Ducati Monster Forum

My name is Jon and I live in warm and sunny Minnesota. i'm new to riding, in fact I've yet to ride anything more than a Buell Blast to the end of a friends street and back! :-[ so my first Ducati is also my very first bike. I think i've always been a Ducatisti at heart. The only other bike i've ever actually wanted was a Ninja, but what 12 year old didn't, rite? Enyways, that aside, i've always had pretty good taste and an instinct for recognizing the best.....which means I usually find myself wanting things I can't afford and often other more viable alternatives are taken for granted go completely unoticed.

Case in point: I was convinced that I would indeed own a Ducati some day. I've always liked the Monster. I've seen 'em around, like outside the cafes or whatever, and was attracted to their brutal simplicity long before I knew there even was such a thing. But it wasn't the BEST. I wanted a frigging SUPERbike! How would I ever get that new 996...998....1098? They kept changing them. and they kept being too expensive.i could maybe afford something used, but some part of me began to recognize that an old Superbike is rilly just that tho, unless maybe someone important sat on it at some point in it's life. but the Monster kept staying pretty much the same. And staying cool. Then I was watching Superbikes and suddenly the scales fell from my eyes and I was able to see the Ducati Monster in a new way and recognized it on its own merits. I fell in love with it. I envied those of you who counted yourselves among the vast community of owners, customizers, and enthusiants and longed to be part of it. Hense the enthusiasm I am attempting to express with at least some degree of success in my writing :D

Ultimately, the bike I settled on was a 2001 Ducati Monster 900sie. 8) At the price paid, it may not have been a steel with 18k miles on it, a bit of grit and grime, but nonetheless, I was sold. It's a matter of personal taste, but there's actually a few things about the Monster I don't like (read: hate).

1. high handlebars = upright riding position
2. the low hanging exhaust and the ugly stock mufflers
3. that ridiculous looking operation hanging off the rear
4. reflectors and turn signal stalks
5. ginormous 1940s style headlight

the previous owner has saved me alot of trouble by performing a tailchop, installing lsl clip ons and lowering the instrument cluster, replacing the stock exhaust with high mounted GPR stainless ovals (shortened a few inches for aesthetic reasons), there's also a Vizi-Tech integrated LED tail light and a CF front fender. Some may argue that he also saved me the fun of doing it my self, but those are all things I would have prefered to change before I even rode it at all, and all or most being beyond my current finacial means or technical expertise, who knows how long it woul've been before I acheived anything remotely close to my vision. besides, i've still got the whole headlight issue to deal with and from what i've read i've got my hands plenty full with that! some other changes i'm planning are a carbon belly fairing and rear mudguard, barend turn signals and sportline grips, cleanup the wiring, airbox mod, and a few other things, but first things first....that frkn headlight has GOT to go! >:( I want to go with some kind of a dual side by side projection setup but I need help!!! that's a whole nother topic tho.

(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y367/Rawr2001/2010-10-30161250.jpg)(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y367/Rawr2001/2010-11-12203102.jpg)
(http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y367/Rawr2001/2010-10-30162838.jpg)

welcome to the board! there are a variety of dual headlight set ups that will work on the monster. check out some of the board sponsors for some of those options.

as for pictures, you need to host them somewhere else (photobucket, etc....) and then you can link them to this site. check out the "how to" tutorials for that.

and lastly, get yourself signed up for a riders safety course for next spring. aside from being good for your insurance, you will learn a LOT in a very short time, and at the very least it might save you dumping your bike in a parking lot somewhere.

enjoy!

Welcome  [thumbsup]

Be sure to check out and post in the local forum.

You got a great bike from a great guy. Take care of that thing and have fun.  [drink]

Look forward to riding with you in the spring.  [moto]

Welcome to the DMF and congrats on the M900! [thumbsup]

There is a link for the photo posting FAQ in my signature, feel free to PM me if you have further questions.  Looking forward to seeing your bike. :)

Great advice from herm on taking the MSF or other safety course.

have fun, ride safe! [moto]

thanx herm and misincredible for the welcome, and for the advice. I am absolutely going to be enrolling in the motorcycle safety course; that decision has aleady been made. not that there was ever any doubt, but your responses have definely served to reinforce that decision.

i'm excited to post the pics, especially once i'm able to perform some upgrages and mods of my own. one thing I won't be able to improve on, however, is she already has a great ass (gotta say it like Pachino in Heat)

and likewise to minnesotamonster...sounz like u know the bike and its previous owner personally. yeah, I had a pretty good feelimg about both and I gotta say, every time I look at the bike I like it more. i'll be in touch.

I have a set of "boobie" headlights for sale.  Made by dpm.  

tell me more about those lights. i'm leaning toward a set of LSL MIGs rite now, but I'm not fully committed to anything yet.

Mmmmmmm, Boobies.

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_s2xVQH67xRI/TPvFwkfJEHI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/EGKHNCi3Te4/s800/Picture%20007.jpg)

(https://lh5.ggpht.com/_s2xVQH67xRI/TPvGbAkR4DI/AAAAAAAAAsg/PgcgSEysKSA/s800/Picture%20003.jpg)

I like the lights so far. they kinda remind me of the PIAA 1100Xs I was thinking about. got a few questions tho. are they Hi-Los or do they lite one at a time? does the mount come with and if no, do you have a template to make another? how much would it cost to have them re-powder coated? whats the wattage, r they h3 or HID, and how much ya trying to get for em?

They are HiLo and the bracket comes with.  The other questions I don't have the answer to....previous owner mounted them.  Not sure what they are worth, I'll do some research.

Wow, what a great looking bike!  The previous owner had great taste.  ;)

Treat her right, or I'll find you.   [moto]

Had a Buell Blast. Plenty of fun for a little bike!

I love the headlight! It screams streetfighter like the older buells.