Ducati Monster Forum

Looking to get one down the track as my wife suggested instead of rebuilding an old E750/E650. Thoughts on backing off the suspension and fitting dual sport tyres (not full dirt duties, but dirt roads and trails) as well as crappy, rough sealed canyon roads. Thoughts on the CCW big fuel tank and pods kit? Thoughts on any other issues? It would be the bike I throw in the back of the pick-up and take as a holiday runabout exploring forests, beaches, canyons, etc but on good dirt/bad sealed tourist/access roads.

They are great bikes and the CCW tank gave me over 200 miles of range.

it's a road bike.

get an off road bike.

Na, I'll do alot of road riding on shitty back roads with it too.  I also want the grunt for two up sightseeing with the option of dirt roads. I cant see it as being any worse than the big beemer adventure bikes once it has dual sport tyres and suspension sett up. Gotta be better than the fat adventure tourers on the dirt.

What suspension mids are you thinking of?

Maybe a bit more compliance for rough roads. How do you find it?

 Talk to a suspension guy. Lighter oil and springs spring to mind............. [laugh]

I've not had my hands on many Hypers, but I recall they're pretty softly sprung on the front already.
The forks seem to be a hastily shortened set of offroad forks.
Given the amount of travel and space available for the spring, it's very difficult to fit a stiffer spring.
Bigger wire, and the stacked-solid height is too long.
Fewer coils, and the stress is too high for economical material.

So the front's pretty soft already, cool. The suspension travel appears longer than a Monster by a fair margin.

The SP appears to have longer suspension again which could be good, but otoh I'm a shortass at 5'8", so the base model could be the go. Here am I dreaming, when the bike is a few years off. ;D

Think about wheels too if they have cast alloys they won't take the same punishment that a set of dual purpose spoked forged alloys will! Even a rough sealed road can put an end to an alloy! At a minimum you might have to run tubes.

I'd just as easily get a set of spoked wheels with dual sport tyres and swap them when needed. Wifes giving me a big $$ budget so why not? SSS wheel changes are peachy.

A reasonably priced dirt-worthy spoked rear for the Hyper's SSS?  Only spoked wheel I know of to do the job is the sexy (but exxy) Kineo.

I too played with the idea of building a dirty Hyper...

this being the inspiration
(http://www.motorradonline.de/sixcms/media.php/11/thumbnails/Bimota_DBx_050.jpg.2192831.jpg)

And while I still occasionally revisit the thought....  I pretty much gave the idea away as too much work, costing too much money for too little gain.  Other than just to show it could be done.  I got as far as working out that a Multi 620 DSS would fit (I think thats what I got as far as  [laugh]) allowing a more available spoked rear wheel.  But it's gonna need different (longer) forks if you're gonna put a 21" or even a compromise 19" wheel up front.  And longer forks mean rear-end has to come up too.... the whole geometry thing then becomes an issue.  I've had some experience with this game when I fitted RMZ450 forks to the DR.  The rear end took a lot of work to get right... and all cost much too much.  The end result is great... but its not a course of action a sane person would choose to take.

My advice?  You dont wanna hear it, I know....

Buy a lightly used BMW F800GS or a Triumph 800XC.

Or if you're intent on the Hyper... buy a repairable write-off as the basis.  Coz its gonna cost a bucket load by the time you're done.

I can just run dual sport tyres in the 17" size like some of the fatty boomba dual sport bikes and back off the suspension a bit (maybe). It aint for serious dirt, but holiday touring and occasional dirt roads.

Which fatty boomba DS bikes have 17" fronts?

Does anybody even make a 17" DS front tyre? 

No idea what is available where you are, but 17s are here:
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/463/d/dirt-bike-dual-sport-tires (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/463/d/dirt-bike-dual-sport-tires)

and three for the rear:
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/463/d/dirt-bike-dual-sport-tires (http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/463/d/dirt-bike-dual-sport-tires)

There ya go  [thumbsup]

A TKC80 up front would do fine (assuming the correct speed rating to shut the insurance company up).

160 km/h, not too awful high.

I understood that the Ape Dorsoduro is better offroad OOTB.

There are some guys on KTM 950 Super moto's (17" wheels w/street tires) that are running the TKC80's and totally love them.  They frequently run fire trails, dirt roads and the like but I don't think anyone's riding across Africa on 17" TKC's. . .

I think the TKC80's are what's on that 1199 that got turned into an off road bike.  If they can get that thing in the woods, surely you can get a Hyper off the pavement.

Spot on ML.  Besides road riding thats the kind of non pavement riding I would do with the Hyper. It has to be one of the lightest non single cylinder big bores around.

There are more 17" front dual sport tyres available then I first thought. Most major brands have em.

IMO, not having done an exhaustive search....

For any serious dirt work, the Continental TKC-80 and the Heidenau Scout are all that will do the job.

Conti TKC-70, Pirelli MT-60 for light duty dirt work.

All of the rest are just tarted-up street tires, so the posers have something that says 'dual-sport'.
Like Conti Trail Attack or Pirelli Scorpion Trail.

Dunno what tires are street-legal in Oz.

There's heaps of the tarted up tyres available. Must be popular. I would easily rank as a dirt poser. [laugh]

So here's another question. Hyper Evo much better than the DS versions? The base model 1100DS can be had for not too much money here in a buyer's market, and most are in excellent condition, low miles and all the goodies included.

While I'm at it, are the Hyper 1100DS cams the same as Monster/SS DS cams? ;D

Maybe you should buy one...

before you start modding it. ;D

Good idea, but a man's gotta have dreams. ;D

I'm kind of with Brad on this one. I love Hypers, don't get me wrong & I have access to an 1100S anytime I want. But..... how about a good dual purpose KTM? Less to modify & less expensive to buy, I would think. Just sayin........

Na, there's something terribly rude about the Hypermotard. They're so naughty.
It's gotta be a simple air cooled V twin, light and nimble and able to do a little dirt road stuff, but able to haul ass on the highway two up.

Agreed.  Maybe not the best option for dual-sport, but certainly the most appealing.  I mean, I can think of a dozen other bikes better for my riding/use than my M900, but I don't want them; I want my duc.

Also, this:

(http://www.rolandsands.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Ducati-Hypermotard-9_Original.jpg)

Oh, I know, I know, I know.......

 Seems to me that for what the op wants to do any bike with those tires would do the job. I've ridden a lot of dirt road miles on all of my street bikes with just the road tires without problems.
 Lumpyer tires just make it easier.

Agreed.   Knobbies are overrated...(http://i57.tinypic.com/351toix.jpg) ;D
unless of course you plan to add water, roots, rocks, etc....

All kidding aside, I'd be more curious (and concerned) about how much ON ROAD grip you give up when committing to a dual purpose tire.  The Hyper is a high performance road bike first and foremost, big brakes, capable motor. I'm guessing that the body positioning and geo of the Hyper already puts you at a favorable advantage over the monster and most other performance bike while on varied terrain.   As long as you are in dry conditions, you'd be surprised what you can get away with on DOT tires.   You've just got to be very conscious of the front end grip and only apply the front brake while upright and with with caution.  Using the Pike's Peak International Hillclimb as an example,  before they paved the entire route, record holder Gary Trachy said that running full slicks vs cut slicks produced the exact same times in timed training while in the dirt.  go figure.   Only real advise I can offer up is to protect the header pipe and under bits from the debris that the front tire is sure to kick up (regardless of tire selection),  or the random objects that you may plow over while letting the good times roll.

This guy seems to get along pretty well on a stock Hyper (starts @ 1:30)
http://youtu.be/VH_vyvVgbE4?t=1m30s (http://youtu.be/VH_vyvVgbE4?t=1m30s)

And I'd never want to give up the possibility to do THIS if the opportunity presented itself...
http://youtu.be/XiPX2mw6-Jg (http://youtu.be/XiPX2mw6-Jg)
(not Nicky, but one of the best examples of hand work that I've seen @ 2:15)

Then again, you may be on to something!
http://youtu.be/A0d3B7MPqUg (http://youtu.be/A0d3B7MPqUg)

Whatever you decide, keep us posted. [thumbsup]

 As far as the pavement capability of the semi-lumpy tires go, have you ever followed a good rider on a BMW GS 11** with stock tires on a curvy road? Those things can really haul ass! They are unbelievably capable.

I must qualify this with some perspective.
That's Quentin Wilson.
I've not ridden with him, so no FHE on how fast he is, but....

He's qualified for and raced in AMA SuperSport events.
As an example, in 2003, there's this:
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 56.094
25. Quentin Wilson, Yamaha, 59.948

So....not your average rider.

I had the sound turned off, so I didn't hear whether he said it was stock.
But, seeing as he works for Ducati, I'd expect it's not straight off the showroom floor.
And not likely a bike he bought with his own money.

And that dirt section was pretty flippin' straight.

From my understanding of 'cut slicks', I'm not surprised there wasn't a difference at Pikes Peak.
You need lots of edges, and space between them to allow the tire to cut through any loose dirt and get a hold on the solid dirt.

Given my wife's bias towards newer vehicles and therefore corresponding larger budget, a HM1100 and spare wheels is on the cards. A mate suggested the Pipercross air filter when hitting dirt roads. Since most used HM1100s come with a DP kit of some sort, I can swap filters and wheels for adventure type holidays. I got DP throw over bags too.

A Graders make most bikes look capable. I was at a ride day many years ago when a guy was lapping Phillip Island on a Gold Wing, knee down. Hangin' off like a gibbon!

If the HM happens before the Monster hits 25 (classic reg),  I'll give the old girl a full cosmetic birthday with painted motor, repainted carbon pipes, frame and wheels. The Monster and I will grow old together!

Question.

All DS1100 cams the same?

the evo cams are bigger

Thanks Brad.

Is that your hyper?

Nah, I wish, though.  It's actually a Roland Sands custom job.  Just posted the pic to encourage koko in getting a HM.

Any real advantage of the HM evo 1100 over the HMDS1100?

I'll start a new thread for that question.

(https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1979554_874329335911020_1638957995533767671_n.jpg?oh=09be2452dfd3ffcd3cf2a1768d66f8b8&oe=54BBDF97)