proponent of buying scrap off of eBay, you can find seriously insane deals if you're patient...To put it simply, this piece of aluminum was very nearly a big piece of titanium :(

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0122.jpg?t=1261081946)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0127.jpg?t=1261081957)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0130.jpg?t=1261081968)

Rough cut of the second and final trial mount with mock-up peg, after some more machining these will get hard anodized black.  The peg is what I've been using for mockup, next step is to get the new pegs machined out of some titanium bar [evil].  Final version will be black mounts, titanium pegs and black exhaust mount.

super jealous of your fab skills. Well done so far!!!!   [thumbsup]

That's a bit thick isn't it?

That's what she said... [cheeky]

Sorry, someone had to say it [beer]

whats it going to be?

It is actually, kinda wish I'd gone a bit thinner but there's still more machining to be done on this piece and I doubt the extra stiffness can hurt ;).

If you chip away some of that to reduce weight but keep the 1" thickness, you'll find it's probably just about right for rear-sets.  There are/were some $150 rear-sets on Ebay for Monsters from England.  I bought a pair, mounted it to a frame (they were about 1/2" thick BTW) and when you stood up on the pegs alone, they flexed like MAD.  Incidentally, I still have them and won't ever sell them or use them.  They need to be destroyed....

Frame tabs, bracket or peg?

That's the plan right now, the final machining will remove a small amount of the outside face and a portion of the exhaust mounting brackets plus a bunch of edging work I haven't come up with yet.  Here's where I am now with it,

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/newmodel25.jpg?t=1261248143)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/newmodel24.jpg?t=1261248142)

In retrospect I think it could probably be done with 3/4" inch plate but if you require exhaust mounts and you don't want to pay a fortune for them in machine time then you'll have to space the top out at least another 1/4" anyways giving a similar visual to the 1" plate without the added stiffness.  ;D

This is all on a hooped monster mind you.

The cad pics look much better. Looking forward to seeing the finished product...

Any more progress? Really looking forward to seeing those rearsets finished!  [thumbsup]

Things are moving slower around the holidays, I haven't been able to find a machinist to do the final machining yet so I'm waiting on that.  I'm sure things will speed up after new years...or unless somebody here has access to a cnc mill and the want for work? ;D

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/newmodel30.jpg?t=1262644888)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/newmodel31.jpg?t=1262644903)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/newmodel32.jpg?t=1262645602)
Just some rough ideas.

peg will be knurled titanium roughly 1" in diameter

Any chance you can make them like this? CycleCat owners can use spares.

(http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l394/stopintime/008.jpg)

If there's interest and somebody wants to send me a spare to measure I can make a model of it for you guys with CC rearsets, honestly though it kind of looks like anybody with a lathe could crack that part out no problemo.

SO...been a bit since an update but I've been busy doing other stuff.  Finally FINALLY got the first bit done so now it's on to either the cans or the footpegs themselves so we'll see which material pops up on eBay first.  I've been learning a lot about actually getting your own stuff machined so that has been a big part of the delay in progress. I ditched the waterjet because I couldn't deal with the surface finish on the cut edge and then I did a lot of tweaking to cut down cost because my original waterjet acceptable design would have required purchasing special additional tooling to actually mill.  I redesigned a bit and then had the whole part CNC milled into what you see here.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0251.jpg?t=1267573822)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0267.jpg?t=1267573847)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0269.jpg?t=1267573860)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0265.jpg?t=1267573875)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0239.jpg?t=1267573889)

Like I mentioned the next step is either the exhaust mounts or the footpegs(which i want to make out of titanium) so that'll all depend on which material comes my way first.  Once everything is machined and I'm satisfied I'm thinking black anodized AL and leaving all the Ti raw.  More soon I hope ;)

Beautious!!   [bow_down]

 [popcorn]

me likey the billet   [thumbsup]

looks great man

That metal looks really nice, dude!  Show it on the bike

Thanks guys ;D


Will do, I'm just waiting on the mounting hardware to show up at my door ;).

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0318.jpg?t=1270692043)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0319.jpg?t=1270692062)

New Gilles tooling clip-ons, more machine work soon ;)

Congratulations. [clap]

Those rear sets are art.

Very impressive. The bike looks so minimalist and trick at the same time.

I'm glad you are changing the exhaust. I really liked your simple prototype two into one that you made! The twin system you are creating now will look tough.

What you did with the front end is impressive. Kind of cyborg tough like a Confederate Hellcat.

Down the track I think such a bike deserves more motor. A 900 with flatslides and you could easily machine down the flywheel. Don't worry, after what you've done, an engine swap and tuning is no more trouble!

Your ability to add to your considerable skills on the run will see you through.

Well done.

If you still have that exbox exhaust and want to sell i would like to buy it ;D

I'd like a set of those clip ons in 53mm for super bike forks... if you're making them.  ;D

If you're talking about these then I think the biggest they make is a 50mm.

its looking good Max.  Seems like its all coming along.  [moto]

Nice work again sir!  I am planning on doing some similar rearsets for the 696.  We unfortunately just sold our CNC mill  :(

were those "in process" pictures or the rear sets? look bulky, wondering if there is more being taken off.


iiiinterstingggggg. let me know.

Very nice... Did you come up with a way to mount the brake light switch for the rear brake?

Thanks guys ;D


It's not really finished to a state I'd be willing to have someone pay actual money for.  If you're interested in it for research to build your own or something then I'd be happy to send it to somebody for the cost of shipping or something.


They're made by Gilles Tooling actually, decent price and great design but I think the biggest they come is 50mm like duc750 said.


Thanks, I've been meaning to get you some pics of that fender but I seem to have misplaced it at the moment and I'm constantly in and out of town right now.  Hopefully soon ;)


Those are finished(to me) besides anodizing, You could take more off the back in a similar manner or more could be taken out from the front in some way.  Personally I liked them this way and didn't want to spend the extra $$$ on more machine time.


the brake MC is mounted with an sbk mount on the cases, so yes you can mount the switch if you're into that sort of thing ;)

Do you know what the depth measurement of the actual clip on is on those Gilles? I know you have longer fork tubes and all. I'm looking in to a set of those and I want to mount on top of my triple as well but mine are stock tubes. I want to know if I have enough room.

Thx Ducati

they're like 30 mm, maybe just a little less.

Welp, decided to go back to the stock headlight.  PC'ed the bracket and ring in textured black and the bucket itself in wet gloss black.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0371.jpg?t=1272933865)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0342.jpg?t=1272933888)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0341.jpg?t=1272933901)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0352.jpg?t=1272933915)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0359.jpg?t=1272933928)

Also added a mini K&N that's all black instead of the chrome top

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0367.jpg?t=1272933942)

I liked the minilights but add a dirt track number plate with them inset into them. 

Good work. 

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0375.jpg?t=1273708320)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0380.jpg?t=1273708380)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0382.jpg?t=1273708399)

 [evil]

More of this over the next few days.

i'm lost, whats so different about this tank?

Nothing right now, but judging by the rest of the thread I'm sure he'll have something for us!!    [evil]

this guy is amazing.  i am so humiliated that i bring my bike in to the shop for an oil change.  i should just buy a scooter.  stuff looks sick man and i'm an ATL native too . . . kinda shocked at all the folks poo-pooin some of your choices and work.  bummer to read that nonsense.  good on you for the raw talent to even do this stuff.  i wanna borrow you for 5 months.  free tacos . . . lemme know.

Great looking  headlight combo.

Do you have a p/n handy for the filter?

I'm always up for free tacos ;D

K&N part number is...62-1560

The tank is bare and I'm polishing it, which is taking sooo long.  It took me a week using gentle paint stripper and a soft plastic scraper just to get it to those first pictures. I'm currently working it over with 1000 grit right now and there's just so much more left to do.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0389.jpg?t=1273783678)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0392.jpg?t=1273783693)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0394.jpg?t=1273783715)

man thats exactly what im doing too.

i have a dent in my tank

strip it, polish it and clear it.

one more reason someone should make an AL tank for the 696 / 1100

 [bacon]

So work continues on the tank polishing but I've been playing with other things too.

I"m working on getting the exhaust/rearsets done as well so I had all of this stuff cut out of a thin sheet of titanium the other day.  The trouble is that the waterjet cad software skewed my drawings and everything came out totally worthless, not sure why the tech didn't spot the issue before he started the run.  Anyways, all of that has to be re-cut so it's just more time waiting on material and machine work.  I was really looking forward to my titanium license plate mount and front brake reservoir holder. :(

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/exhaust1.jpg?t=1274074384)

The cans that I bought and cannibalized for the project came with a really awful set of hangers so I've been toying with a bunch of different ideas for mounts.  They'll probably end up coming out of the same sheet of titanium as the rest of the exhaust hardware.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/exhauststrapideas.jpg?t=1274074695)

 [thumbsup] Nice

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0416.jpg?t=1274218188)

4 titanium exhaust straps ;)

 [clap] [popcorn]

where the hell is the popcorn guy?  i love him.  and, DUCATI, again . . .. you are a ninja.

Spent some time removing all the unnecessary frame tabs that I wanted gone before repaint.  I'm going to cap the tube ends from the tail chop and add in the missing 888 tubes that some people have done.

Some progress pics
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0432.jpg?t=1275426300)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0431.jpg?t=1275426443)

I'm gonna blast the frame after everything has been removed/added and then powdercoat.

I've been cleaning the motor as best I can without actually disassembling it, it's really tough to get 11 years of road crap off the block in some spots.  I've also been PC'ing all of the covers and easily removable bits, all of the motor bits are going to be done in textured gloss black.
So to start...I removed the casting marks on the intake mani's as well as shaving and filling the factory emissions ports in them, no more ugly m5 bolts!

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0448.jpg?t=1275426605)

delicious!

  [thumbsup]  [popcorn]
removing frame tabs and painting engine:   [drool]

I'm nearing 40k miles, and my bike is showing it.  Eventually I'll grow the nads necessary for a tear down.

Looking good man , keep up the good work  [thumbsup]

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0461.jpg?t=1275949882)
Stripped and PC'ed the hoop in the same textured gloss black used elsewhere.  Someday It'll be billet...

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0465-1.jpg?t=1275950014)
Filed off all of the casting marks on the shock rocker and PC'ed it wet gloss black.  Someday this too will be billet ;)

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/exhauststrapnew.jpg?t=1275950117)
Also modeled more designs for the exhaust straps, I like this one the best so far so it'll probably stay this way depending on when it gets machined ;D.

In other news... I've ordered spherical weld on end caps for the open tail chop tubes, the rivets for the exhaust bands, and an SS bolt set for the motor.  I've also finally FINALLY snagged an aluminum swinger off of eBay for less than a small fortune, it took six months of checking daily but I did it!

I need to get more media for my blaster before I can finish up the covers for the motor.  Then I've got to get a few feet of DOM tubing to do the frame mods.  Once the frame is done I'll be PC'ing the frame and new swingarm and then everything should start going back together ;D

Awesome...  I know that feeling of when it's almost ready to go back together.  [thumbsup] 

Feels a-frickin'-mazing!!!

what are you using to clean the road grime off the engine?

~JD

GOD. IT'S. CRAZY.

It's killing me waiting on all the little parts and materials to show up and not having anything to do with the bike until something arrives.  When I'm there I find myself pacing around the basement just staring at all of the parts laid out everywhere.

I WANT TO RIDE IT SO BAD.


A combination of things actually....Lots and lots of rags, acetone, wd-40, alcohol, a set of picks, Q-tips.  You really have to get creative to get everywhere. Oh yeah, a compressor really helps to get all the little rocks and pebbles out of the little gully areas around the base of the vertical cylinder.

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0490.jpg?t=1277097081)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0483.jpg?t=1277097144)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0472-1.jpg?t=1277098055)

I've been working too much to do anything to the bike the last couple of weeks but had a chance to do a little playing tonight and luckily I had some new bits waiting for me.  The exhaust strap rivets have arrived so I just need to pick up a new drill bit and those will be going on.  The aluminum swinger arrived and I spent several hours carefully shaving off JUST ONE of the 4 fender mounts, I'm gonna have to set aside a whole day just to attack the other 3.  My plan is to get the swinger all cleaned up and then blast and PC it gloss black, I've already cleaned up a bunch of casting and scratch mark issues so I'm on my way there.  I had a chance to PC one valve cover tonight,  I just got some walnut shell media for my blaster and it works great on the factory aluminum bits as it quickly removes paint but has almost zero metal removal.  I've also built the frame for my own 6'x3'x'3' oven so that I can PC my own frame and tank [evil], should be fun.  Work will continue to be crazy this coming week but hopefully I'll find some time soon.

First time I have seen this thread - nice work.

 [thumbsup]

mitt

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0499.jpg?t=1277880217)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0502.jpg?t=1277880179)

Finally had time to finish the covers but I ran out of walnut shell media so the clutch side has yet to be blasted and PC'ed.  After that's done and I've finished cleaning the block I'll install the new SS hardware and miscellaneous bits.  The frame bracing is the next big job to tackle,  More progress soon...I hope ;D

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0527.jpg?t=1278897442)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0529.jpg?t=1278897502)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0530.jpg?t=1278897515)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0530.jpg?t=1278897528)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0533.jpg?t=1278897550)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0536.jpg?t=1278897563)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0538.jpg?t=1278897577)

Had some time to fool around with the bike today so another little update.  I mocked up the frame bracing, it still needs a little file work but it's close to where I'll be happy with it.  My goal was to leave as much room for pods as possible so I hiked up the top tube a little from what I've seen done before.  My plan is to curve a custom battery box/coil mount from the stock battery location and then over the carbs to attach to a little coped threaded bung on the new top tube.

I spent many hours removing another of the fender tabs from the swingarm, it's seriously the worst amount of filing even if you remove most of the material with a dremel. Swingarm will  be PC'ed gloss black when it comes time for such things.

Did a little trial footpeg testing, I think the final version will be slightly longer and in a larger diameter.

nice work mate...  [beer]
I'm planningof doing a lot of the same things.
I'd like to add the frame bracing around the head stem as well, but I'm really not sure the benifits will out-weigh the possible disadvantages. I'll be very interested to see how yours work out   [thumbsup

But, I will be bracing the side of the frame circled...

(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q41/monsta904/frame.jpg?t=1278946600)

also, I plan on adding lugs or fixing point to the insde of the frame to hold/hide wireing ( idea of Marks from motocreations  [thumbsup] )

I've seen that done as well,

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/frame.jpg?t=1278952797)

I don't want to add any plate to the frame so I opted not to do that, it's purely an aesthetic choice. I may even go so far as to remove some of the sheet near the shock mount and add a tube, I'm not sure yet.

I thought about adding wiring tabs but I'm pretty set on running all of my wiring and lines over the vertical cylinder and off the frame anyways.

Cheers ;D

how about running the wiring in the frame. is that possible?

I've never seen that done on a monster. I think you'd end up needing a fairly large hole to accept all of the wiring and I assume that would probably severely impact tubing strength.  That and pulling all of the wiring through different spots sounds kind of like a nightmare.  I'd be interested to see somebody try though ;D

I dont know if it is purely aesthetic?  I was under the impression that they were weak points in the frame.. Even I have cracking on my frame there. I dont know yet if its just paint cracking, but if it is just paint, it shows there is 'some' fatiguing going on in that area??

Apologies as I was unclear in my previous post, my decision for not adding gussets was a purely aesthetic choice.  I just don't enjoy the look of the frame with gusseting added to those spots, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they did help stiffen the frame. ;)

gusseting the head stock would be beneficial. and unseen.

Thanks for posting this. I have been looking into options for my 2 into 1 custom exhaust on my S4Rt and I contacted them yesterday. They mostly do custom stuff and don't really keep too much in stock but he happened to have a Ti/carbon Tri-oval in the lenght I needed in stock. Additionally he is about an hour away from me so I'll be driving up to pick it up tomorrow. I'll report on the quality and shoot a few photos when I get back.

http://www.pjengineering.co.uk/products.asp?cat=8 (http://www.pjengineering.co.uk/products.asp?cat=8)

if you want to build your own

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0555.jpg?t=1279241298)
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0558.jpg?t=1279241343)

Had some time to weld everything so it's all put together, I sprayed some red powder on it to get a feel for how it would look.  The bike will be red but I haven't found the red I'm looking for yet, it'll be something close to the color that powder is when it's dry. I decided to MIG the tubes and match the factory styling so they looked like OE ...aaannndd it was also less time consuming. That said, I've started construction on my own large PC oven, 6'x3'x3', so it'll be large enough for anything moto-related. 

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/3bbbe394.jpg?t=1279241545)

I'm really tempted to remove some of the plate gusseting for the shock mount area and add a tube to the open side of the plate. That's the only part of the frame that still really bothers me but after all of the damn sanding and filing for the frame caps I'm not sure I want to tackle the job,  Hopefully I'll do it by the time it's ready to PC.

As far as the wiring goes:

I actually put tabs on the inside of my frame tubes on my CR in it's first re-build many years ago.  I hated it!  It looked too...planned.  On a Monster, there's enough engine tabs and wiring loom to put everything out of sight w/o adding to the frame so that you can attach wires to it.

W/regard to running the wiring INSIDE the frame:  I'm sure it can be done...but why?!?  A carbed Monster is easy enough to hide wires on out of plain sight inside the frame w/o weakening the frame to run the wires out into visible sight just so you can route them inside the tubing.

The above is my opinion based on my direct experiences.  Thank you and go buy me some tacos & beer.   please?  8)

(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff217/ducatl/CIMG0561.jpg?t=1280181534)

Came across another AL swinger at a crazy price and had to scoop it up, They'll both clean up nicely.

frame is ready for PC at this point so the only thing holding me back now is the completion of the oven.  Hopefully soon ;D