Ducati Monster Forum

I did some fork work on the 848 today, the airbox snorkles get in the way of the lower triple clamp bolts.  So a job that would have taken a few minuets on the monster ended up taking a few hours.  I like both bikes, but every time I have to do some work on the 848 the monster becomes my favorite bike again.  [drink]

I'm with you brother!! Out of all my bikes only three don't have full fairings. On my GSXR 750 you can change the oil and filter without removing the fairing. Nice. [thumbsup] But not on my Gixxer 1000 or Hayabusa. [bang] The latest gen Hayabusas have no exposed fairing screws or bolts! Some designer thought it would look all sano if nothing showed but smooth fairing. He should have talked with the techs that work on them first!! >:( First time I changed the oil I finally gave up and drove to my favorite Kawi/Suzook shop and pulled a friendly tech aside and told him I'd run right out and get him a 6 pack of his favorite beer if he'd go in the showroom and do a little show and tell. All he said was "what, you trying to change the oil and filter?" He showed me and he got his beer but holy shit, it was/is a total pain in the ass! Why? Who the make the beast with two backs cares if you can see the attaching screws/bolts? Hell, I love seeing the dzus fasteners on my Ducati fairings! Wish my damn Suzukis had them!

Yea, I've got an SS and a Monster and I try to wait until I have several things I need/want to do so it's worth the time it takes to pull the bodywork off ~

JM

Man no exposed fairing bolts sounds like a giant pain in the ass.  Im thinking the next bike I deside to buy I'm bringing a socket set with and taking it apart before I put the money down. 

I went out it the garage and looked again. I was wrong, there are only two you can see. The rest of the fairing is held in place from the inside. There are several projecting "nubs" molded to the inside of the fairing panel and they mate up rubber grommet attaching points on the frame. The first time I tried to pull the panels off the rubber grommets were so dry they had a death grip on the nubs. I pulled so hard I thought I would snap the panel in half. They were that tight! And you couldn't pull the panel away from the bike far enough to look inside and see where it was being held and by what. I tried flashlights, little dental type mirrors on collapsible stalks, etc. That's when I gave up and went to the shop and asked the tech about it.

He pointed where the hidden nub/grommet connectors were on the panels of a new bike and I made notes. He said all the new Busas were like that and they just soaked the inside of the panel with ArmorAll like it came out of firehose in the general area of where it was stuck. I did the same thing and slowly got them to loose their grip. Still the panels are attached in several other hidden places around the front nose piece. Total pain in the ass!! Now I know to keep the grommets as slicked up and greasy as possible.

Again, what's wrong with seeing bolts and dzus fasteners?? I just realized my Busa needs an oil change and this thread is not making look forward to it!! [bang] [laugh]

If it makes you feel any better mine has to come back apart in a few months for belts & a valve adjustment.  Should have left it apart but weather was in the 70's this weekend  [moto]

Yep, the 848, 1098, 1198 are a bit painful. My old 999 was wonderful. 4 dzus fasteners on each side and two or three on the bottom. Everything came off and went back on wicked fast. It is one of the things that I wonder about, that is, why didn't they design that into the new bikes?

Again, I can relate brother. [thumbsup] I have a 2005 999 and LOVE the dzus quick release fairing. My two Tamburinis fall apart in the same way. Why the hell can't other full fairing'd bikes do the same? Everyone knows from the moment they are designed that someone at some point in time will have to take them apart and service them. [bang] Duh!!! Why make it so freaking hard?

Actually changed the oil and filter on my Gixxer 750 today even though the Busa needs it more. I think this thread made me go the easier route. ;D

Of course, minuets are quite slow, but a few of them should still be less than a few hours.

Be grateful you don't have a Honda Pacific Coast in your lineup of bikes that needs servicing.
The bike is old enough now that the plastics have become brittle, and if you can find a replacement piece, consider yourself lucky. Working on the PC makes me hate motorcycles.

The 848 isn't nearly as bad as some other bikes, but why in the world do they need to use so many little screws on the side panels? And up under the nose cone, they have a couple more hidden just to make you wonder why the side panel isn't coming off.

My Hawk GT makes Monsters seem overly complex, however.  ;D

BC.

1st gen MultiStrada isn't even fully faired and it's a PITA to work on.

I'd like to thank them for the Dzus fastener and sliding clip fastener on the left front panel.
The former is almost completely blocked by the oil line.
The latter is so janky that it's necessary to visually monitor it while sliding the clip, but I don't have an eyeball on the tip of my finger.

The 848 is a serious PIA to access. Whoever designed their fairing system should be whipped.

Same goes for the 1st Gen. MTS...what a PIA!

My 748.  [bow_down] Very easy!

Funny...  I forget about the difficulty of maintenance as soon as I twist the throttle...

Huh...

Its silly how easy it is to strip it down.  yay factory dzus!

I really like no plastic.

my fairings are carbon, so that base is covered [thumbsup] ;)

it's really nice to have something to tuck behind when you're riding at freeway speeds or higher.