Project Sie - Page 2

Mr Gazza · 01-10-2013, 08:59 PM

Cheers Darren..Yep the cover made all the difference to the looks and put a bit of much needed sparkle on her.

I already had the gasket which came from Capo with a painted clutch cover. I was going to get that chromed at some point, but along came yours, all shiney and new..

As soon as they start pulling Sugar Beet or putting salt on the roads I will whip that exhaust off and show it the mop..!! Been too nice to stop riding so far though.

I derived a lot of satisfaction from polishing the pipes on my 750ss and the last M900, but they wern't as brown as this one.!! Why do people let them get so bad? So easy to keep nice once they are polished.

I'm not a fan of high level cans myself, in fact I took off a pair of Remus Grand Prix high level alloys. I like to see the fresh air between the wheel and the seat.
The Lafranconis come from an earlier model I should think. I think Remus must have taken over supplying the silencers to Ducati, from Lafranconi in the late 90s.
They are about 50mm shorter than the OEM Remus ones and as you say, a good bit lighter.
These ones have been cleverly cored so I can adjust the amount of wadding.

Regarding the suspension, I thought that the "S" in the model designation signified the fancy suspension package....fairly sure that the S4 demonstrator that i rode in about 2002 had the high spec suspenders...It most certainly had improved brakes from my '98 model, which still had the coffin type resevoirs.
All to do with a 16mm master cylinder I believe, but I'm not sure if the calipers were new also.

Darren69 · 02-10-2013, 09:51 AM

The S4 (even the S4 Foggy like mine) came with a Sachs rear unit but posh TiN forks which later appeared on the S4R, the regular S4 got normal chromed forks. Calipers and discs on the S4 are from the 996, I think the same for the 900S too.
Calipers have a revised retaining spring as I know the older type had a tendecy to come out unless fitted with a pin with a hole to put a split pin in! I think the masters were also from the 996 although on mine the previous owner has replaced them for brand new (NOS) older 916 type, I'm not sure what the differences are besides the 996 ones having a bleed bolt on them

Mr Gazza · 02-10-2013, 07:05 PM

Thanks for the info Darren.

I jumped at the opportunity to buy this Sie because it looked to me at the time, as if it had the suspension and brake spec of the S4 Demo that I rode, with the simple appeal of the air cooled motor. However I am learning that she is a bit more of an exotic lady than I first thought.
I just can't fault the suspension, both in ride quality and handling, and all that braking power goes into the road with perfect control. It has an involuntary effect on my facial muscles, causing a cheesy grin..

Is the fancy bit of the rear brake, the rose joint ended torque rod.? I assumed it was a fairly straight foward set up, but I must admit I can't see the rod in the pictures of my '98 Monster.
One thing that I have noticed is the lack of any dive when braking. All that happens when the brakes are carressed is lots of slowing down..!

Darren69 · 02-10-2013, 09:16 PM

Yes the rear underslung brake setup is designed to reduce the rear lifting under heavy braking and as far as I can tell was only offered on the 900S which was only made for 1 year before being superceded by the 900ie losing much of the exotic stuff like ohlins etc but keeping the ally swing arm and brakes,s4 frame etc. So the 900S is a nice I won't say rare just hard to find model made for 1 year only. I had a similar set up on a 750ss I had and have been looking for the parts to convert mine. Is the speedo analogue on yours ie does it work from a cable off the front wheel or a sensor on the rear caliper bracket?

Mr Gazza · 02-10-2013, 11:21 PM

The speedo is analogue, driven from a front wheel gearbox, and the cable did a good version of the Devil's fiddle playing the other week, when it chaffed in it's guide hoop and had me worried sick that the forks were self destructing...

I think the Sie must have been a Millenium Special. I suspect the spec was lowered a bit later on when they found that it was a bit pricey to produce.?

Mr Gazza · 10-12-2013, 10:23 PM

Don't fix it if it aint broke they told me....Now look what I gone and done..!!

It's looking like a caption competition..

Worst of all, the bits that I took off, got marooned in Suffolk last week by the North Sea Storm surge waters. The powder coaters were completly cut off by floods, although I am told that my bits remained above water..

...Can't wait to be re-united with them.

Dirty · 10-12-2013, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Don't fix it if it aint broke they told me....Now look what I gone and done..!!

It's looking like a caption competition..

Despite advice to the contrary Gazza was determined to push ahead with his wooden trike conversion!

Mr Gazza · 11-12-2013, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty

Despite advice to the contrary Gazza was determined to push ahead with his wooden trike conversion!

Damn..! You've rumbled my plan...But you sound like you don't believe it will work.?

Mr Gazza · 26-12-2013, 11:29 AM

Managed to escape to the workshop a couple of times yesterday and got some bits back on the Monster..

I put the newly powder coated headlamp brackets back on...Boy are those four nuts fiddly to get on.!! But much more fun than those mind numbing puzzles you get in crackers.

The cone washers are just the originals sprayed over, but a pal is turning me up a complete set for the bike to my designs in alloy, including shouldered ones for the footrest hangers.
I will see if I can afford to have them anodised when they are done, otherwise they will just get a blow with that Gold.

I am sure that my all original '98 M900 had a silver "metal flake" in the black headlamp shell.
It looked like stars in the night sky..

Does anyone else recall seeing that finish on a Monster?
As far as I know it was bog standard from new.

crust · 26-12-2013, 03:24 PM

My 94 headlight bucket has a finely textured matt finish.

In toolmaking terms it would be called it 'light spark'.

slob · 27-12-2013, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

I am sure that my all original '98 M900 had a silver "metal flake" in the black headlamp shell.
It looked like stars in the night sky.. Does anyone else recall seeing that finish on a Monster?
As far as I know it was bog standard from new.

Late nineties/early noughties 'Dark' has a subtle metalflake in it.

Mr Gazza · 28-12-2013, 01:11 PM

Thanks for the info Crust and Slob.
That's interesting to know. I wondered at the time if something had been accidently splashed on it or if it was deliberate. It was incredibly subtle and I only really noticed it when I was cleaning in the nitty gritty bits.
Nice little touch though, it made it just a little bit more special..

...Going to tease the concours restorers in years to come though..

gary tompkins · 30-12-2013, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slob

Late nineties/early noughties 'Dark' has a subtle metalflake in it.

Yep both my 900ie darks had that finish all over from factory. It was more like a dark metallic grey satin finish than black, and a massive PITA to match properly. One of the main reasons I had the trike completely resprayed in the end

Mr Gazza · 05-01-2014, 08:43 PM

Well that's it for the winter break, back to work tomorrow after 2 weeks of leisure.

Well not exactly. apart from digging out and laying footings for a greenhouse, and laying a course of blocks round.
I collected my powdercoated stuff on the Solstice, which was the finish of taking things off the bike and the start of gettin gnice things back..

...Only marred by my rear floating caliper mount going missing, but hey it should all be put right now.

I also managed to get some paint on the Alternator cover.

Fun was spoiled a little by the discovery that my clutch slave had been leaking.
The nice people at Moto Rapido advised that replacing seals was only a temporary fix and better to get a new one.
Examination of the bore and piston confirmed thier advise....So only one thing for it. I will have to push the boat out and get an Oberon one...Doh..!!

Also managed to get some paint on the wheels.

I had originally planned to have polished rim flanges but i could not work out how to mask it properly to do the job , so I decided to just settle for all gold wheels.
however I got a reaction in the gold on the front flange, which got even worse on the second coat...So I bit the bullet and sanded off the flange to bare metal, which left a very good crisp edge to the paint...Spurred on, I did the same to all the flanges and then worked up the grades finishing with autosol.
Then a thorough clean up with brake cleaner, and on with the laquer...Not a show finish, but good enough for an old country boy..

Masking it all up took the best part of a day, the discs being paticulaly tricky, involving little segments of vinyl cut with compass cutters....but it worked a treat.

I can rest easy now, and go back to work with a clear conscience....Can't wait for next weekend..

utopia · 05-01-2014, 09:19 PM

Looking good.
I can see that your colour choice was inspired by those curtains !

Incidentally ....that airbox drain tube with the "squashed" end which sits alongside the alternator wiring.
I removed mine and refitted the squashed end bit directly to the airbox.
It now terminates just above the oil cooler, and seems to work just as well, without the untidiness.
Nothing ever dribbles out of it anyway.

10-12-2013, 10:23 PM	#21
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,983	Don't fix it if it aint broke they told me....Now look what I gone and done..!! It's looking like a caption competition.. Worst of all, the bits that I took off, got marooned in Suffolk last week by the North Sea Storm surge waters. The powder coaters were completly cut off by floods, although I am told that my bits remained above water.. ...Can't wait to be re-united with them. Last edited by Mr Gazza; 03-03-2020 at 06:20 PM..

26-12-2013, 11:29 AM	#24
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,983	Happy Christmas one and all.... Managed to escape to the workshop a couple of times yesterday and got some bits back on the Monster.. I put the newly powder coated headlamp brackets back on...Boy are those four nuts fiddly to get on.!! But much more fun than those mind numbing puzzles you get in crackers. The cone washers are just the originals sprayed over, but a pal is turning me up a complete set for the bike to my designs in alloy, including shouldered ones for the footrest hangers. I will see if I can afford to have them anodised when they are done, otherwise they will just get a blow with that Gold. I am sure that my all original '98 M900 had a silver "metal flake" in the black headlamp shell. It looked like stars in the night sky.. Does anyone else recall seeing that finish on a Monster? As far as I know it was bog standard from new.

26-12-2013, 03:24 PM	#25
crust rattles when he walks Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: in the comfy chair,moved furniture around Bike: M900 Posts: 1,065	My 94 headlight bucket has a finely textured matt finish. In toolmaking terms it would be called it 'light spark'. Last edited by crust; 26-12-2013 at 03:29 PM..

28-12-2013, 01:11 PM	#27
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,983	Thanks for the info Crust and Slob. That's interesting to know. I wondered at the time if something had been accidently splashed on it or if it was deliberate. It was incredibly subtle and I only really noticed it when I was cleaning in the nitty gritty bits. Nice little touch though, it made it just a little bit more special.....Going to tease the concours restorers in years to come though..

05-01-2014, 08:43 PM	#29
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,983	Well that's it for the winter break, back to work tomorrow after 2 weeks of leisure. Well not exactly. apart from digging out and laying footings for a greenhouse, and laying a course of blocks round. I collected my powdercoated stuff on the Solstice, which was the finish of taking things off the bike and the start of gettin gnice things back.....Only marred by my rear floating caliper mount going missing, but hey it should all be put right now. I also managed to get some paint on the Alternator cover. Fun was spoiled a little by the discovery that my clutch slave had been leaking. The nice people at Moto Rapido advised that replacing seals was only a temporary fix and better to get a new one. Examination of the bore and piston confirmed thier advise....So only one thing for it. I will have to push the boat out and get an Oberon one...Doh..!! Also managed to get some paint on the wheels. I had originally planned to have polished rim flanges but i could not work out how to mask it properly to do the job , so I decided to just settle for all gold wheels. however I got a reaction in the gold on the front flange, which got even worse on the second coat...So I bit the bullet and sanded off the flange to bare metal, which left a very good crisp edge to the paint...Spurred on, I did the same to all the flanges and then worked up the grades finishing with autosol. Then a thorough clean up with brake cleaner, and on with the laquer...Not a show finish, but good enough for an old country boy.. Masking it all up took the best part of a day, the discs being paticulaly tricky, involving little segments of vinyl cut with compass cutters....but it worked a treat. I can rest easy now, and go back to work with a clear conscience....Can't wait for next weekend.. Last edited by Mr Gazza; 05-01-2014 at 10:10 PM..

01-10-2013, 08:59 PM	#16
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,983	Cheers Darren..Yep the cover made all the difference to the looks and put a bit of much needed sparkle on her. I already had the gasket which came from Capo with a painted clutch cover. I was going to get that chromed at some point, but along came yours, all shiney and new.. As soon as they start pulling Sugar Beet or putting salt on the roads I will whip that exhaust off and show it the mop..!! Been too nice to stop riding so far though. I derived a lot of satisfaction from polishing the pipes on my 750ss and the last M900, but they wern't as brown as this one.!! Why do people let them get so bad? So easy to keep nice once they are polished. I'm not a fan of high level cans myself, in fact I took off a pair of Remus Grand Prix high level alloys. I like to see the fresh air between the wheel and the seat. The Lafranconis come from an earlier model I should think. I think Remus must have taken over supplying the silencers to Ducati, from Lafranconi in the late 90s. They are about 50mm shorter than the OEM Remus ones and as you say, a good bit lighter. These ones have been cleverly cored so I can adjust the amount of wadding. Regarding the suspension, I thought that the "S" in the model designation signified the fancy suspension package....fairly sure that the S4 demonstrator that i rode in about 2002 had the high spec suspenders...It most certainly had improved brakes from my '98 model, which still had the coffin type resevoirs. All to do with a 16mm master cylinder I believe, but I'm not sure if the calipers were new also.

02-10-2013, 09:51 AM	#17
Darren69 Transmaniacon MOC Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Sutton In Ashfield Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 6,095	The S4 (even the S4 Foggy like mine) came with a Sachs rear unit but posh TiN forks which later appeared on the S4R, the regular S4 got normal chromed forks. Calipers and discs on the S4 are from the 996, I think the same for the 900S too. Calipers have a revised retaining spring as I know the older type had a tendecy to come out unless fitted with a pin with a hole to put a split pin in! I think the masters were also from the 996 although on mine the previous owner has replaced them for brand new (NOS) older 916 type, I'm not sure what the differences are besides the 996 ones having a bleed bolt on them

02-10-2013, 07:05 PM	#18
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,983	Thanks for the info Darren. I jumped at the opportunity to buy this Sie because it looked to me at the time, as if it had the suspension and brake spec of the S4 Demo that I rode, with the simple appeal of the air cooled motor. However I am learning that she is a bit more of an exotic lady than I first thought. I just can't fault the suspension, both in ride quality and handling, and all that braking power goes into the road with perfect control. It has an involuntary effect on my facial muscles, causing a cheesy grin.. Is the fancy bit of the rear brake, the rose joint ended torque rod.? I assumed it was a fairly straight foward set up, but I must admit I can't see the rod in the pictures of my '98 Monster. One thing that I have noticed is the lack of any dive when braking. All that happens when the brakes are carressed is lots of slowing down..!

02-10-2013, 09:16 PM	#19
Darren69 Transmaniacon MOC Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Sutton In Ashfield Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 6,095	Yes the rear underslung brake setup is designed to reduce the rear lifting under heavy braking and as far as I can tell was only offered on the 900S which was only made for 1 year before being superceded by the 900ie losing much of the exotic stuff like ohlins etc but keeping the ally swing arm and brakes,s4 frame etc. So the 900S is a nice I won't say rare just hard to find model made for 1 year only. I had a similar set up on a 750ss I had and have been looking for the parts to convert mine. Is the speedo analogue on yours ie does it work from a cable off the front wheel or a sensor on the rear caliper bracket?

02-10-2013, 11:21 PM	#20
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,983	The speedo is analogue, driven from a front wheel gearbox, and the cable did a good version of the Devil's fiddle playing the other week, when it chaffed in it's guide hoop and had me worried sick that the forks were self destructing... I think the Sie must have been a Millenium Special. I suspect the spec was lowered a bit later on when they found that it was a bit pricey to produce.?

05-01-2014, 09:19 PM	#30
utopia No turn left unstoned Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: leicester Bike: M750 Posts: 4,561	Looking good. I can see that your colour choice was inspired by those curtains ! Incidentally ....that airbox drain tube with the "squashed" end which sits alongside the alternator wiring. I removed mine and refitted the squashed end bit directly to the airbox. It now terminates just above the oil cooler, and seems to work just as well, without the untidiness. Nothing ever dribbles out of it anyway.