Spring finally sprung!

Porkchop · 04-08-2013, 05:17 PM

Spring has finally sprung in Ohio and last week was the inaugural week of the season for me. The battery was completely dead in the Duc from sitting in the bike all winter long in the storage unit. No power outlet=no tender. Decided it was time to pull the battery a month back and put it on a tender. Unfortunately, thanks to Ducati's mass centralization efforts, the battery is under that false tank, under the real tank, and hunkered down next to the airbox. FUCK YOU DUCATI.

Even with watching the how-to video 10 times and knowing exactly what to do, it was still a 35 minute job to get the battery out, with 2 sets of hands!

Well the battery ended up being toast so I had to buy a new one last week when I knew it was going to get warm. Threw that battery in (another 35 minutes to get it buttoned back up), and she fired up at the first hit. By that point I was itching to ride, but the sun was dropping to the trees fast. Ran over to the gas station to fill it up with some good premium gas to dilute the old shit and I was on my way. Got a good 20 minutes in as the temps dropped from 49* to 41* in a matter of minutes. Rolled in for the night and snapped this pic.

The next afternoon I rode it to meet my buddies at the gym to get a quick lift in. Nice and warm in the afternoon, it was glorious. When I left his house at 9:30pm however... my onboard temp got down to 34*.

Thank god for a fantastic Tourmaster winter jacket that kept me nice and toasty. My knees were a different story....

Left work Friday afternoon in almost 70* weather and nothing was stopping a nice long ride. Hit some twisties and country hills for a good hour before multiple sheriff sightings drove me back into town. Went to see an old coworker and met up with another friend for a nice group ride before dinner.

Then yesterday we had our usual Ducati Owners Club meeting at the clubhouse for the GP race and some brews. Ended up doing some maintenance on some of the bikes, including a sprocket swap on mine. The monsters come with 15t sprockets on the front to meet Euro 3 sound regulations which really makes the gearing way too tall. There is a lot of engine "chugging" or "boxing" at low speeds due to the gearing, and you would never see 6th gear unless you were doing 75+ on the highway. Going to the 14t on the front really changes the bike and makes it run like it should. Easier away from the line, you don't have to slip the clutch like you had to. No "chugging" on the engine, the thing revs smooth and crisp, much better throttle response, and of course the added benefit of better acceleration out of corners. The only downfall I see is instead of running at 4300-4400rpm on the highway, it runs at 4800-4900 at about 70-72mph. Wasn't too bad of a job to do. Two bolts on the sprocket cover, two bolts on the sprocket, three bolts on the slave master cylinder, two bolts on the rearset, and then you dialed the rear wheel in to the front of the swingarm for slack (since it's as DSS not a SSS). Maybe a 45-50 minute ordeal tops. Could have been faster, but the old members were teaching me stuff as we were going. Wish I would have snapped a picture of the maintenance or all the club's bikes together in the parking lot though.

OneSickPsycho · 04-08-2013, 05:23 PM

Awesome... about a month ago I made the decision not to ride to work because it was too fucking hot...

Sixxxxer · 04-08-2013, 08:17 PM

Just rode for the first time today...It was 70 out and I just had to finish up some stuff and button her back up and I was on my way.

I went -1 +2 with a new chain and goddamn I'm in love with my bike all over again!!

njchopper87 · 04-08-2013, 09:03 PM

I had my first ride to work today as well. Took care of the oil, air filter and other minor maintenance over the weekend. I had the gas tank repainted a couple weeks ago as well.

It's about time for a real tune up, however. Maybe next weekend I'll take it by the local shop and have them give it a good once over.

Hmm.. and I don't think I'll be able to hold off much longer on the pipes. Must resist for just a little longer.. maybe after vacation.

Porkchop · 04-08-2013, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneSickPsycho

Awesome... about a month ago I made the decision not to ride to work because it was too fucking hot...

Too hot already? Fuck Florida....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sixxxxer

Just rode for the first time today...It was 70 out and I just had to finish up some stuff and button her back up and I was on my way.

I went -1 +2 with a new chain and goddamn I'm in love with my bike all over again!!

Sweet! New gearing gives a whole new experience! The correct gearing on the monster should stay 15t in the front and go +3 in the rear. Not sure the tooth count. But that requires a 5 link longer chain. I only have 3,500 miles on the bike, so buying a new chain to change gearing is a waste. So dropping to 14t in the front gets you close to that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by njchopper87

Hmm.. and I don't think I'll be able to hold off much longer on the pipes. Must resist for just a little longer.. maybe after vacation.

Pipes are more important than vaca right...

No Worries · 04-08-2013, 11:56 PM

I'm not getting any younger so I've been riding most of the winter. I was supposed to wear a splint on my broken right thumb for five weeks. I took it off after three days. I rode today because it was 70 and I wanted to see how I could control the throttle and brake. I did okay. Tomorrow will be 9 degrees with 6-12 inches of snow.

OneSickPsycho · 04-09-2013, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porkchop

Too hot already? Fuck Florida....

Just that one day...

Rangerscott · 04-09-2013, 01:00 AM

You silly bears and your hibernating. Would have been a great day to ride but the.dirt was in tue air.

tommymac · 04-09-2013, 08:10 AM

shitty timing for me. I just took the gt in for its 24k mile check (only at 21k but figured I will beat the rush) I got the buell back home but dont want to ride any real mile till I do the rotor swap. has all new electrical components and I dont want to cook them again. Shittypart is I dont have the cash right now to get all that started so that will hopefully get off the ground next month or if I do realy well on my taxes a little sooner.

04-08-2013, 05:17 PM	#1
Porkchop 125GP Champion Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Worthington, OH Moto: Empty Garage Posts: 3,418	Spring finally sprung! Spring has finally sprung in Ohio and last week was the inaugural week of the season for me. The battery was completely dead in the Duc from sitting in the bike all winter long in the storage unit. No power outlet=no tender. Decided it was time to pull the battery a month back and put it on a tender. Unfortunately, thanks to Ducati's mass centralization efforts, the battery is under that false tank, under the real tank, and hunkered down next to the airbox. FUCK YOU DUCATI. Even with watching the how-to video 10 times and knowing exactly what to do, it was still a 35 minute job to get the battery out, with 2 sets of hands! Well the battery ended up being toast so I had to buy a new one last week when I knew it was going to get warm. Threw that battery in (another 35 minutes to get it buttoned back up), and she fired up at the first hit. By that point I was itching to ride, but the sun was dropping to the trees fast. Ran over to the gas station to fill it up with some good premium gas to dilute the old shit and I was on my way. Got a good 20 minutes in as the temps dropped from 49* to 41* in a matter of minutes. Rolled in for the night and snapped this pic. The next afternoon I rode it to meet my buddies at the gym to get a quick lift in. Nice and warm in the afternoon, it was glorious. When I left his house at 9:30pm however... my onboard temp got down to 34. Thank god for a fantastic Tourmaster winter jacket that kept me nice and toasty. My knees were a different story.... Left work Friday afternoon in almost 70 weather and nothing was stopping a nice long ride. Hit some twisties and country hills for a good hour before multiple sheriff sightings drove me back into town. Went to see an old coworker and met up with another friend for a nice group ride before dinner. Then yesterday we had our usual Ducati Owners Club meeting at the clubhouse for the GP race and some brews. Ended up doing some maintenance on some of the bikes, including a sprocket swap on mine. The monsters come with 15t sprockets on the front to meet Euro 3 sound regulations which really makes the gearing way too tall. There is a lot of engine "chugging" or "boxing" at low speeds due to the gearing, and you would never see 6th gear unless you were doing 75+ on the highway. Going to the 14t on the front really changes the bike and makes it run like it should. Easier away from the line, you don't have to slip the clutch like you had to. No "chugging" on the engine, the thing revs smooth and crisp, much better throttle response, and of course the added benefit of better acceleration out of corners. The only downfall I see is instead of running at 4300-4400rpm on the highway, it runs at 4800-4900 at about 70-72mph. Wasn't too bad of a job to do. Two bolts on the sprocket cover, two bolts on the sprocket, three bolts on the slave master cylinder, two bolts on the rearset, and then you dialed the rear wheel in to the front of the swingarm for slack (since it's as DSS not a SSS). Maybe a 45-50 minute ordeal tops. Could have been faster, but the old members were teaching me stuff as we were going. Wish I would have snapped a picture of the maintenance or all the club's bikes together in the parking lot though. __________________ *Coming soon? 2010 Ducati Monster 696 - Sold 1984 Honda VF500F - Sold 1999 Yamaha R6 - Sold

04-08-2013, 08:17 PM	#3
Sixxxxer Like Gixxxxer But Not Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dirty Jersey Moto: 2008 ZX6R Posts: 4,891	Just rode for the first time today...It was 70 out and I just had to finish up some stuff and button her back up and I was on my way. I went -1 +2 with a new chain and goddamn I'm in love with my bike all over again!! __________________ [FRSH] Candy Plasma Blue

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04-08-2013, 05:23 PM	#2
OneSickPsycho Ride Like an Asshole Join Date: Feb 2008 Moto: nothing... Posts: 11,254	Awesome... about a month ago I made the decision not to ride to work because it was too fucking hot...

04-08-2013, 11:56 PM	#6
No Worries Keyboard Racer Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mile High City Moto: Old Superbikes Posts: 1,016	I'm not getting any younger so I've been riding most of the winter. I was supposed to wear a splint on my broken right thumb for five weeks. I took it off after three days. I rode today because it was 70 and I wanted to see how I could control the throttle and brake. I did okay. Tomorrow will be 9 degrees with 6-12 inches of snow.

04-09-2013, 01:00 AM	#8
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	You silly bears and your hibernating. Would have been a great day to ride but the.dirt was in tue air.

04-09-2013, 08:10 AM	#9
tommymac Moto GP Star Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 11,022	shitty timing for me. I just took the gt in for its 24k mile check (only at 21k but figured I will beat the rush) I got the buell back home but dont want to ride any real mile till I do the rotor swap. has all new electrical components and I dont want to cook them again. Shittypart is I dont have the cash right now to get all that started so that will hopefully get off the ground next month or if I do realy well on my taxes a little sooner.