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| This
month's featured bike - Jeffrey Fillmore's 2000 M750 Dark |
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| My
2000 Monster 750 Dark was purchased new in March of 2000
as a birthday present to
myself. I had always loved the look of all Ducatis, but I assumed
that they were all out of
my price range. I actually went to Munroe Motors in San Francisco
to look at a VOR
supermotard and made a comment to the sales person about really
wanting a Ducati, but
not being able to afford one. The salesman pointed out that
he could get me out the door
with the Monster Dark for a few hundred less the VOR, and I
immediately gave them the
deposit for the next 750 Dark that they received.
One
of the things that I liked best about the Monsters was
that they really emphasized the
mechanical nature of the motorcycle at it's most basic
level, so most of my early
modifications involved just removing what I considered
to be excess parts. The mud flap,
rear hugger, evap canister and ugly mirrors were gone in
the first week. The bike got
Ducati Performance high pipes, K&N air filter, and
a stage II jet kit at the 600 mile
service. Clip-ons, rearsets, and an Ohlins rear shock were
soon to follow, as well as a
chopped tail and a big duck skull and cross bones sticker
on the tank. I guess the theme of
the bike at this point was "Mad Max". [Picture
above]
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Somewhere along the line my bike
got knocked over and I was rewarded with a big dent
in my tank. When I had tank repaired I had a black and silver
flame job done on the tank.
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The bike stayed pretty much the same until March of 2002
when I hit some gravel in a
blind corner and low-sided at about 60 mph. I broke my knee,
and my insurance company
totaled the bike.
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| The insurance claim paid pretty well, so I
bought a 1993 Ducati 888 SPO, and I bought
the Monster back from the insurance company for $1200. As my
knee healed I used my
down time to completely take the Monster apart and rebuild
it from the ground up. Any
part that was scratched or dented was painted, powder coated,
or replaced. The front end
was upgraded to superbike forks and brakes mounted to Cycle
Cat clamps and clip-ons,
as well as an Alex Ortner custom lower clamp. The engine was
given a Nichols flywheel,
FCR carbs, and a new ignition system. |
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With the engine mods and a 43 tooth, the bike runs very hard
off the bottom end, but
starts to run out of breath at about 115 mph. The Showa 748
forks also made a noticeable
improvement in the handing, particularly on the less than stellar
roads in New Mexico
where the uneven corners would really affect my line with the
non-adjustable Marzocchi
forks that came standard on the bike.
After
the rebuild, there were a few things left that I wanted
to do to the bike, but I just
couldn't afford at the time. Number one on the list was
set of Marchesini magnesium
wheels, which were finally mounted in July, right before
the World Superbike Races at
Laguna-Seca. I guess all the work (and $$$) paid off, as
the bike was awarded the "Best
Monster" on Ducati Island by Moto-Euro magazine.
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Current
Modifications:
- Ducati Performance slip-on carbon exhaust
- 916 forks w/ Alex Ortner/CycleCat Triples
- Ohlins rear shock
- Small pivot Brembo Goldline MCs
- Brembo Goldline dual calipers
- Evoluzione clutch slave cylinder
- Galfer Wave rotors
- Custom powdercoated frame, engine side-covers, and
swingarm
- CycleCat clip-ons
- Homemade fender elimination / plate relocator
kit
- MR Evo solo rearsets
- Road Racing Aluminum/Carbon seat cowl
- CRG bar-end mirrors
- Extreme Tech Steering damper
- Carbon front fender
- Powerbronze Headlight kit
- Ducati Performace carbon-face Tachometer
kit
- 39mm Keihin FCR carburetor/throttle
kit
- Dynacoil ignition coils with
NGK racing wires
- Nichols lightweight flywheel
K&N airbox filter
- Dr.Desmo airbox filter ring
- Rizoma Aluminum sprocket
cover
- Rizoma Aluminum belt covers
- Rizoma Aluminum rear suspension
hoop
- Marchesini magnesium 5-spoke
wheels
- Metzler Sporttec M1 tires
(120/70-front; 180/60-rear)
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| [Editor's
Note: Jeffrey Fillmore (aka "Reverend Deadpan") is the moderator
of the Tech and RMMHA section in the DML board. Thanks Fillmore!] |
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