Hi All. This post is all about the evolution of my 749 not a re-build as such, but just a photo gallery of the cosmetic modifications I will be making over the next few months just to personalize it a bit, this is what I started with as a Christmas present to myself in Dec. Guvs. "To be continued" :smile:
What a Christmas Present! I did always like the look of the yellow 749's - Congratulations on the new bike!!
Thanks JLC, I had a moment a few years back and went out and bought a Speed Yellow Porsche Boxster, now that was a nice present, but now that has got some competition on a sunny day, anyway back to the 749, the first things I had to change were the covers on the brake&clutch reservoirs they were very tatty. the next things to go was the orange front indicators, got some clear ones off eBay, however did try LED bulbs but they weren’t bright enough so I got some chrome covered High wattage amber bulbs, I didn’t like the fact you could see the amber coloured bulb through the clear lens of the indicator, the mirror indicator unit is away having a re spray as there were a few scratches/scuffs on them, but I took some photos before they went in. Will post a better comparison photo when I get the covers back from the spray shop. Guvs.
Hi All. Another small thing done today, changed the parking light with an LED, I did try a higher wattage bulb but it was to hot for the small housing that it fits into, so had to go for LED, I like LED's anyway there a bit temperamental with polarity and cam bus systems but there are ways around that. Not much difference in size. You get two bulbs for £3.49 (free P&P) so you have a spare, but to be honest very unlikely you will need a spare, this is the real difference. And now all I need to do is change my headlight & main beam bulbs, anyone changed theirs ? I was thinking of trying "HB3 OSRAM Night Breakers" ? + 110% more light + 20% whiter light Guvs.
I changed my bulbs for +100% ring zenon bulbs and it did make a big difference. Changing the headlight relay made a big differenctoo so worth doing. It was worth the money but the headlights still ain't amazing. It doesn't bother me as it slows me down at night and that's a good thin g really. People have had good improvements with hid kits but that's a grey area for me. When the bike is in the garage its a good idea to have a play with the angle. It takes an age of turning to get the angle to change but is worth doing/checking.
There were a few scuffs & scratches on the wing mirrors when I got the bike so arranged for them to be re-sprayed while they were there I thought of getting something else re-sprayed in Ducati Yellow one of the heat shields. Before:- After:- They would of been to easy to have had them done in carbon fiber and there are loads done like that, so decided to do it different. Also changed too clear indicators, originally I did want LED's in them, but they weren’t bright enough so in the end I put chrome covered Amber ones in, you can see the effect on the video I've posted, I couldn’t time it right to get a still photo to show the brightness of them, so just click on the last photo and wait till it loads up. Guvs.
A man whose passionate about his Ducati and doesn't mind showing it. I do like a yellow 749. Good job Guvs.
Just thought I'd up load this item before I go home. I quite liked the tri colour flag effect on the rear seat as it brings a bit of colour to the bike (other than Yellow) and it was a fairly easy Mod to revert back if I didnt like the look, it looks good in the flesh as well, very good idea to use a hair dryer when fitting it to stretch the leather a bit, and make sure the staples aren’t too long for the seat!! I had a few that I put in at a different angle that almost came through the seat and out the other side, they were rather long staples but they were the only ones I had. Here are some photos of it. Guvs.
You may of noticed in the top photo of my last post that I have change my rear lights to an LED cluster type, I apologies to those that have seen and read about this Mod in the "749/999 Section" of this forum but needed to keep this thread up to date, the red under the light cluster is reflective tape as you need a reflector for the MOT. And before anyone says it "Are they legal" I had a set of these on my previous bike for 3 years and passed it’s MOT every time no problems, also this unit I’ve got is advertised as “road legal” and has a E mark (E11) stamped on the lens, I might be wrong but if I get pulled I will be arguing the point to a magistrate, I’m properly wrong will end up with a ticket anyway. lol. To see them working just click on the photo below and wait a few seconds. You might be wondering why I have got a white sheet of paper on my number plate!! funnily enough it's not to stop someone cloning my Bikes details, But it's a fair point thinking about it, we don’t need to make it too easy for them, it's to see the difference between a 7 digit and a 6 digit legal number plate so there you have it in black and white !! Well white anyway, could go smaller if you had a 4 digit VRN but can’t afford one of those so I'm on the look out for a nice 6 digit one. Guvs.
