Sport Tour-ify a monster?

[Raux]

did you guys ever see that article about the guy that ran a gumball rally with a SBK. he had hard bags with fuel cells. be interesting to get a single bag with a 5 gallon fuel cell. get the monster up to a 8.8 gallon capacity at 40mpg given you a range of about 350 miles.

[erkishhorde]

My bike with center stand, hard bags (Ducati), and city bars.  I'm looking for an extended windscreen now...

That looks like you might actually still be able to have a passenger too. Have you tried it? Is there leg space for them to reach the pegs?

[stopintime]

Yeah, it looks big, and ungainly, and when I go for a fun ride, I pop it off before I go.

With the gap between the bike and the storage, you can tell people it's not yours - it just likes you and follows you around

[Teutonics]

I really think this looks awesome. where did you get the ST bags and how did you mount them?

Thanks!  Hard bags came from the dealer when the bike was purchased (Ducati parts specific to Monster).  They include a mounting rack that allows quick attach/detach of the bags, and the rack stays on the bike.

That looks like you might actually still be able to have a passenger too. Have you tried it? Is there leg space for them to reach the pegs?

I haven't tried it, but it appears to me that it shouldn't be an issue (I believe it was designed with 2 up in mind).  The bags are offset off the sides of the bike (maybe 2"?) to give width for the pillion rider, and are far enough back to allow the rear pegs to be used (can be seen in the pic).

I rode the bike to work today with the hard bags, so if you want any pics of anything specific, let me know and I'll go out and snap some shots.

[pitbull]

Yeah, I agree that it would look better if I had the DP saddlebags too.
Forunately, the trunk pops off in about 10 seconds, leaving this:

And the platform is held on by four hex screws, and comes off in about 2 minutes, leaving nothing but the 2 side rails.
Hit the campsite, unbolt it, hit the twisties!

I just bought the same top box and likely going to attach it tonight.....good to hear it works well and detaches quickly.

I've put 60k miles touring on my 01 900 without any issues and always used soft bags and strapped stuff across the seat. Now that my girlfriend likes touring with me I picked up the top box so we would have room for her and extra space for her extra stuff.

[dlearl476]

When people ask the "can I tour on this bike" question, I like to point out the story of Leopoldo Tartarini (head of ItalJet) and Giorgio Monetti who, in 1957-58 rode Ducati 175 cc singles around the world.

It's not about the bike, it's about what you NEED and what you're willing to accept.

In my early MC travels, I took everything but the kitchen sink. Now, not so much.  A couple of pairs of socks, underwear, and some poly travel pants, shirts, and shorts (that double as swim trunks for the hot tub after a long day in the saddle) and a pair of flip-flops and I'm good for 3-10 days.  I like poly, cause it's easy to wash out overnight in a hotel sink, if they don't have a laundry room, and a small bottle of Bronner's SalSuds goes a long way.

I have yet to do a tour (other than a 16 hour day trip) on the Monster, just haven't had time.  But I will soon.  When I do, the Mandarian Duck soft bags and a tank bag will be plenty to hold the clothes and all the electronic essentials. 

As for tank range, I regularly get 150 miles on a tank, 165 in a pinch, and that happens to be more than the range of my bladder, so it works out just fine.

[Teutonics]

Here are a few more pictures (crappy cell phone) for those that posted/PM'd questions.  After looking at it again, it is definitely set up for 2-up riding.








Hope that helps!

[tangueroHondo]

WTF,WTF?

Well...  the look just takes some getting used to.....  .... .. ....... . . . ...  . . . . . .   . .    . .        .         .  .              .

[Jarvicious]

The rear trunk might not look so bad with a rider and gear on the back saddle or with two riders.  As is though it definitely looks like an afterthought. 

[sbrguy]

where are you guys finding these top boxes and hardware from? besides ebay?

[Bun-bun]

The rear trunk might not look so bad with a rider and gear on the back saddle or with two riders.  As is though it definitely looks like an afterthought. 

I agree.
I also think it would look more of a piece if I had the saddlebags to go with it, and I'll get 'em sooner or later. I just couldn't pass it up for the $$$.

I don't think they make the DP bags anymore, so ebay might be the only place to find 'em. That or a dealer with NOS parts.

[knightrider]

i think the trunk by itself looks horrible, but if you put it on the red bike with the hard side bags, it wouldnt look bad. comparing the red and black bike, they look as though they are supposed to be together.  looks like it would be very comfortable for 2 up as well.

[Raux]

here i found the post about the fuel cells

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1533.msg29531#msg29531