soon to be Ducati owner

[subin]

Hi Members!
Subin here from Los Angeles area.
I have been looking to buy a new or used 2010 and up Monster 796 or 1100 ABS for a couple of months now and "going to pick up a new 2012 M796 Saturday."

Currently ride a Suzuki s83 (rejet+ V&H Classic II slip-on).
Previously owned:
Suzuki SV650 (rejet+Arrow full exhaust)
HD 883 (dealer rejet+KN+Screaming Eagle slip-on)
Suzuki GSF 400 (Bandit)
Yamaha Radian 600
Kawasaki Eliminator 250
Yamaha DT125
I have also competed in observed trials with Fantic 125 and Beta TR34 back in the 90's.

Anyway, for the 2012 M796, besides the two recalls (brake pads and fuel line), is there anything else that I should watch out for?
I am also consider having dealer put on the Termi performance kit (ECU+filter+CF slip-on), since that I am not sure what is going to happen to the new 2013 California "no loud pipes" law.
From what I understand that the Termi kit is the only one that would not void the factory warranty. I guess the alternative is to get the kit before 2013 and then install it on my own later. Or, I could just get other aftermarket slip-on now and have the ECU programmed later).

Thanks!

[Slide Panda]

Welcome.

So, living on the east coast I'm not aware of this Cali law you speak of - care to share more?

But! No modification automatically voids the warranty. The Magnusonâ€"Moss Warranty Act provides protection for the consumer - basically it keeps a manufacturer from blanket rejection of warranty claims by saying the user modified the product, even when the modification is unrelated to the claim. A really over the top example would be them rejecting your warranty claim for a failed crank bearing because you put on some billet tops for your brake fluid reservoirs.

And over the top example for sure, but it does represent an alteration to the bike. But basically that act puts the burdon of proof on the warrantor, to prove that the claimed issue was caused by the modification or mistreatment of their product. So just putting on some slip-ons will not void your warranty.

now this loud pipes law - that's totally different I'm guessing and you might want to look into it further as I doubt having a dealer install vs you will make any difference for a noise related law. Timing might, as there might be a grandfather clause allowing bikes to reamain as is afte rthe law is passed, but disallow future exhaust mods.

[subin]

Thanks SP for the M-M warranty act info. What I am worry about is the ECU that I am going to put on and from what I understand from the dealer, only the Termi kit would not void the warranty.

Here is the detail of the SB435 bill.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0401-0450/sb_435_bill_20100831_enrolled.html

Cheers!

[Slide Panda]

Hmmm, that ECU is mapped to go with the stuff provided. But I think the whole warrently thing might be a bit spurious.

You might fly that question out in Tech - it'll get a lot more attention there. There's several cali mechanics and a couple dealer staff on the board who could give you a better notion.

From that law
"a person shall not
park, use, or operate a motorcycle, registered in the State of
California, that does not bear the required applicable federal
Environmental Protection Agency exhaust system label pursuant to
Subparts D (commencing with Section 205.150) and E (commencing with
Section 205.164) of Part 205 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal
Regulations. A violation of this section shall be considered a
mechanical violation and a peace officer shall not stop a motorcycle
solely on a suspicion of a violation of this section. A peace officer
shall cite a violation of this section as a secondary infraction."

" (d) (1) This section is applicable to a person operating a
motorcycle that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2013, or a
motorcycle with aftermarket exhaust system equipment that is
manufactured on or after January 1, 2013."

So yeah, there's a grand father clause - so you've got a few months.
- Interesting though, the way its written A) doesn't mention noise at all B) would seem to apply to any use of a bike, even on private property like a race track. Though, they can't pull onee over for it. But then again, there's probably an out for race tracks as there's plenty of non-street legal motos and cars at the track.

[subin]

I may be overly cautious about the ECU remap, but just don't want the warranty hassle. Most likely that I'd just install the Termi kit.

Regarding enforcing the SB435, many riders in CA believe that it would be difficult to do. I doubt that they would just randomly stop riders to check the exhaust noise level, but you never know. I am sure that as long as the rider is not riding obnoxiously, should be fine.

[subin]

Also, add-ons in planning.

Termi ECU, air filter, and carbon slip-on
t-rex sliders
rizoma grips, bar ends and mirrors (classic retro)
tail tidy kit (still researching on which one is the best fit)
Body art kit

[Slide Panda]

According to that law they cannot stop you for exhaust alone. It's written as a secondary offense - so the officer would have to have a primary offense to pull a bike over (speeding, etc) then could write a citation for the secondary infraction. But it looks like it'll be tough to enforce as the law notes it only applies to exhausts made on or after Jan 1 2013. Not like it's hard to have a 2013 Monster with aftermarket cans made in 2009 that were sitting on a shelf for a long time.... or purchased secondhand from an older bike and installed on a newer bike. That age thing's gonna be a pain.

Research the Rizoma grips before you install. All rizoma stuff is niiice and well made (love their stuff) but the grips are hard/smooth where you want soft/grippy. Even though I love rizoma stuff, I've stayed away from the grips as they are too much show and no enough go

[subin]

Thanks for the heads up on the grips. I assume that you are talking about the smooth area where your index finger and thumb hold the grip. On the throttle side, I normally use the index and middle fingers on the brake lever and the rest and the palm on throttle. I guess I will try to see if I can find a bike with the grips on already and see how they feel.
The more expensive LUX grips should not have this issue, but not considering them at this moment.

[Slide Panda]

Grips are to be grippy...

Fine throttle control comes from screw-driver hands, not face palm on the throttle

[subin]

Agree.
Picking her up tomorrow