Ducati Monster Forum

G'day all

Decided that after ordering my Tail chop kit from Monsterparts about 6 months ago, I'd better get it fitted,
here is a brief look at hacking the tail off my 2007 S2R 800

Chop Kit from Monsterparts:Competition Werkes Monster Tail-Chop Kit, I looked at a few others but decided this kit was the kit for me, room for the number plate light, and included all bolts, nuts and decent instructions
I painted the Kit Black with a quality self priming Paint.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01354.jpg)

Tools Required
Socket Set and Allen Driver Set
Assorted allen Keys (Allen drivers can't get into some tight corners)
Measuring tape and Marking pen
Wire cutters and Zipties
Hacksaw and some assorted small files
Loctite and some self priming paint (black)
Soldering Iron and solder (optional, I have modified some of my wiring so I had to cut and join some wires)
Soldering Iron with Plastic cutting tool or a small saw (To cut some plastic under the seat)

The offending article!
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01356.jpg?t=1235382030)

Remove the four nuts from under the tail, Flip it over and remove your Tail light, Indicators and Number plate light (I have a CA Led Taillight and LED Number plate light)
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01362.jpg?t=1235382407)

Clear all your wires away from the Tail section, it should be now bare and nothing near it at risk of being cut or damaged, because soon we start cutting!  [evil]
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01365.jpg?t=1235382556)

Time to Measure 6.5 Inches from the end of the Tail, I mark this with a permanent pen, I also put some clear tape around the paint in case the saw moved or slipped, I would hack at the tape, not at the paint!
Again double check your measurements! and to be safe check again. Then step back and make sure all your pen marks look to be in line.
Now Grab your Hacksaw (I know some people will use Grinders, Cut all's, Plasma Cutters, C4, Etc, I'll leave your choice of weapon up to you)
Do Not use a Pipe Cutter, this will Damage and Chip the Paint on the Frame


(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01366.jpg?t=1235382661)

After about 10 Minutes of Hacking and Destroying, A trimmed frame, I now grabbed a couple of files and tided up the edges to make them nice and smooth, I also grabbed a Vacuum cleaner and cleaned out all the metal filings from the frame, you will also notice the Tarp covering the rear wheel and Chain, I figured metal filings all over the Chain and getting on the Shock would not be a healthy Idea for there longevity.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01367.jpg?t=1235383501)

In this photo I have painted the bare metal with a black anti rust paint to seal everything up and I have installed the Caps from the Tail Chop kit, I have used a little loctite on them to lock them in place, they are a snug fit, but with all the vibration I think they would work loose without a little help from the Loctite.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01368.jpg?t=1235383725)

I have now got the Tail chop bracket in place and secured using the longer bolts that come with the Kit, I use a little Loctite (Blue) to secure them in place.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01369.jpg?t=1235383892)

Here's the Underside of the Replaced Bolts, This is the Before shot, In the Kit I bought these are replaced with a longer bolt and I also put washers under the bolt heads, I had none on the original bolts from factory (as shown here) there is another just out of shot on the left.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01364.jpg?t=1235384354)

This Shot shows the longer threads poking through and I have secured the Tail light back in place.
NOTE: when running all of your wiring, make sure they will not get caught in the latch or will not pinch under the seat when it's locked in place.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01370.jpg?t=1235384585)

This shows now shows the Number plate light back in place and wired in, again Loctite was used on the bolts and screws to ensure they would not come loose and fall out.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01371.jpg?t=1235384752)

Alright, the end is near,  :o well done if you've made this far!!  ;D
This is the bracket in place for the Indicator, you might have to bend this up or down a little to get it sitting level. again watch your wire routing to make sure it can't be cut, nicked or crushed.
Nylock nuts are used here to lessen the chance of them vibrating loose.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01373.jpg?t=1235384836)

This is the almost finished wiring, I just have to secure the Indicator wires, the excess wire has been coiled up incase I have trouble with the local  [leo] and he wants the Tail put back on, at least I won't have to a heap of extra soldering and joining to do.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01374.jpg?t=1235385169)

And here it is all done..... Well, Not Quite one more Job to do yet, we have to modify the Seat, but it looks good so far, I have to say I'm amazed at how heavy the removed piece of frame and plastic are!
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01375.jpg?t=1235385028)

The seat posts at the rear have to be modified or removed, I decided to remove them, I used a soldering iron with a plastic cutting attachment to cut them off.
If you choose to melt them off like I did, do it in a large well ventilated area, I had a pedestal fan sitting off to my right running at full power while I did the work to ensure no smoke or fumes could reach me.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01385.jpg?t=1235385659)

Well after all the saga, we have completed the Job, I just to now have to play around gently bending the brackets to get them nice and snug up against the seat, but I'll do that another day, I'm going to have a  [drink]

And after making through this Tutorial, I think you need a [drink] as well. Go on, you deserved it!  [thumbsup]
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01382.jpg?t=1235385948)

Best instructions I've seen yet.

Pics make it all very clear. I might summon up the courage to have a go. Do you know if the 620 requires hacking into the seat too?

Kit is out of stock at monsterparts atm. But a few other places to source it I guess.

Were you tempted to change the blinkers while you were at it?

Tim

My plan is to change the blinkers, the stock ones fit (barely!) but after loosing another lens on Sunday I have decided to replace them, I start working for a Ducati dealer in a couple of weeks, so I'll have a look to see what he has access to at a decent price.

As far as what seat has to be chopped on which bike, No idea, you'll have to just play around with that when you try to put the seat on, some may just have to have small trims, mine needed fairly hefty changes. Again not a problem, I have removed my passenger foot pegs and will never carry a person on the back.  [thumbsup]

great write-up, thanks. i will do the exact same thing as soon as the temp goes up to at least 50 degrees. (08 s2r)

i already have the compwerkes kit sitting in the garage, and i also planned to paint it black. haven't decided between painting it myself or having it powdercoated black. what kind of paint did you use? are you satisfied with the result (the painting part i mean)?

thanks again for the detailed write-up. i will do my chop with this page opened up.    cheers.   

Don't hesitate to give Jeff at Monsterparts a call.
He was able to dropship a kit to me directly from the mfg.

Nice instructions.

I decided to make one myself out of sheet metal (how difficult can it be, right?).

1.  The first one took me hours to cut out properly and rusted/weakened in less than a year, to the point of dropping off into my rear tire and hitting me in the back of the helmet.  Had to stop on Interstate 5 and walk back to pick it up :-[

2.  Figured I'd learned from my mistake, cut the second one out and shot it with primer and paint.  Reinforced it with two steel tabs where the bend is to make t stronger.  It's strong alright....and crooked.

3.  Next time, I'm spending the $100 and calling it good.    Faking nuisance.

Just plain cool.  Question:  Could you post a side shot of the pipes?  I have the same setup and was thinking about doing a tail chop but wondering if the full length termis would goofy stickin out the back

Awesome write up... [beer]

Here is the Side shot as requested, I was a little worried that the pipes would stick out to far, but I have to say I'm happy with how far they come out, The whole back end reminds me of the back end of the MotoGP bikes, So I have to say I am very happy with it.
(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg286/SpankyMK/Tail%20Chop/DSC01387.jpg?t=1235507614)

Thank you very much!!!!!!!  The bike looks schweeeeet!!

Update: Living with the Chop.

Just thought I would give you some insight on living with a chopped Tail,
You will get more water and debris sprayed up behind you from the rear wheel! Simple as that!
I've had a few people PM me asking what it's like in the rain.

I have been riding in the rain now a couple of times and been amazed at how much water and dirt get sprayed up on my back pack and Helmet, I used to get to work and have very little water on the back pack, but now it is very wet and covered in sand and dirt, and the back of the bike does get more dirty than normal when it's raining.

So if you commute you may want to consider that, my bike is now going to be a weekend warrior, so if I'm out riding on the weekend and it rains, it won't be a problem.  [thumbsup]

OK..I have another stupid question...how are the passenger accommodations with the bleakers set in closer...any butt issues?

i would guess he does not ride 2 up a lot, the passenger pegs are missing from the bike...

btw CairnsDuc, i did my tailchop a couple weeks ago, and your write-up was a great help. thanks.

Passengers?!? what is this Passenger of which you speak?  [cheeky]

To be honest I only saw my passengers seat for the first time about 2 months ago when I replaced my Damaged cowling  [laugh]

Passenger foot pegs and mounts were gone about 2 mins after I got the bike home for the first time, and one of them still props the garage door open on a windy day.  [thumbsup]

Hey hunduc, Glad I could be of help  :)

Great writeup.  I am considering a tail chop, and these instructions are a great aid for a noob like me.

If I do it, I want to have integrated turn signals in the brake light.  Will the existing tabs for the turn signals stand out?

There are no "Existing" tabs for the turnsignals. Currently, they are mounted on the "beer tray," which would come off when you do the chop. The competition werkes chop kit comes with two turn signal tabs that you can either choose to mount, or choose to leave off... it's your call.

same with the cookie1 kit i believe?
either way, nah they won't stand out.
you might want to paint them black if it bothers ya.

Do all seat posts need to be chopped??  I just installed the same kit on my bike and everything fits pretty good and I didnt need to chop the seat posts.  However I do find that the tail light does touch the seat when its locked into place.  Maybe thats the reason for chopping the seat posts?

Hi guys I have a 05 s2r800 My Competition werkes kit should be arriving today!  :)
I will be installing soon, now I bought a tube cutter from home depot but it says it will cut aluminum and copper, but I think the frame is made of steel? Can someone Confirm that ??? i dont have cutting tools!!

awesome and very useful write-up! [thumbsup] [thumbsup] [thumbsup]
Very well documented with pics and instructions.

Thank you CairnsDuc taking time to doing this.

Tailchop is my second project on my 620 and your advice will certainly help me  [beer]

not sure what you bought exactly - i had a small tube cutting wheel from lowes, it worked fine. you just have to apply some force to it... it is also a good idea to tape the place where you will cut - i did not do it, so i managed to remove some paint as well (hidden now by furniture leg rubber caps).

I'm glad to see that people are getting some use from this Topic!  :)

A few other people have used pipe cutters as mentioned, so far that is the only issue I have heard of is damaging the paint
but as HunDuc has mentioned (And a few others have confirmed) if you protect the paint you should not have any paint
chipping issues.

Just did mine using these instructions and it went great!  Used hacksaw.

Thanks!
Jimmy

what sort of time frame should i allow for this install? Im going to try and squeeze it in some time this week.

My first time took me about 45-1hr taking few breaks!
it takes some time to read instructions and follow! BTW I used a pipe cutter ! and it works although messed the frame paint just a bit , who cares, you cant tell! just paint over!

I was going to use a pipe cutter as well. Did you wrap the part of the frame you were cutting with a bit of sticky tape first and cut through that to stop the paint chipping?

I used it on the second cut but, I guess you have to have precise control and going around the frame , and still was able to chip some tiny bit off paint,, Like I said if you mess up I didnt care!!
But if you want to re-spray you can!

Thanks for your help.

I completed my tail chop today, and am very happy. Was reasonably straight forward.

Very Happy with my Chop!

(http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww283/alosurdo/Duke/photo-2.jpg)

Looks Good, Glad it all worked out well!  [thumbsup] [moto]

Went ahead and chopped the tray off and it looks perfect once i figure out how to post pics I'll show you guys.

Here are a couple things that i wanted to share because i was not expecting to have to do them:
1) I had to cut the seat posts (should have read this thread first) to get the fit i wanted where the end of the tail light lined up exactly with the end of the seat. if you don't mind the brake light sticking out a little bit you can move your tail kit back and everthing might fit.

2) After I had everything installed i still had some trouble getting the seat to lock.Its almost impossible to tell what was getting in the way of the seat, so i raised the locking latch about 2mm ( or whatever the width of one washer is) by putting a washer underneath the latch. Now she locks right up.

Hi,

Do you have the contact details from where you bought your tail chop kit, i cant find a number or web address..
I'm keen to get started on my 2007 S4R and your 'how to' info is a GREAT help .. cheers ..

I love the look of a clean back end (bike i'm talking about here  :o ) and have ordered my QD Exbox so hopefully will arrive in next week or so so will put some pics up when i've finished the converstion.. just trying to find the best looking integrated tail lights at the moment ..

Cheers

the original write-up here uses the comp werkes kit:

http://competitionwerkes.com/products/Ducati/2007/Monster/standard-fender-eliminator-4 (http://competitionwerkes.com/products/Ducati/2007/Monster/standard-fender-eliminator-4)

this is another (different) possibility:

http://www.ducatimonstertailchop.com/ (http://www.ducatimonstertailchop.com/)

Hi,

I just chopped mine today. Used the comp werkes kit too which is great. I had given this a fair bit of thought, but now I have done it I would def do it again - looks much better.


A couple of observations while doing it:-
 
1)  I have high mounts so the extra long bolts were not long enough (the pipe mounts already had bolts of same size, so while I could mount the main pan, the signal mounts are barely held - will need to get longer bolts from somewhere.

2) Cutting was tricky, only had a large hack saw that was not sharp enough (found out after halfway through), and not much room for a full stroke. Also, the 6.5 inches it said in instructions, would had cut into the welding for the lock, so I had to go 6.25 inches. ALso I found getting the angle of the cut hard to match up. so one side has slightly different angle. On the good side I used tape and no paint damage.

3) Wiring route used in this post was different to CW instructions - I copies theirs and looks ok.

4) Alignment of kit was perfect first time - was expecting to have to bend and fiddle, but I just lined it up first time and all the angles are fine.

5) Seat shut first time with no fiddling or cutting - but for some reason my S4 didn't have the seat knobs as seen in this post.

6) overhang - I had my doubts before buying about how long the pipes would hang out, but after the chop I am more pleased than I thought I would be. If you look at the bike side on, yes they do hang out , but even the slightest angle and the look is much cleaner.

7) attaching plate - no one told me but my NSW (Australia) plate holes dont marry up with any on the kit's plate so have tied on with plastic ties untill I I figure it out.

8) It took me much longer than the other here, but I using someone elses garage so had to hunt for tools a lot and not that much room. Took about 4 hours with lots of stop starting.

On the whole, it took longer than I thought, but the kit quality is great.  Just need to paint the cut metal, buy a new licence plate bulb, and buy longer screws and all done. Next purchase are tiny indicators (I wanted the Rizoma track 1's but they dont sell em anymore!)

Thanks for the initial post and all the other replies - helped motivate me to do it finally.

BEFORE
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dWRdbPZzdbQ/SlxxQd2ZQ7I/AAAAAAAAAUU/1YJZrs594fw/s640/DSC04849.JPG)

AFTER
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-n3vdo5lO48g/Tenvn1kD_oI/AAAAAAAACJU/F0XqBSmHFlU/s640/DSC09807.JPG)
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BYdjHKDqS48/Tenvk8KQ7GI/AAAAAAAACJA/pXElHq9ChTE/s640/DSC09795.JPG)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EtbaVsaKwKg/TenvmEV0nJI/AAAAAAAACJI/VI7Ea9Cy62g/s640/DSC09798.JPG)

I had a carbon tailkit from DP, it was mounted when I bought the bike a month ago.. Chopped it off and sold it and used that money to buy a cuts (not on the pictures though I haven't recieved it yet). That chop cost me 3$ worth of steel pieces that went to charity (save the children), funny story..

Sry that I don't have any in-action-pictures...

(http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/312238_10150289250945677_619210676_8179200_1754083913_n.jpg)


No, the dainese gear hanging in the garage is not mine, its some old shit that belongs to my brother, it's probably from the 90's  [laugh] [laugh] [laugh]

Usefull post.

About the rain issues, have anyone tried combining the tail chop with a rear hugger?
I use my monster as my main transportation eight months of the year. Where six of them is constantly raining. Rain and mud on my back is not an option.

+1 on NOT using a pipe cutter. Back when I did mine I thought I was sooo damn clever for thinking of that.

How do u re route the under seat lock on an old monster? I've looked at it for awhile now and can't find a good way to do it

Man that looks great and an amazing tutorial! [clap]

I was considering doing this, too.

Thanks for the info!

Good to see this topic is still useful to folks, I may not be around the board much anymore but I have made sure to leave the pictures on Photobucket for all my tutorial topics in case people still like to use them.  ;D