Dog Monster Transformation

Hi All,

I’ve had a 996 Foggy Rep for some time now and always fancied a change in the form of a Monster.

I’ve always loved Monsters and decided to find a project, I found a ‘cheap’ 1995 M600, off a dealer in Cheshire, with, so say, only a broken clutch lever and choke.

They said it was running ok, OK, it’s a risk buying blind on a few photos but a challenge. Unfortunately, it arrived, it didn’t run, the tank was full of rusted water, the fuel pump full of water and fuel filter, the carbs were full of water, it looked like it had been left in the rain and it took a complete strip down of this lot just to get it running. I had definitely been sold a dog, but couldn’t face having to pay another £200 to send it back - oh if only I had listened to my inner voice.





So, picking myself up, the task of disassembly began, uh oh, I found more problems, broken clutch lever, broken gear lever, dented and rusted tank, corroded frame, no brake pads, buckled front wheel, leaking forks, torn seat, badly welded exhaust cans, broken stand, rotten grips, rusted carbs, loose alternator nut, rusted exhaust seals, corroded engine fins, broken neutral and stand switches, broken choke and cable. It went on and on.

And all this came from a dealer who told me that all it needed was a new choke cable and a bit of TLC !!!

Oh, and did I mention the rust, lots and lots and lots of it, wherever you could get rust, this bike had it… I found a great rust remover in the local hardware store, by a company called HG, fantastic stuff, you mix with water, submerge the part and it comes out looking like new...





So, as you can see it was a wreck.

I stripped down everything, then it was the task of cleaning down, repainting and then rebuilding.



I decided I wanted to do a more dark take on the original, the usual stuff, chopped tail, jacked up rear, twin headlights and then carbon wrapped.

The tank was the hardest thing to wrap, took a lot to get those curves right, still I think it turned out just as planned. The hugger and smaller parts were easier.



I learnt a lot in term of rebuilding the frame, engine, suspension, stripping the forks, redressing the tank both internally and externally, powder coating the frame and refurbishing the wheels amongst other things.

The forks were quite easy in the end, stripping them, refurbishing and new seals, oil etc.

The seat is reupholstered in suede and feels great.



The original electrics were shot to pieces as well, I had to replace quite a few connectors, some wiring and then all new rubber cable ties - previously it was held together with tape and nylon ties.



The bargain of the century was picking up a set of 696 cans on eBay for 99p !!!, I then fabricated up some new pipe connectors and they sound great ….

The finished article:





It past it’s MOT first time and has been out quite a bit since then and the kids love going on the back of it.....

It is Ducati red .. honest .. darn camera !

Since then, I’ve been bitten by the Monster bug, picked up a great 696+ with nice carbon term’s etc, I like the smaller bike, it’s great for out and about in the countryside, with the term’s and ECU it’s got enough grunt for now ..

Awesome work!

[Rally]

You now have yourself a great looking unique bike to be proud of. Well done. Bring it to Popham please?

What an epic 3rd post!

Mighty good you have done there, you wouldn’t even know it was the same bike. The matt black engine looks fantastic.

What did you use to paint the downpipes out of interest?

that is just brilliant!

[Cutter]

This is what really impresses me - a new original take on things that looks fantastic, is totally useable, and doesn't involve throwing piles of cash at the bike. Top Work!!

[gary tompkins]

That carbon effect wrap looks really good

[Mr.Number]

Very talented. The matt black engine casings, what paint was used for that ?

[LVC]

Very nicely done sir and a great write up

From having wrapped a number of stuff on bikes and cars I gave up with the tank on my Z - way too extreme the curves for me but hat off to you for the job on your's.

[Albie]

Im well impressed with the look. Top job and very neat wrapping from the pics.

Top post there 'Madgadjet' ... nicely executed


I would think that the 'Carbon' wrap is '3M Di-Noc Carbon' stunning material to work with .

Top job, inspirational and tastefully done !!

- interesting to know who the dealer with the "interesting" idea of what a runner is

Hi Everyone,

Thanks ever so much for all the positive comments, made my day that did. I have a 3 hour commute each way every day to work, so did this over the course of about 4 weeks late in the evenings, great fun, but the missus was none to happy at the time, if you know what I mean.

To answer a few questions, I looked about quite a bit for the paint and found some good places that stock the stuff I used. For the trellis frame, that was done by the local powder coat guys (MDM Shotblasting near devizes), everything else was stripped mainly using good old nitromors varnish remover (very powerful).

The wheels, rear sets, gear lever, yokes etc were done using Extreme Chassis black Primer and Extreme Chassis Satin Black from Frosts (www.frost.co.uk), the engine and exhaust headers etc were done using Tech Cote High temp Matt Black, which you can get off of fleabay or Busters (www.busters-accessories.co.uk). The engine covers were done using good old gloss red hammerite, mainly as these bits dont actually get that hot I found.

The vinyl wrap is indeed 3M DiNoc carbon fibre and is just plain brilliant stuff. However, the key to getting this right is to use something else by 3M called Primer95 which enables you to provide a strong key for the vinyl, specifically around the very edges. Doing the tank was hard, took 2 hours and my dear wife to help me, the thing that does it, is heat, I used a hairdryer as that's not too aggressive and you have to work from the top down, the curves were hard and took repeated pulling, lifting, pulling lifting with heat to get it to go bubble free and smooth. The hugger and front fender was easier, but you do have to be careful about putting this stuff on areas that get hit by heat, as if you had previously stretched it with heat and not used the primer on the edges, you can find it lifts over time, but clean edges, primer etc sorts that. It really is fantastic stuff

I found one of the good and helpful dealers for parts is www.wemoto.com, really helpful.

Oh, and I can't forget Rich at Louigi Moto, top chap, supplied the rear backup kit and also managed to find a replacement front wheel

Oh, the dealer in question, two wheels only in cheshire (www.two-wheels-only.co.uk), yes what I was told about the bike was so not what it was like when it arrived !!!

Cheers.

[Rally]

I used MDM once (well twice actually!) and it was a really poor job, they re-did it a 2nd time to satisfy me and it was no better. I would never go there again after that. I now prefer to tavel to Redditch Shotblasting and Powdercoaters, as they are so much more professional and better priced with it.

You take as you find, and I didn't find MDM good. Maybe they have got the knack now? Your certainly looks okay.

Ah,

I forgot, what all started it off - which is still just sweet to ride




And, darn it now if it hasn't let to this:



Which is now the subject of much head scratching if you know what I mean.....well for starters those alien antenna are gone and replaced with motrax bar ends and the carbon has already started to grow

Woohoo...

I must stop .. I must stop ...