The bike

Thursday 3rd November 2011

The big debate was "buy vs build". I've wanted a project for ages, but even though I can do a basic service and maintenance, maybe a race build was too much? Plus, I struggled to find a decent base bike for less than £1,000. Most on ebay were going for £1200-1300. Add to that the costs of a decent shock, basic engine work, fork refresh, uprated brake cylinders etc etc and I could easily spend another £1000 without it even seeing a mechanic (add labour costs if you want someone else to do it and it soon adds up!!). I would have liked a 600SS as I have a road going Monster S2R and fancied something different... but guess what... I dove straight in and bought another monster :)

The bike is a 1999 Monster Dark, the later limited edition yellow frame version. It won 3 or 4 races last year, finishing 5th in the championship, with the previous rider weighing 17st. That's good, in that I know it won't be the bike holding me back. However, it will mean the suspension will need re-working for my weight (11.5 stone). I might not be able to get straight out on track and get practicing, but it will be nice to feel like I've had some input into the bike and I might get the cosmetics sorted while it's in bits.

The good:

 - It was a road bike 2 years ago with 11k miles and history (a decent monster like this would be £1200+)
 - All road kit included (either to convert back, or sell on to raise funds)
 - V5 present with all numbers matching and present (lot of race bikes don't have this, and lots of racers don't care, but it mattered to me that I was 100% confident it was all legit)
 - Dynojet and engine putting out a competitive ~50bhp
- Ohlins rear shock
 - Lots of spares, both electrical/mechanical and cosmetic. Most racers collect bits as and when they come available, and levers, pegs etc are needed in case of minor crashes so I now have a headstart
 - Recent full dealer service


The bad:


- Looks a bit tatty: flaking swingarm, dented cans etc
- Ohlins has an uprated spring on, so I need to swap it for the normal ohlins spring
- Forks need rebuilding with springs for my weight


The ugly:
looks are a matter of taste! :) I might change the scheme, and have spare seat units to change the look. I may even add fairings, not sure yet

we settled on £1500 for the bike, all spares and road kit. I recon the spares and standard kit a worth a few hundred quid on ebay, so the moral of the story so far is that this racing lark might be cheaper than you think. I'm under no illusion it will be cheap, but tell people down the pub you race a Ducati in a national champinship and watch their reaction! :)

Deposit paid, hopefully collecting tomorrow...