If you could....

[Old-Duckman]

besides wearing gear, what do you consider to be a safety upgrade? 

I would enjoy a brighter headlight, but have been too lazy to upgrade it. 

Well specifically what I was thinking is a steering damper. I'd agree that your headlight idea fits the catagory.

[Buckethead]

I would consider a steering damper a safety upgrade, and one that I'm hoping to go with soon.

My bike is currently stock, so the plan, as of right now:

1) DP Comfort Seat. If you're uncomfortable, you're distracted.

2) New forks. Haven't figured out exactly which I'm going with, but I wouldn't be opposed to swapping on some gixxer forks with the radial brake mounts. Of course, that'll mean all new brakes and wheels, too. Oh, well. 

3) Exhaust. Probably going to chop up a set of stock cans when I can find some. Sport Classic exhausts are not exactly common. Yet.

 

[COWBOY]

I agree with the flow but would suggest 1. get your weight savings (cat removal, etc), performance (brakes, raised / lowered the front, sproket change) and comfort (lower seat, rearsets, ciipons, risers, etc) done before spend big dollars upgrading your suspension. 

If you change the weight and ergos too much (like drop the cat and other items to the tune of 15 pounds or so and then raise the rear) after you've upgraded you may have to do a good part of it over again.  Big PITA.  Poor planning led me to doing that 1x and it took enough extra time and dollars to remedy that I'll not make that mistake again.

[Buckethead]

Good call. Thanks. Probably wouldn't have thought of that until it was too late.

[mxwinky]

Since your first post said to disregard mentioning the 14t c/s switchover I won't mention it like all these other flairweeds have.  Ha!  Actually I haven't done that to my '08 S4RS and don't really feel the need to, so there.  First on the list was dialing in the Ohlins suspension for my weight and riding style.  A few clicks can make a ton of difference, and I've just about got it perfect now.  Plus it's breaking in and getting more supple with each mile too.  Next up is the full Termi system with the DP ECU so this thing will run to its potential.  Not like it's slow to start with, but the low speed running isn't as smooth as it should be (thanks to Euro 3 emissions compliance!) so it seems like the ECU with the Termis really cleans up the overall fueling of the beast.  As one poster mentioned above, getting the most out of your suspension setup will probably do more for your riding than all the bling on the planet.  Tires, suspension, and ergos will make more go than all the show out there.  With the full Termis the tail chop ends up looking too short so that's out, IMO, but you may not feel that way.  So I guess I'd rank things this way:

1.  Suspension and ergonomics dialed in.
2.  Exhaust, ECU (or PC as the case may be)
3.  Cosmetics (tail chop, carbon bits, etc.)

[Spider]

regarding ideas for safety:

1. rear led taillight: brighter, more responsive, definetly gets the drivers attention

2. front globe: doesn't have to be expensive; I imported some Phillips X-treme H4 and the difference was amazing, night riding became so much safer

3. suspension: the better the suspension the better you can corner and brake. Later turning means you can see further around that corner and see what your riding into. the better the suspension the better the braking due to correct contact patch and keeping in contact with the surface despite it's irregularities.

as for the thread topic....cannot contribute...haven't done that many...the first two of the above and are researching the 3rd (racetech valves and springs, not sure about oil!).

I do love my rider courses however - put me down for a believer in that

[55Spy]

of what I have done Exhaust open airbox DP computer for sound/performance all #1 together

suspension for feel/rideability

and  then making it my own with all the small bling/one-off mods

and in that order too.

[justken]

i like the stock bars and ride, i guess i need to let go of the lone rider attitue and meet some other monster riders and see/feel their setup.  but to start, how about just cosmetic suggestions?

my little 620 dark has been stock for 4 years now... it will be out of the shop next week.  I will be broke because of that, so what can i do my self?

i have minimal tools, but i am fairly handy....

i am thinking tailchop, open airbox.... 

if you can post or pm pics of any hardware (bought at lowes/home depot) on the tail chop that would be great! 

i wish i found this forum 4 years ago!

[Flipside725]

Basic tools include a set of metric hex heads (m4-m12 generally, but not exclusively), a torque wrench, a rachet or two, a metric socket set, your basic wrench.....

for a tailchop you're gonna need a steady hand, hacksaw, and sandpaper/primer/paint to fix up the cut pipes so they don't rust. You can run a search and i'm sure you'll come up with someone walking through how to chop. You're probably going to want a cookie1 or competetionwerks tail chop kit to relocate the license plate and turn signals (you can get it form jeff at monsterparts.com) unless you're really handy and can figure out how to make one yourself.

open airbox isn't neccessary really...i think the vet's will chime in that on a 620 its not going to do much except maybe run her alittle lean.

get a 14t sprocket if you haven't already for some extra zing. you'll lose maybe 5 mph off the top end, but do you really need to be going 100 mph anyway? 

hopefully after 4 years you got rid of the reflectors (dare i say sidepanels too?) you can get rid of the rear chainguard (not the one by your foot)....with a dremel you can do some cool things to the belt covers and front sprocket cover.

what else.. ....you can rattle can some stuff....lets see some pics of ur bike to get some more ideas

[spinned]

14t
mirrors
blinkers
tail chop
open clutch
ECU and exhaust upgrade
steering damper
clip-ons
other...

[Airborne]

exhaust - remove or slip ons or full system
Tail chop
lose the mickey mouse ears for crgs or similar
paint stuff black!!!
14t??? havnt done it yet, but probably next - i dunno, I kind of like how the bike always feels like it wants to be on a race track.

[thruxton]

... so what would be the order of mods made if you could do it all over again?

i should have calculated the cost of getting rid of the exhaust. it didn't seem obvious on the showroom floor, but it's an eyesore that will eventually get tossed for most monster owners. that being said, i now know that the stock ecu is worthless for tuning and this and all subsequent ducati's will first get a DP ecu.

1. not sure if i would have bothered with the termis; to do it again, i would try the DP ecu with a straight pipe dumping the cat. and then get her dyno-tuned to perfection.

2. having my suspension set, including dropping the forks two notches and mounting a bitubo damper changed the sometimes unsettled feeling from the front.

3. so that's number one and two, and she is done except for the cosmetic tinkerings. 

[justken]

get a 14t sprocket if you haven't already for some extra zing. you'll lose maybe 5 mph off the top end, but do you really need to be going 100 mph anyway? 

dont need to, BUT I LOVE TO!! [moto]