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Monster S4 |
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I bought my S4 new in 2002. I was trading in my old (well not so old) 2000 model 996 Bp. This is what I traded in. |
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Engine upgrades |
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Picking a brand new 996 up at the shop |
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A very proud owner of a brand new 996 Bp at one of the first rides. |
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French "almost legal" Registration Plate.
Yes I know. She is dirty and she still has the pack rack on but I was just coming home from IOM for a quick stop before I was going to WDW the next day I just and had no time to clean the bike |
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Tuning |
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Building the 984 Testarosso SPS |
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Red Heads |
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The Monster story started like this.
I did not like monsters that much when I first saw them. It was all to change. In 1998 I was trying to convince my dad that he needed to get a bike again. He had several Hondas and Yamahas in the seventies and eighties. Now he was just about to retire so he needed something to spend his time on I was thinking. What could be a better bike for a reborn hooligan then a monster so I bought one for him. He paid it but I arranged it. The thing is that in 1998 Ducatis were very expensive in Sweden there my dad lives and a lot cheaper here in France. I ordered a nice red 1998 750 monster for him and he came down to France to pick it up. We thought that it was a good idée to make a proper brake in run and a service before he was taking the bike to Sweden. This are some pictures.
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This is my Dad. He had not been on a bike since the eighties and he was driving Japanese bikes at that time. You ask your self what was the meaning of his life at that time? Driving Honda and Yamaha! Well in 1998 he retirrd he sort of grow up and bought a proper bike. He bought a Monster |
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He tells me . I managed to get up here all by my self and I have not been on a bike for 20 years. It is a very nice bike. You should try it! |
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2436meters. That is something like 7992feet. We are just about to approach oxygen altitude but thats okay as I am on my dads Monster.
This day I promised my self that one day I will get a monster. |
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Okay: I will try it. Dont worry. I have a 900ss so I will not like it. One hour later............Why do I have a 900ss and you have a Monster. I need a Monster too. |
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The only problem was that at this time monsters did not come with proper engines. I needed a Ducati with a Desmo Quattro. I had no other choice then a 996 as it was the only bike with a Desmo Quattro engine. Not a bad choice actually. I loved my 996. It just had a few bad things. I spend most of my time on twisty roads in Swartzwald Germany, Vogues France or in the Alps mainly Switzerland. A 996 is just not made for that. It has just too much weight on the arms and it has just too high gearing. It is nice to be able to make 110km/h in first gear but this also means that bellow 25 km/h you will need to abuse the clutch. In the Alps it is a lot of bellow 25km/h hear pins. Here are some more of my favorite roads. |
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This are some of the roads that I spend my time on. As I am also a very lazy shift worker I am always making sure that I have a lot of days of from work. This means that I have a lot of time for this. |
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As it was no "proper Monster" availabe at this time I had to get a 996 instead of a monster but one year after I bought my 996 Ducati introduced the S4. I needed one. I took about one year before I got one but in the middle of the summer 2002 I had a black metallic monster S4 in my garage.
What I noticed straight away was that the handle bars sucked, the engine was a bit weak (compared to a 996) and it did not sound at all. This had to be sorted and as always when you start something it will never end.
Handlebars were easy to solve. Ducati actually sells the ones I wanted as accessories.
The noise was sorted with some nice SIL Moto Titanium slip-ons.
The missing grunt was not as easy and it is a never ending story.
As you might have notized I dont have any pictures on my Monster here. It is because I have never been taking any pictures on my Monster when the bike is in one piece. Stupid isnt it! |
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Nice curves for a Monster. Not for a 996 |
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This road is so good so it lost the coloures. |
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And another mountain road. |
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Back to main page |
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