Early M900 new clueless owner.

Hi,
Long story, but I've recently acquired an early M900.
I've never owned a Ducati and, to be honest, I'm not sure what to do with it - customise it, get it back to standard (as far as possible), use it "as is" or sell it.
It's mostly standard, but someone has chromed the frame and cut the back end of it off. Why??? The engine is painted gold for some unknown reason. It has gold Renthal bars and hideous gold indicators. Carbon front mudguard, side panels and exhaust protectors seem to be the real thing, but the hugger is carbon-look plastic I think. So returning it to standard is the least likely scenario.
Oh, and there's an occasional oil drip which seems to be coming from where the crankcase halves join (engine underside). What have I done???
On the plus side it starts and rides okay and, apart from a cracked headlight glass and a ridiculously small number plate, it should MOT without a problem.
So, prepare yourselves for several stupidly inane questions as I venture into the unknown.
Cheers,
Les.

Hi Les, welcome to the club, this sounds interesting.....please let us see some pictures.

Hello and welcome. Lots of advice to be had on here, no question is a stupid question!!

Was it beer goggles buying there, sorry to say it doesn't sound that attractive and I think the best thing to do is to get it to a state that you think is awesome. If that's back to standard or customising it to your tastes, tbh it doesn't sound like you can make it any worse. Pic would be good so we can see the transition

That sounds so bad it must have my name on it.

[Darkness]

Hi Meccano and welcome.

Some photo's would be good, and will probably prompt a wide set of responses and suggestions ranging between point and laugh, drop it off a cliff, and some useful ones too.

How early is early out of interest, as that can influence views?

Some great replies there. The cliff idea is tempting.

To answer some points, it's an April 1994, L reg.

I don't even know what I paid for it! I went to look at another bike (Kawasaki Zephyr 550) and this was next to it in the bloke's garage. We ended up agreeing a price for the two bikes, so what I paid for each bike isn't really clear.

As regards photos, I've tried to upload some from my PC but it keeps saying "upload failed". They're jpeg files and are within the specified file size limit, so I don't know what, if anything, I'm doing wrong.

[Yorkie]

Do it via a photo sharing site its easier.

It should be a good project.

Yorkie

[Nickj]

The frame would be a matter of taste, might work out fine as is.
The tail chop is again a matter of taste, both my monster had this. It does make them look massively shorter but you get some sparay up your back.
Gold engine will be a no no, then its easy to repaint in nicer colours, the older bronze/grey is nice and much more subtle.
Is the oil dribbling from the side casings? Not uncommon and just needs resealing with either expensive silicone or cheap silicone (very similar once cured but one comes in small tubes the other in big tubes).

If it starts and rides then its a good one and probably worth putting some effort in to. Much more fun than the 550 and about 200% more presence and charisma.

Zephyr, they were a move to sell more and shift motor stocks so were styled on the Z9. Unless it awesomely good condition I'd feel I got a good deal on the monster and some skip ballast

Then of course we'll be a bit biased here, a kawasaki forum will say the opposite

Thanks for that, guys.
Since I posted this morning I've removed and dismantled the headlamp....the glass fell apart into 2 halves.
From what I've read, the OE Bosch glass is long since NLA, unless you know different.
So I was going to put any old 8-inch headlamp on the bike. There are several units on Ebay, generally listed as a Yamaha RD350LC copy, for 20-odd quid.
Whaddya think? Or is there a better alternative?

Headlight lens post #14


Apparently the glass from a BMW R100 is the same costs about £30.
If you use the search button and put in 'BMW headlight glass' you'll find several posts on it which also mention other sources for other parts for your monnie.

[Mr Gazza]

That looks bloody tidy you lucky sod..!!

There's plenty on here will take her off your hands if you don't like her. (Me included.)

First things first. If you don't know the history of the bike, especially regarding the timing belts, it would be a very good idea to change the belts asap.

They do say that there is a risk in running the engine after a long stand up, of the belts letting go. Most don't take the risk and change the belts before running up...Just sayin'.

Your center line leak could well be the alternator case weeping and running down to the bottom to form drips there. As Nickj said it's an easy fix with silicone.
You will need a simple puller to get the cover off, and you must look out for the screw that the clutch slave hides...even with the slave removed the screw can hide in the chain goo..So make sure you find it before heaving on the puller.

If it was a '92 model I would be all for a concours restoration, but yours looks pretty good as is...The chrome frame and Gold cases look okay to me. Personally I would try to match the Gold and do the wheels too.
Tail chops can be reversed, or so I understand. Easier if you have the original bits but there might be someone here who can help you with that.

Get the exhaust polished up and she will look a treat. As for the bling that you don't like, well you can do swaps on this forum and get the bits you want.

Get her on the road and see what you think, then decide what you are going to do.

Once again, and no offence....Lucky sod...

[Mr Gazza]

............And well done for getting four bins in the top shot...Is this a record??