Why I bought the Monster: My 900ss suffered a few mechanical setbacks this summer. By then I was supposed to have the MH900e, but production issues have left the delivery date up in the air. I didn't have to buy a new bike to replace the 900ss, but since it was broken and since I've historically had wrist problems, I decided to try a more upright bike for everyday use. I thought about getting the SV650, but since Chris specializes in Ducati parts, we decided to stick with the Ducati line. This way he'd have another bike to do research on. Overall review: Most fun bike I've ever had. I've done single-day 400-mile rides on it and it's great.
No good bike goes untouched. Here are the mods done to this Y2K Monster in the order that they occurred:
- Nichols "winged D" badge. This is on the left side of the engine. A purely cosmetic move.
- License plate bracket. Chris created a license plate bracket that lets the owner remove all that garbage from the backside. The kit is available at California Cycleworks.
- Backpack. The Monster has virtually no space under the seat. In case of a carrying emergency, I modified a small backpack so I could just slip it over the passenger seat. When it's not carrying something, it's tied up so it looks like a tiny bedroll.
- Polished rims. The choice of pimps in training. Polished rims are more than an inner city statement--they also happen to be very easy to clean.
- Throttle lock. Just wedge the hairband and the throttle gets stuck.
- Panic button-water vial-watch. Panic button: Like a pilot's eject button, I hope to never have to use this. Water vial: A part of my in-flight bug removal unit. I sewed a small piece of fabric onto my glove. When a bug splats the visor, I squeeze a little water on the fabric and scrub the bug off. Watch: Chris bought this watch but didn't like it so I gave it to Frankie.
- Kickstand "curb feeler" removal. There's a small knob that sticks out of the kickstand to help make lowering the kickstand easier. Problem is, if you get any lean angle on the bike, it grinds into the ground. Chris cut it off and cleaned up the surface.
- Staintune exhaust. I guess you can call this a cosmetic move. I don't think I got any performance gains out of this. I do, however, get a rise out of an occasional car alarm.
- Dart windscreen. Among the most insufferable things about a naked bike is the buffeting you get at freeways speeds. This tiny screen offers enough protection to keep my arms from feeling like they're getting separated from my armpits. Required mod: The yellow lines in this picture shows how much farther out the Dart mount originally protruded. To use the Dart windscreen on the Y2K model, you'll need to file off this pointed tip so the Dart bracket can rest on the headlight mount.
- Tank pad. I like to lay on my bike while super-slabbing. The pad keeps the zipper on my jacket from scratching up the tank.
- Steering dampener. After a high-speed wobble through turn 6 at Willow, I rinsed out my underwear and then told Chris I wanted a dampener asap. This one is from Motobella.
- Kickstand/starter interlock bypass. When the kickstand is down, you can't start the bike, even if it's in neutral. This piece by Evoluzione bypasses that setup. Chris had to extend the long wire to make it route the way he wanted.
- Vest connector. I have a heated vest from Widder. It's the only thing that lets me continue to ride through winter. Without it, I have thoughts of crashing so I can get a warm ambulance ride home.
- Red Racing rearsets. After the "curb feeler" was removed, I started dragging my feet on the ground. Chris insisted that I get rearsets and I'm very pleased with having been coerced into buying them. I really like how more compact my body feels. Maybe this will help me with my failed attempts to hang off.
- Napolean Baren mirrors. They're not where you'd expect to find them.
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