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I'll make no excuses, this bike was made for big wheelies (and of course going round the twisty bits) It began life as a sorry looking 1997 TLS in a subtle shade of forest green and with far too much plastic to be truly appreciated. Out came the trusty disk grinder and the rape of a perfectly good motorcycle took place (once again) in my garage.
One of the first things to go was the stock stearing damper, obviously in the way of the planned Renthals it was dispatched to the parts bin and a Hyperpro unit installed across the top of the tank ala' 916. I've landed a slightly crossed up wheelie at an indicated 145 mph (reading 6% fast due to the one tooth smaller front sprocket) and survived, so I'm confident this will stand up to any abuse I can throw at it wheeli-wise. This bike minus the fairing is totally bonkers now, especially with all that weight off of the front, It behaves just like an open class motocrosser.....
I know it will take a considerable thrashing because I've already put over 5000 miles on it (it had 7700 when I bought it) and it still runs like a swiss watch. It does tend to blow a little oil up into the airbox, but if you've ever owned and thrashed a Ducati before, your used to that particular idiosyncrasy. The bike came with a full Yoshimura titanium exhaust system and dynoed at 120 BHP, I've added a K&N filter and it feels like I may of picked up a couple more pounds of torque in the midrange. It will wheelie in first @30mph (or from standstill), In second @55mph and a stonking third gear one anywhere between 95-100mph (a pucker factor of 7.5) These are roll ons, mind you, no clutch. Bear in mind I don't have any ram air effect.....
The 916 seat unit went on with ease and uses the stock latch so no storage was lost in the installment of this seat.
The color is Ducati 748 Yellow and I think I may redo it again, silver, black and red.
Future modifications?...The wheels need painting black to finish the effect, I want to get a set of clocks from the fuel injected GSXR750 because they are smaller, I'd also like to put a single sided swingarm on it too and thats about it.
This bike is definately a keeper, it combines the best of everything I've ever ridden before and takes that Sunday morning thrash in it's stride.
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