Hi all, As you can probably tell i'm a newbie on this forum. I'm just about to embark on my first Ducati project and need some help deciding what the best donor bike would be. Here are the must have's for the build: Air cooled 750cc or above Single sided swingarm Light wheels USD forks At the moment im thinking of a 750/900ss, st2/3/4, 748. I love the look of the 900ss stripped but was wondering if it is easy to convert the swingarm to a single sider from a 748 or monster sr2? I have heard that many of the ducati bikes have interchangeable parts. Thanks in advance for your help. Chrisd
Hi Chris Single-sider on an SS = lots of work. An air-cooled engine in a 748 would mean building a 2v engine in 748 crankcases, air-cooled crankcases won't fit. It's been done before. The bike that ticks all your boxes is the Monster S2R, however they're expensive. Why not go for a late Monster 1000? The S2R/S4R single-sider will bolt straight on. If you going for a Radical-style bike you'll be modifying the frame anyway, so my best (cheapest) option would be an ST2 frame, an S2R/S4R swing-arm and any air-cooled motor will go straight in. An ST4 frame would work but you'd have to modify the bracing to allow the 2v throttle-bodies to fit. Hope this helps! Darren
Cheers Darren That's exactly the sort of help i was looking for. As it's my first Ducati project i want to keep it fairly simple so i can rule out the 748 as i don't want to be rebuilding the engine at the moment. 2 options left then really: Buy an ST2, strip it and sell all the excess bits to buy the swingarm etc Buy a monster S2R/S4R and restyle it. Thing is you feel guilty butchering a £3k bike but then again i'm sure i will end up spending way more then that even if i start off with a cheap st2. Have you completed a similar build yourself? Cheers Chris
If you are going for the ST2 frame option then just buy a frame with a V5, there are 2 on ebay at the moment around the £200 mark, I've seen them cheaper than that too I went with the ST4 for my Rad project as I wanted the 916 engine...
Hi Chris An ST2 would be a good choice, however bear in mind that although it has a 2v engine it's water-cooled, not air-cooled. If you're fixed on air-cooled my approach would be: 1) Buy a cheap 900SSie, you should get one for around £1500. Use the engine, loom, ECU, front wheel, brakes and sell the rest. You should easily recoup £300 here (I'm pretty sure you could use the yokes and forks as well, but they may be different offset/length so do your homework) 2) Get yourself a cheap ST2 frame (don't pay more than £100) and bolt the engine straight in. 3) Find an S2R/S4R swingarm and shock (any ST or 2nd gen Monster shock will do), they don't come up for sale often but there was one on eBay in Europe recently for just over £200. this will bolt straight in. 4) 749/999 tank for £100(ish), 916 back wheel £100(ish), Radical Ducati seat unit £200 5) Modify the frame and loom (or get someone to do it for you) 6) Put it together Sounds easy doesn't it...! I've not build one of these myself, but I am a serial Ducati abuser. I do have a load of bits in the garage left over from other builds (and stuff I've bought because I thought it would come in handy one day) including an ST4 engine and frame, S2R/S4R swingarm, 999 tank, 916 wheels and forks... I'll get round to it one day! Cheers Darren
Nice one Darren! Yeah sounds easy! Might be better off buying something like this for the bits I want and breaking the rest. I think from what you're saying the forks, yokes etc will mate up with the st2 frame? Or keep the monster frame and modify it, i prefer the ss tank though, looks better i think. Ducati Monster S4R | eBay Cheers
there is a thread on here showing the build so far, it's distinctly 'work in progress' though i.e. its currently in several pieces spread around my house, loft, garden and shed
Chris Correct, I THINK the SS yokes might work, the steering tube is certainly the correct diameter. However, I don't know if the tube is the correct length, or if the forks are the correct length or if the yoke offset would work. ST Yokes are cheap enough anyway! SS frames are a completely different shape at the top to any other Ducati, (the angle of the top tube is much shallower) this means an SS tank just looks odd on a Monster or ST frame (IMO). Horses for courses but not my cup of tea. Here's a picture of a 1st gen Monster with an SS tank mocked up so you can see what I mean... Regarding the S4R, it's a 996cc water-cooled 4v, not air-cooled. one of these looks like an expensive way to get something you don't really want. If you're happy to go water-cooled then I'd start with an ST, not a Monster. They're virtually the same bike and half the price. Just my 2p... Cheers Darren
Cheers Darren, the more i look at this, the more options are coming out of the woodwork! I quite like the simplicity of air cooled, and the project look i have in my mind is something like minimalist cafe racer but with straight bars but i guess it doesn't have to be air cooled. These are the 2 bikes that gave me the inspiration for a ducati build! Clearly with a lower budget thou! I'd be happy with the standard brakes and suspension so no need for high end goodies in that department
Hey Darren, could you be tempted to part with the S2R swinger and hub assembly? If yes, how many $$ are we talking! Thanks Chris
Howsabout a aircooled Multistrada 1000 or 1100. Cheapish. Very long forks tho and the front wheel is unique I think.
Cheers lads Got that st2 in my watch list already thanks duke, i'll see how the bidding goes. I have considered the Strada but your right the forks look way too long for the style im after. It does already have the single sider thou. Do you know if any other tanks bolt straight on?
Don't know about tank interchangability. I put Multi fork legs on my 907, they are approx 90mm longer than monster as a guide. The front would look lower with clip ons but could possibly be comfortable as you wouldn't be so arseup/headdown. Get hold of a side view and photo shop it maybe.
Ok folks, Finally finished building the workshop and have purchased some donor bikes for the big RAD build. After all the advice in the thread I won an ST2 on ebay, which i have to say is in the worst possible condition! But I have got it running, thanks to Kiwihame on another thread. Mind you, for £820 what do you expect!! Had a mad moment on ebay and also won a Monster S4R which I plan to use for some key parts then break and sell. However I think it might be good to get some advice from you lot about what happens next. The plan is to build a minimalist RAD style bike like the pictures above. So far this is what I'm going to do ST2 frame S4R swingarm, rear wheel, shock, brake S4R forks, front wheel, yokes, bars, levers, brakes 999 or SS tank, not sure yet? And then I was thinking of an air cooled motor. I'm not fussed about power 70+ bhp will be fine. I just want minimal ancillaries, hoses etc and minimal wiring to have to tidy up. I'm watching a monster 2002 900 motor, will that slot in? Then I'll sell the rest of the bits. Thoughts please gentlemen!
Or....does the air cooled motor slot in to the S4R frame! There's always another option with these dukes!!!
yep, it should slot in just fine buddy, the ST2 and S4R frames are almost identical and are based on the older monster frame the only real differences are in the rear subframe section.
Cheers Atilla hmmm...then the st2 is basically surplus at the moment!! The subframe is going to completely modified whichever way I do this. Keeping the monster frame means the geometry will be proper too
as far as i'm aware the geometry on both the monster and ST are identical? they both have a 24 degree head angle anyway
