Papa's got a brand new Bag(ger)

[triangleforge]

Sorry -- I know it's probably getting off on the wrong foot to use the word "Bagger" in the vicinity of my sexy new Duc, but I'm 'bout ready to bust some James Brown moves in celebration of getting home late last night with this splendid 1998 ST2 after a long, long round trip from Prescott to Bisbee:



Thanks immensely to Alan Sean for the loan of his trailer -- breakfast in Yarnell's on me next time, Alan!

It's in pristine condition -- or was until I ignored that little voice in my head that disagreed when the fellow selling the bike told me the hard bags would be safer in the back of the truck, where they both picked up new scratches.    Look for my query in the tech section later today about touch-up paint. 

Still, I rode it for about half an hour in the canyon around Bisbee before buying, and GOOD GAWD YAWL, I FE-EEL GOOD. (Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-bump) I KNEW THAT I WOULD, NOW...

[alansean]

That's a great looking bike!

Don't worry about the bags, you won't use 'em that often. No bags to Yarnell, that way we don't back those homemade goodies back home!

Let's do a Yarnell run this Friday morning. Say 7 am?

[Dietrich]

I've secretly been admiring the ST series bikes since I fell in love with the Monster......

Great looking bike and nice color! Congrats!

[NAKID]

Only thing I really don't like about the ST is the headlight. If there was an aftermarket good looking one, it would definitely be on my list...

[triangleforge]

Only thing I really don't like about the ST is the headlight. If there was an aftermarket good looking one, it would definitely be on my list...

Yeah, me neither; even worse than looking bad, the high beam on it is probably the most pathetic thing I've seen this side of a VW Bug with a dead battery.  The seller mentioned this company, Ducati Designs, that does a double lens one that drops straight in:

http://www.ducatidesigns.com/inc/sdetail/35

Supposedly it's also a huge improvement in light output as well. I think it's a slight improvement in looks over the stock unit, but might definitely be worth it for the way things look in front of the bike while it's moving.

[triangleforge]

Let's do a Yarnell run this Friday morning. Say 7 am?

Absolutely!  Same meet-up at the Starbucks, or is there a place that works better for you?

[NAKID]

Yeah, me neither; even worse than looking bad, the high beam on it is probably the most pathetic thing I've seen this side of a VW Bug with a dead battery.  The seller mentioned this company, Ducati Designs, that does a double lens one that drops straight in:

http://www.ducatidesigns.com/inc/sdetail/35

Supposedly it's also a huge improvement in light output as well. I think it's a slight improvement in looks over the stock unit, but might definitely be worth it for the way things look in front of the bike while it's moving.

That's definitely better, I don't know that it's worth $575 but it's a huge improvement...

[Dietrich]

Yeah, me neither; even worse than looking bad, the high beam on it is probably the most pathetic thing I've seen this side of a VW Bug with a dead battery.

  The seller mentioned this company, Ducati Designs, that does a double lens one that drops straight in:

http://www.ducatidesigns.com/inc/sdetail/35

There's a local guy who shows up at the club meetings sometimes who has that kit, it does look nice, and he praises it's improvement.

[FatguyRacer]

Yeah, me neither; even worse than looking bad, the high beam on it is probably the most pathetic thing I've seen this side of a VW Bug with a dead battery.  The seller mentioned this company, Ducati Designs, that does a double lens one that drops straight in:

http://www.ducatidesigns.com/inc/sdetail/35

Supposedly it's also a huge improvement in light output as well. I think it's a slight improvement in looks over the stock unit, but might definitely be worth it for the way things look in front of the bike while it's moving.

Brad - It is the best 600 bucks you can spend on your ST if you ride at night. I love mine. The 2nd best thing appears to have been done for you by the PO.

Here's what mine looks like. I have the Ducati Performance comfort fairing, so it will look different from yours.

[triangleforge]

Brad - It is the best 600 bucks you can spend on your ST if you right at night. I love mine. The 2nd best thing appears to have been done for you by the PO.

I'm intrigued; what's the second best thing that appears to already be done? 

The two main things he did to the bike were adding a very nice Sargent seat  and raising/moving back the bar position using Convertibars. I'm less convinced on those, but I'm going to live with them for a while, and have the stock bars if I want to convert back. And after replacing one cooked regulator/rectifier (these bikes are famous for overheating the regulator, which is tucked behind the fairing), he mounted the new one with a heat conducting electrical paste & drilled four very neat 1" holes in the fairing inside the wheel well that let the component get some air. You'd never notice unless you were looking for it, and if you did notice the mod, it looks stock. Apparently that's one of two standard fixes for the problem, the other being a regulator relocation bracket made by Desmo Times that pulls the component out from behind the fairing and mounts it in the airstream just above the radiator.

[NAKID]

I'm guessing he meant the Sargent seat. The stock one looks kinda funny...

[triangleforge]

I'm guessing he meant the Sargent seat. The stock one looks kinda funny...

Ah, right -- when I first read it, I thought the "riding at night" clause applied to both!

[FatguyRacer]

I'm intrigued; what's the second best thing that appears to already be done? 

The two main things he did to the bike were adding a very nice Sargent seat  and raising/moving back the bar position using Convertibars. I'm less convinced on those, but I'm going to live with them for a while, and have the stock bars if I want to convert back. And after replacing one cooked regulator/rectifier (these bikes are famous for overheating the regulator, which is tucked behind the fairing), he mounted the new one with a heat conducting electrical paste & drilled four very neat 1" holes in the fairing inside the wheel well that let the component get some air. You'd never notice unless you were looking for it, and if you did notice the mod, it looks stock. Apparently that's one of two standard fixes for the problem, the other being a regulator relocation bracket made by Desmo Times that pulls the component out from behind the fairing and mounts it in the airstream just above the radiator.

The Sargent seat.

I've already replaced a regulator and I bought and installed a couple of Powerlet wiring kits. One for the starter and the other for the accessory plug. Those are nice too. The wiring is a bit on the light side for both. Especially the accessory plug. 3 amp wiring aint gonna cut it with a 75 watt Gerbings jacket liner. The kit boosts it up to 15 amp wireing.

The only things left for me to do are wire up the turn signals for hazzard flashers and install heated grips.