Throttle syncs

The monster started running much better following the vacuum hose replacement, but would still have some issues with idling, at least at first start up and then maybe running down to the first light.  Took it in to the dealer to have it looked and had the throttle bodies synced.  Was told that if the hoses were bad for a while the bike would learn bad habits. Cost little over $200 for an hour worth of exploring and fixing.  Rode it back and then tested it out a few days later and it is running great.  The battery seems to be on its way out.. starting to get the rsw 0005 error, so that is up next.  Will probably do it in spring in time for summer. Still at 31k miles.

Oil change @ 31k

It’s been a while since this blog has been updated. Monster has had a couple of friends joining it in the garage, so over the last year only put around a 1000 miles on it. It's ready for its next oil change, including brake and clutch fluid and replaceing some crush washers in the oil cooler. Otherwise still running great - plan to put a few more miles on it this season.

Olympics

Amazing ride this month through the Olympic range. First one with the new exhaust with the modified db killers (bored out original 6 and an extra set 6 holes drilled in). 

Running with Arrows

I did my first long ride around the Oregon coast with the Arrows installed and while they sound amazing - they are way too loud even with noise cancelling headphones or ear plugs in.... so the plan is to put the DB killers back in... and see how it sounds/ runs. If nothing else, will try to modify the DB killers to find a good balance of sound.  

 

Spring 2022

Hitting 12 years  I think I’m going to get a new exhaust for it. I think it totally deserves something new. 😊 

30k

Feb 2022 and really about 29,300..... next major service completed. New belts, oil change.  Only one valve needed adjustment this cost about $1,000 with labor. 

But wait, that is not all, the bike slightly tipped over in the garage (still not sure how) so also needed a new side-stand and gear shift lever :( - adding about $500 or so. And soon will need a new battery and potentially a starter.  I could probably buy a new bike for the amount spent on maintenance but still keeping this one. 

28k

No big updates. Bike hit 28,700 miles. I expect the service light will come on in another couple of thousand miles.  Added a couple of carbon pieces to it.  Been riding it a bit more this season with a few all day rides and it continues to run along.  

Drip, drip

Even though we are in the midst of winter, I start up the bike every few weeks. On one of the last start ups, noticed a small drip of oil by the clutch cylinder - a known issue with these bikes. Given it hasn't happened in the 11 years, not a surprise. Took it in to the shop where I was expecting a hefty bill, but it was essentially a 5 min job. The cylinder still looked ok - the seals on the shaft that runs through the engine to the clutch cylinder seemed to be leaking - so a quick replacement of the seals and so far (and keeping fingers crossed) no signs of oil. Cost $10. :)

Twin - but just a little bit bigger

I got another bike - a complete impulse buy just because I it looked so much like the Monster.  I have always wanted a Streetfighter, but could never find the right one - too many miles, swelling tank, not the right color (too red or too black), not the right upgrades... and then for the longest time, I could just not find any for sale until now.

I saw this on craigslist, yes it is a used one since Ducati has not made this since 2015 and it seemed just right.  Red frame with black body work.  This is not a factory spec, but someone bought a red bike and put on the black body.  It has the after market exhaust (Termignoni), a quick shifter, which lets me upshift without pulling the clutch in... and some additional smaller bits.

That said, buying a used bike is always a gamble, so I scheduled a service with the dealer to have the bike checked out, but the day before I was going to take it in, both the local Ducati dealers went out of business... fun, and the closest dealer to me now is about a 3hr drive.

The bike definitely needed new front tire and an oil change - at least what I could see, so finally got the bike to the dealer for the service - while there also got a hydraulic flush, decided to get the belts changed as I don't know the last time they were done and they found a couple of minor things with the coolant system (leaking hose and corroded freeze plug) - also a gasket along one of the cylinder heads... so getting that all fixed now - hopefully that is it for now. I guess, I'll use this blog to keep the service record for that bike as well.

Edit: So in all replaced one of the engine's freeze plugs, replaced exhaust cam seal at the vertical cylinder to stop an oil leak, replaced timing belt, hydraulic flush, new front tire and an oil change. Total = $1362.28 - with winter discounts. :)

Monster and the Streetfighter

New chain, sprockets and a rear tire

Wow, its been a while since I have posted anything here, but my riding days have gone dramatically down - especially over the last year, which was hectic, crazy and full of change. I did ride, but not as much as I would have liked to. I got my first flat in Sept. 2015, which pretty much meant my season was over - never got the time to get the tire fixed or replaced.  During winter, I finally got some time to plug the rear tire, and believe it or not, it worked and lasted until today when I finally went and got the tire replaced - another Pirelli, Diablo Rosso II - love this tire.

While in the shop, decided to get a new chain and sprockets done on the bike as well.  The OEM lasted 18,823 miles - which according to the shop was a good run. Got the AMFM sprocket/ chain kit vs.  the original Ducati part.  From what I was told/ read, same part just does not have the Ducati stamp on it and a bit cheaper.  Let's see how long this lasts.

Side note, picked up the bike rode it a bit and as I parked it, saw some oil dripping - so had to ride back to the shop- found out that removing the front sprocket they had broken an O ring on a gear shaft that was now leaking oil.  Luckily a quick 5 min replacement.  No oil so far, and keeping my fingers crossed.

Total with parts, labor and tax....a little over $650.

15,000 miles

15,000 miles and still running strong.
Stats:
- three sets of tires
- four oil changes
- one headlight bulb

And that is about it.  Think the tank may need changing in a bit as I think it is expanding and is likely not covered by Ducati, but oh well.

Still have fun, whenever I take it out. :)

~7500 Mile Service

Ok, so I was at 7,200 miles, but given that the riding season in the NW is close to an end (at least for me), I decided to take the bike in for service.  I was expecting a hefty charge for this and was not disappointed.  For the oil change, various checks, one valve adjustment (which was a culprit in the bike running a little rough) and a brake oil flush the total ended up at about $700, after a discount special that the dealer was running.  So in the last few weeks with the new tires and service the bike had cost me a little over a G.  The joys of owning a Ducati.

Oh, and I also finally had that carbon canister removed from the bike.  Not sure if that will have any performance impact, but the bike looks a bit more balanced. Now I need to save up for a few months before I get anything new done to it. ;)

First ride of 2011

So even though it was freezing outside, the sun was out and I just had a get a ride in. The 848 has been neglected (plus the monster has one fork wrapped), so decided to take it out. Average air temp freezing at 32F. I guess, it'll take me a week or two to thaw out but it was still nice to get a short run in.

Road conditions-

Forks

Happy new year!! - January is living up to its reputation, with highs of 35F and ice/ gravel on the road, riding is not particularly fun, so decided to take a bit of time and wrap the forks black. I'm not sure if I like them, so holding of wrapping the other one. We'll see how it goes.

Here is what is looks like.





Oh, and here is a better shot of the sprocket cover.

Farkle

Latest addition to the bike. Was at the dealership where they had a sale going and there was this cool looking black and red sprocket cover, that matched my new levers, just staring at me saying, buy me, buy me - so I just had to get it.

It was late in the day, so thought I would install the cover over the weekend, but Thursday night or should I say, Friday morning, suffering from jet lag after the recent trip to Dubai, I was up at 2:00 AM, so decided to install it then. It's a small piece, but I think it looks good on the bike and really like it.

Details: This is a speedy moto sprocket cover. It comes with two silver bolts, but I decided to use the stock black ones that blend in with the black frame.

Pics.

Levers

Since the bike was in the shop for the oil drip issue, I also decided to get the levers. I like CRG's but the problem was that the levers I liked came with a silver pivot and I wanted it to be all black. So went and spoke with the guys at Motocorsa to see if they could get CRG folks to switch out the pivot with one of their all black ones. Well, they were able to work their magic and got me what I wanted. First impressions, in the short ride home, I like them. I got the shorties, so on the brake side, no issues as I'm a one finger braker. On the clutch side, however, my pinkie kinda hangs out there, really not knowing what to do :)so need to get used to that.

As always nothing is without its quirks - just realized that on the clutch side, the switch that lets you start the bike in gear does not engage in the first and second setting. Not a big deal, but as I said, just quirky. :)

UPDATE: Fixed the issue with the clutch by sticking a small piece of tape to the lever, the kind with the foam to depress the switch when the clutch is pulled in. :)

Ducati Dubai

In Dubai for the last week or so and had recently read that they opened up a new Duc dealership here, so decided to go check it out. Nice shop, but nothing to write home about. It was like any other bike dealership out there, actually really small compared to some of the shops that I have been to in the U.S. In stock there, a couple of monsters, Hypers, one Multi and an 848. It also had a beautiful 1198R Corsa edition on display and that was about it. Prices for the bikes are higher here. A monster 796 came out to be around $14K.

Other than that it is really nice to be in 80 degree weather with clear skies and sunny days, while it is cold and rainy in the Pacific NW. Not many bikes out here (other than the Sub-way, Pizza Hut and Burger King, delivery guys on 150cc Hondas) in the street- have only seen one Duc, a red Monster S2R 1000, a few BMW's and a couple of Harley cruisers.

The pics.

Oil drip?!?

I thought I was done with riding for the season, but yep, I got to ride the monster this weekend.

For the winter I basically end up putting the bikes on a battery tender, but even so, I still like to go out and start them up, hear the rumble - try running a 848 with Termi's (no baffels) and a 796 at the same time in a garage (with the door open), neighbors hate you, but they sound awesome and its fun ;). Anyway, was running the 796 and after about 5 min or so, saw a little puddle form at the bottom....hmm.., looked a little closer and it was oil - crap! Dug a bit more and looked like it was coming from the oil filter, not a whole bunch, but a steady drip. Turned it off and as the bike cooled down, the drip stopped.

Called up the dealer and he said to bring it in so yep, in the 15 mins where it stopped raining on Sat, rode it out to the dealer to have them check it out. I was concerned that the 796 may have inherited the "oil leak from the engine block" issue that the 696 had. So the guys at the shop call me up in the afternoon and tell me it was just a bad seal on the oil filter- whew! - so a minor thing, something I probably could have fixed myself, but did not want to mess with it if it was something else. Regardless, a WTF moment, courtesy of Ducati.

Now I need to find another 15 mins of dry weather to go get the bike back from the shop. :)

And here are the pics.

The "drip".


And the Monster 696 oil leak. I got this pic of a bike I was looking to get early this year.

Back to rain

I like Indian summers, too bad that in the pacific northwest it decided to come about in the middle of the week for three days (with near 70 degree weather) and the on schedule the rain returns on the weekend. So what is one to do, but take off early from work, even if it is just to ride the bike out to a coffee shop and work from there. Given the timing of the weather, I was not able to get a long ride in, but did get in a couple of short rides, which included detours on to bike lanes and some pics among the leaves.



No new mods on the bike. I'm thinking about powder coating the exhaust as a winter project, but need to find someone local who can do a decent job and does not cost an arm and a leg. Also want to get new levers. Ducati put on adjustable levers, but only if they could have made them black.

Also looking for some winter gloves. Riding in 45-50 degree weather is not kind on hands. Rev-it seems to have some good options, so need to go down to the bike shop and see what I can find out - I have ridden with glove liners which works for short distances but not the most effective, so think it is time for proper gloves.

Riding in the leaves does tend to make the bike a bit dirty, so washed the bikes yesterday and then, of course had to take a couple of shots. :) My perferred washing materials: Honda Brite for washing/ taking the grime off, Plexus for polishing (awesome stuff), followed by a quick 10 min ride to blow off any remaining water; warm up the chain a bit and then finish off cleaning/ waxing the chain with Chain Wax.

weekend rides..

Weather in the Pacific Northwest is unpredictable, especially in the fall and spring seasons, one day it can be beautiful, sunny, temps in the 80's and the next day it is raining (sometimes, snowing/ hailing) with a high of 50. And I am not fond of riding in the rain - I mean, what is the point of riding, when you are slipping and sliding around on the street.

Well, that is what the last week has been like- great during the week and cloudy and somewhat on the cooler side on the weekends. I did, however, get out for a ride or two. Took the 848 out, better wind protection, plus I have been neglecting it a bit since I got the 796 and was missing it. Great ride out in wine country and the bike just felt great, focused, power on demand and it just felt very connected.

I also continue to notice the differences . The seat, the 848 just has a plank after spending a few hours on it, the 796 feels plush- I would also say the same for the suspension, monster is akin to a grand tourer, it just soaks up the imperfections in the road and is much, much more forgiving on the family jewels. Both bikes have their pluses and minuses but again both are super fun machines.







Can't be a post without a Monster photo :)