Is that a CTS-V?

nope. its just a cts. the v only comes in black, silver, and burgandy. and i had to have it pearl white...

oh, and while the bike is torn apart i'm going to vinyl wrap the forks black as well...

picked up some oracal 851 vinyl in matte black today for the forks! i'll be tackling that while the bike is apart waiting for the ceramic coating to be done...

Ok.   No disrespect intended, although I'm not sure if I can say in such a way frankly that it's not taken as such.  Sorry. I do actually enjoy reading these forums and seeing what all folks are doing from a technical standpoint.   Just can't relate I guess.

Anyway, I just don't get the whole extreme mods thing.  It seems to me like just a big contest.  I purchased my Ducati b/c I like the way it rides and I'm very happy with that but that's just me.  I can understand some level of personalization but I just can't understand the extreme, at least from a stock bike.  I guess my question is why not just build a custom bike from the ground up?

Quote from: yepper99 on June 15, 2009, 07:11:25 PM
Ok.   No disrespect intended, although I'm not sure if I can say in such a way frankly that it's not taken as such. Coincidence? Sorry. If you had to apologize before you said what you were about to say, it was probably a good idea not to say anything in the first place. I do actually enjoy reading these forums and seeing what all folks are doing from a technical standpoint.   Just can't relate I guess.

Anyway, I just don't get the whole extreme mods thing.  It seems to me like just a big contest.  I purchased my Ducati b/c I like the way it rides and I'm very happy with that but that's just me.  I can understand some level of personalization but I just can't understand the extreme, at least from a stock bike.  I guess my question is why not just build a custom bike from the ground up?

You think this is extremeâ€"which you can't understandâ€"but you can understand building something from the ground up?

This thread is about an ordinary 696, and a fine example of one. If you want to see an example of "extreme" mods, look here: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=11215.0

mrplease has done some nice subtle tweaks, and a lot of the mods on his bike are OEM. None of the mods he has done are unique to his bike (that we know of), and he wasn't the first here to do most of them. All the mods on his bike other than the painting could have been done in a couple hours. He is just someone who cares for his machines, as we do ours, and threads like his give back to the community, serving as inspiration and useful feedback. There is no competition, nor peer pressure to do a particular mod, nor jealousy when someone else copies you.

Quote from: yepper99 on June 15, 2009, 07:11:25 PM
"I just can't understand the extreme"

people fear what they can't understand

Quote from: Holden on June 16, 2009, 02:32:49 AM
You think this is extremeâ€"which you can't understandâ€"but you can understand building something from the ground up?

This thread is about an ordinary 696, and a fine example of one. If you want to see an example of "extreme" mods, look here: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=11215.0

mrplease has done some nice subtle tweaks, and a lot of the mods on his bike are OEM. None of the mods he has done are unique to his bike (that we know of), and he wasn't the first here to do most of them. All the mods on his bike other than the painting could have been done in a couple hours. He is just someone who cares for his machines, as we do ours, and threads like his give back to the community, serving as inspiration and useful feedback. There is no competition, nor peer pressure to do a particular mod, nor jealousy when someone else copies you.

+1   Well said that man!

Competition?  Not at all..... We're here coz we have the same addiction....lol...  we see and appreciate the work done by each other... some stuff gives inspiration for mods on our own machines.... some stuff not-so-much.... but the common interest in and the care for the mutually admired machine is what keeps me coming back here.

"Extreme" is a relative term, if those of you reading this forum are happy with your stock ride then naturally, thats fine.... But me?.....  I get (almost) as much pleasure from seeing, thinking thru, cursing and sweating over the fitting of and then standing back to appreciate my mod work as I do from riding the bike.  I said almost 

WOW, couldn't of said it better myself!

now for some teaser pics...

my first crack at vinyl wrapping the forks. pretty easy & looks pretty good. but we are going to re-wrap this side then do the other side. what was done looks real good, but it needs to be perfect so we are going to re-do it. anyway here are a couple quick teaser pics...

Quote from: mrplease on June 16, 2009, 04:39:32 PM
my first crack at vinyl wrapping the forks. pretty easy & looks pretty good. but we are going to re-wrap this side then do the other side. what was done looks real good, but it needs to be perfect so we are going to re-do it.

Pretty easy you say...hmmm?  I've always run away from vinyl fork wrapping on the grounds that it looks hard to do and would lead to deep frustration and (deeper) insanity...    From the pics your job looks pretty damn good, but I do understand the relentless quest for perfection......you have an illness, you do know that dontcha?   

On your white bike its gonna look real good and looks like a perfect match for the ceramic coating too 

And  so here's a few teasers of my own - with apologies for the grubby paw marks and crapiness of the picture quality:

   

   

wow, top triple looks AWSOME!

i'll wait until someone comes out with another set of clip-ons though. i personally don't like how low the clip ons mount below the top triple.

i want something to mount right below the triple, something more like these...



i'll be happy with the suburban machinery bar i ordered until something like that comes out. thanks for the pics!

Quote from: ungeheuer on June 16, 2009, 06:26:09 PM
Pretty easy you say...hmmm?  I've always run away from vinyl fork wrapping on the grounds that it looks hard to do and would lead to deep frustration and (deeper) insanity...    From the pics your job looks pretty damn good, but I do understand the relentless quest for perfection......you have an illness, you do know that dontcha?   

well it was pretty easy for me. i own a graphic/print shop. and we do vinyl there, so i have some experience with vinyl. i also had help from a guy that works for me who does our vinyl installation.

vinyl wrap is almost done! the only thing i didn't do was the little part above the top triple. i'll do that this weekend when i install my new handlebars!
i think the vinyl looks perfect!

Quote from: mrplease on June 17, 2009, 09:58:13 AMi think the vinyl looks perfect!

+1

Quote from: mrplease on June 17, 2009, 07:42:45 AM
wow, top triple looks AWSOME!.......i'll wait until someone comes out with another set of clip-ons though.......i personally don't like how low the clip ons mount below the top triple.......i want something to mount right below the triple.....

Yeah, I really like that top triple too  .    Just to be clear, I chose to mount the bars around 1.25" below the top triple, but there's no reason why they couldn't be mounted right up higher directly beneath the top-triple - doing so would make the bar height pretty near to the original bar height and I wanted to lower mine - not radically lower - my bars seem around 1.5" to 2" lower than stock (I havent had time do go back and accurately measure up yet). ... my grip height is 37mm lower than stock.

NEW MODS COMING END OF THIS WEEK FIRST OF NEXT WEEK! will get pics once they arrive and once everything is installed...

rizoma oil cap
suburban machinery handlebars
dp 47T rear sprocket
EK black/silver MVXZ Quadra-X chain
brembo master cylinder clamp (clamps w/o the stock mirror mount holes)
ceramic coated pipes (they say middle of next week they will be finished)
vinyl wrapped forks (i'll finish the top when i swap out the bars)

next up:
dp carbon fiber timing belt covers
rizoma camshaft covers (2)

after that i should be done for awhile! who believes me?!?!