New Owner 97 M900

[CarloL]

Just Purchased an M900 , 1997

I am the 2nd owner from new, 4270 miles, all new belts , new battery, new Michelin Pilot tyres, new braided brake lines ,fully serviced

Overall really happy with her , loads of character , a bit of heritage and she sounds Glorious, I just happened to stumble across some titanium Termi's for an ST2 for sale at a great price, not too sure if they will fit this model , fit some mirrors that help with viibility due to Elbows getting in the way , (Any advise please)

Plan is to keep it completely as standard, with maybe the exception of Termi exhausts, but easily reversible Just give her a good clean, acr50 , get Ian to machine polish the tank and cquartz it for protection against scratches

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63ZS4iGpi9k[/youtube]

[Darren69]

Nice! I don't think the ST cans will fit because IIRC the link pipes are angled differently in order that they can rotate up and down when fitting luggage, if they are similar to the ST4 ones they have a 90deg bend in them whereas the Monster ones don't..

Mind you I'm not sure whether the down pipes and collector from an ST2 will fit on the Monster, maybe they would. I'm sure someone on here will know.

I wouldn't bother too much about originality as far as exhausts go, open Termis are considered standard by most and considering how much they cost even s/hand it will only add value.

[Darkness]

Hello and welcome.
Any (Reversible) changes are good as they illustrate what "Monster" means to you, but keep the original parts safely in a box too: some of them are getting difficult to get if you ever want to revert to standard.

[Darren69]

Originally Posted by Darkness

Hello and welcome.
Any (Reversible) changes are good as they illustrate what "Monster" means to you, but keep the original parts safely in a box too: some of them are getting difficult to get if you ever want to revert to standard.

What he said. Proper Termis for that model are getting hard to find nowadays in good condition and always had a premium price (£1000 or so new), so expect to pay at least £500 for s/hand if you can find them!

You might get lucky and get some for less than that or you could get another set of standard cans and get them gutted, which is really what the Termis are anyway, depending on the year the standard cans are either Termi or Remus anyway (without the fancy Ti or Carbon wrapping). They do run much better with the open exhaust, airbox mods and rejet, they run better and well and they sound proper Ducati too!

[Flip]

Completely echo what the others have already said and at the risk of boring everyone with yet another photo of my 1997 900 here it is looking a little dirty after the last ride of 2016:



I too am the second owner of mine after a mate bought it new and sold it to me when he moved abroad two years later having only done around a thousand miles on it.

All the mods you can see along with those you can't are reversible except for the Maxton forks- but why would you want to revert back to the horrible standard suspension anyway?

I still have all the standard parts that I've changed over the years, including the rear shock, the original brake hoses and exhaust cans along with every engine bolt all bagged, tagged and boxed.

The mirrors fitted to your bike are not the original 'Mickey Mouse ears' so it might be worth you looking out for a pair if only to bag up and put away- some people like them others not so- I have a pair of DP tear drop ones on mine which although smaller give a better view behind (for me at least) but I doubt you can get them anymore.

One thing I will say, with such a low mileage over such a long time I would take the clutch cover off fairly regularly to check the oil seal behind the basket isn't leaking- it did on mine once it started getting used again and seems to be a favourite weakness on low mileage bikes- Ducati motors like to be used!!

Also might be worth changing the clutch hose for a braided one too as you'll almost certainly be able to feel it bulge when you operate it and the braided line will give you a little more clutch control too.

There's a whole list of things that'll make the standard bike feel nicer to ride as you get familiar with it so don't be afraid to ask.

Oh and I would also be very careful about using a machine to polish the tank as the '97 bikes were about the last to be hand sprayed from start to finish and it would be a shame for that to get damaged. Mine has remained shiny and bright with regular washes and the use of good quality polish after.

But most importantly ..... enjoy it!!!

[CarloL]

Thanks for the advise!

[Dukedesmo]

Nice.

[Darren69]

Yea, btw who did your paintwork polish? Ian? and how can we get him?

[Dirty]

Nice bike, welcome

Doesn't look little Flip

[CarloL]

Thanks Guys , will look into a K&N filter and a braided clutch line

Bit a Noob Question , is the ignition and seat key the same?

If not , will not having the rear cubbie hole key be an issue with regards getting at anything service time?

How did you install your rear reg plate flip? Mine is still OE but I would like it a little tidier without do a chop and retaining rain protection

[Dirty]

Ignition and seat key will be the same unless one of the locks has been replaced at some point

[CarloL]

Originally Posted by Dirty

Ignition and seat key will be the same unless one of the locks has been replaced at some point

Thanks Dirty , did not want to break anything ; did it seem to want to go into the seat lock

[Darkness]

Originally Posted by CarloL

Thanks Dirty , did not want to break anything ; did it seem to want to go into the seat lock

Take care as the seat locks are different on the S4 and other later bikes. On the early bikes you don't turn the key in the seat lock. Turning the key only bends the key! You put the key in as far as it goes and lift the metal "trigger" next to the lock.
As said, pressing down on the seat above the latch mechanism can make this easier to achieve by taking out some tension in the latch.

[Darren69]

The seat catch is cable operated and can be difficult especially if the cable is not oiled or worse, has snapped. Mine only takes about quarter turn to open and that's as far as you can turn it. It can be eased by pushing down on the rear seat above where the catch is.

[Darren69]

oh yeah and the key on mine doesn't go all the way into the lock, only about half way