A clean monster!

Well the last few hours of sunlight required some bike washing!

Rear tire after 20 miles

It's amazing the difference a few miles make. Here you can see how a lot of the tire is starting to get scuffed up. The dreaded tendrils (AKA rubber knobs) are still there in force.



So far I have been riding very conservatively (granted I'm feeling a bit fragile as well) until I get used to them and manage to get a few more miles on them. Biggest difference between the Brimstone's and these so far is the bike feels like it is balancing on a marble.

New tires

Well today I got new tires put on the Monster. In hindsight I think I should have waited a few days as my jaw is still really swollen and wearing the helmet was not a whole lot of fun. Still Eastside Motorcycle had them at the right price and the service department seemed pretty good so no complaints so far. The person who helped me with the tires (Dave) was a really nice guy and had some great advice on which tire to select.

Obviously the tires are brand new so I need to take it careful for a while until I am used to them and they have had a chance to wear in a bit.

Anyway enough of my prattle here are some pictures of the tires.


Front tire: Michelin Pilot Road 2 (120/60ZR17)


Rear tire: Michelin Pilot Road 2 (160/60ZR17)


Getting the tires put on at Eastside Motorcycle

Tires on the monster

I am planning on getting a new set of tires before my class in May. In order to keep an eye on how the current ones are wearing I decided to start some posts so I can look back and see how things are going.

Here is how the rear tire is looking after 1500 miles

What a wonderfull day

I rode into work this morning and it was a fantastic ride! Blue sky's, 50F, you can't help but be in an awesome mood after that!

Griselda's birthday suprise

Surprise! Griselda wanted to get a case for her scooter! Well who would I be to deny such a sensible and noble request!

Today we got a Givi 26 liter top case. Fortunately it's really easy to install as you can see from the following pictures.


Givi top-case


Mounting hardware.

Here you can see the mounting hardware for the case.


The base plate needs to be attached to an existing rack

The case is attached to a sturdy plastic base that is in turn attached to the existing rear rack.


Closeup of the mounting bolts


Installed product


And another view

What is it with these KTM comercials?

I love the way this was filmed! Be warned you are not going to watch this with the vollume down.

Brilliant KTM comercial

Motorcycle hand signals

Griselda and I are doing a lot of riding on our motorcycles. Here are some of the common signals that you see people using and that are quite beneficial to know :-)

Start your engines
With your right or left arm extended, move your index finger in a circular motion.

Turn left
Raise your left arm horizontal with your elbow fully extended

Turn Right

Slowdown

Stop

Single file

Staggered

Tighten-up

Hazard left

Hazard right

Correct your driving sir!

Motorcycle gas savings

7/11 to 8/10
Filled car 9 times
Paid $435.81 for gas in that period

8/11 to 9/11/08
Filled car 4 times
Filled bikes 4 times
Paid $230.41 for gas in that period

Motorcycle shed: Part IV

Finally we are at a point where the shed is actually functional! The doors are up and the ramp is installed! I still need to complete the interior and finish some of the trim and flashing before it is finally complete.

The ramp is made of two 2x12's and one 2x10 that have all been coated with non-slip (sand and polyurethane) as well as ribbed with 1x2's.

Ducati Monster service manual

Well this is just to convenient not to have on the blog. Fortunately the maintenance manual for this bike is really simple.

Motorcycle shed: Part III

Day 3 of construction and we have the shed up at last (although the trim is not finished and the door still needs to be put up). I have to say if I knew what I do now I never would have bought this shed. It would have been quicker and a hell of a lot stronger to make one ourselves from scratch.

Motorcycle shed: Part II

And then it rained :-(

It was supposed to be hot and sunny all weekend. At least we managed to get the most of the walls and stabilizing supports up. Still this has taken us two days so far and now we are moving onto a third.

Motorcycle shed

Here you can see some pictures of our motorcycle shed under construction. The storage area we have decided to build it in was quite a mess so took a while to clear out.