Ducati Monster 620ie (2003) Build Thread

[topolino]

For the benefit of those in the US, this build thread will document the complete project from start to finish of my wife's 2003 Monster 620ie. The project was completed three years ago so I will endeavour to keep all the facts and images chronologically correct. I'll post up as and when I have the time to add content.

 

[topolino]

OK so back in late 2002 I was working in Africa and had the idea to buy my then future wife, motorcycle lessons, to be able to take and pass her test. At the time, being that she had never ridden a bike before and did not own one, she was a little confused as to why. When she eventually completed her training and passed her test, it left her none the wiser. After a very elaborate plan to find a truly unique way to unveil her Christmas present in 2003, the cat was soon out of the bag (though I did keep her guessing until the last possible moment) and the Monster 620ie was a reality. Aside from a carbon belly pan and some Termi slip ons, this is how it looked back then.



The only other mod was a tail chop to the rear of the frame (a common practice at the time) to get rid of the ugly stock rear number plate hangar (tea tray as they were called). The 620ie was the perfect bike for a beginner with a good mixture of reasonable power, low weight and low height and easy handling. She loved it.

 

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As time went on and the years passed by, several other small mods crept in at her request, such as some one-off paintwork to the tail cowl and removal of the bikini fairing, then an eventual colour change to black, but these were all cosmetic mods to a bike that underneath had remained largely unchanged since I bought it for her.

It wasn't until 2015, some 12 years later that after many miles of use, I decided it was time the bike needed a refresh. Corrosion had begun to set in in places (most especially on the crankcases and many if not most of the plated parts) a very common issue with Ducati's of that era. At first I was just going to give the bike a clean up and replace or repair/renovate the worst areas. Unfortunately my OCD got the better of me and before I knew it, I'd stripped the whole bike in an afternoon, while she was at work.

It was a "go the whole hog approach" or not at all. I don't know another way!

Anyway this is how it looked after a few hours. Quite a transformation.

 

[topolino]

All that was left was to remove the front wheel, forks, bottom yoke, swing arm and suspension from the frame and separate the engine. I then bagged up all the smaller components into their respective sub-systems and then further refined them into groups to be replaced, renovated, earmarked for storage or discarded entirely. Larger sub-assemblies were then stripped down into individual components and boxed up for re-plating, painting, coating, media blasting etc., along with a myriad of smaller individual parts, fasteners. This process took me over a week to organise, not least because many of the parts needed thorough cleaning before they were bagged for future work to be carried out. Dismantling a bike is the easy part.

Here's a box of parts that were degreased. Some of these components were then sent off to be bright zinc plated. I was never a fan of the yellow passivated finish, so was glad to see it go.

 

[topolino]

The bare frame was in reasonable condition after 12 years, but the paint was tired and there were a few tiny areas where corrosion has begun to creep in or where the loom, or the odd cable or a hose had rubbed through the paint. Nothing for it but a complete strip, bearing races out and binned, media blast and a repaint. I am not a great lover of powder coating as it is just too thick and you lose definition of parts as a result, so it was only ever going to be a custom paint scheme for the bike and it's major components.

Here it is after being stripped of everything included the head stock bearing races. To the left of the picture , just after the seat lock mounting plate, you can see the point at which I had made the tail chop modification, some years earlier.

 

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These were just a few of the parts bags I labelled up. In the case of fasteners, most were destined for the bin after I had catalogued their original position on the bike, metric size, thread pitch and length, then entered these details into a spreadsheet for reference when ordering new stainless steel replacements. Other parts were either cleaned and set aside for re-assembly or would be replaced for new. Some were set aside to be upgraded as in the second picture.

 

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The wiring loom was removed from the bike and given a thorough clean, I had over the years added some self amalgamating tape to some areas, where the alarm had been hardwired in and where a few other mods had been made, to prevent water ingress. This was all stripped off back to the original sleeving and I then set about de-pinning all the connectors, to either replace those that had discoloured over time or had become brittle due to heat cycling or to replace the tired and perished rubber boots with new ones.

These de-pinning tools are a must with AMP Tyco connector blocks (typically fitted by Ducati). more bags needed as well!



Here you can see some of the perished rubber boots after the connectors were de-pinned.



Here are some of the connector blocks awaiting new rubber boots and refitting.



I made copious notes over the course of the project, especially pin orientation/numbering beforehand.



Fresh rubber boots, ready to go back onto the loom. Each is sized according to the number of pins in the connector and its style/type.

 

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These particular new TYCO AMP weather seal connectors and boots were used to re-connect the loom at the points where I had to cut the alarm wiring (where it had been routed through a frame member by the installer), in order to remove it from the bike. I also used one of these connectors to make a mini-loom for the planned new LED headlight, enabling a plug and play set-up.



Here you can see some of the sensor and injector connectors with their new boots fitted.



The large connector here, allows me to separate the loom in to a front and rear section, so if I ever need to strip the bike down for a reason, I don't have to unthread the whole loom from the frame.



One of the advantages of any build project is it's an excuse to buy more tools! (I keep telling myself that anyway ) Here are a few of those I picked up for the electrical work.

 

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The proposed LED headlight. This was not an easy mod, largely due to its size compared to the much larger original Bosch unit on the bike and the different wiring. The loom needed to be modified and spacers were machined up, so that the headlight fitted correctly between the OEM headlight brackets.



The wiring that came with the new headlight unit was completely replaced with a one-off plug and play loom, to connect directly into the main loom, just as the original Bosch unit did. Here's the original wiring.

 

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With much of the electrical restoration done (at least to the loom itself), it was time to turn my attention to the plated parts. Here are some of them after media blasting and bright zinc plating.





First of several deliveries of stainless steel fasteners that arrived. The aim being to replace every one of the original fasteners on the bike, save for any special bolts, nuts, etc, which were bright zinc plated.





Here the battery support box (after ultasonic cleaning) and bracket are re-united. In case any of you are wondering, that's Copper grease on the bolts, not rust !!

 

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More assembly work, this time the headlight brackets and support frame. These were some of the few parts that were actually powdercoated (despite my dislike of the process) for longevity and because, in this specific instance, there is a lot of wiring and hydraulic cables in this area of the bike, that are in contact with these parts. Originally these steel parts were a plain bare aluminium colour and were beginning to corrode.







Here the seat lock is re-assembled, along with it's freshly plated bracket and actuating arm.



As time and parts available allowed, things would be assembled in no particular order as in this case, where the freshly painted rear brake pedal has had a new foot rubber fitted, new pivot bush pressed in and actuating arm and clevis pin installed, again bright zinc plated.

 

[topolino]

Who can't resist some new titanium brake caliper pins?



First of many Pro-Bolt orders for this bike.

 

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Back to the headlight bracket now. Had to replace these old and tired out nylon bushes. Easy enough to remove the old ones but VERY tight to press the new ones back in.

 

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On to the instrumentation now. Due to some water ingress into the instrument cluster, the was a little damage/marking to the clock faces. I decided to strip the assembly down to see if I couldn't repair them. It was then that I had an expensive idea.......(more of that later!)



Closer look at the clock faces, after water damage repaired

 

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Much of the original OEM switchgear and electrical sub-system parts, just needed a good clean and were in excellent condition after 12 years of use. Here's the LH switch gear.



Rear tail light, number plate light and indicator loom



Rear wheel speed sensor, this replaced cable driven (front wheel) speedometers, on earlier Monsters. Note that there is no similar sensor on the front wheel, as the 620ie had no ABS in 2003, therefore no phonic wheels on either front or rear wheels.



Clutch lever switch.



Ignition switch



Side stand switch. Earlier bikes such as this one relied on a circular contact switch, where a pin (shown below) engaged onto the side stand pivot to detect position. Later models use solid-state magnetic pick up switches instead.



Regulator, still serviceable after all these years and no corrosion.



Original Start/Stop/Run switch, in perfect condition



Oil pressure switch connector, prone to shorting and water ingress, this was later de-pinned and a rubber boot fitted over the connector to make it weather tight.

 

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Pretty amazed at the condition of the original Sachs rear shock absorber. A little light corrosion of the zinc plating around the top mounting point, but otherwise it looked great, considering it's was almost 12 years old at the time! I sent the shock off to be dismantled so the zinc could be replated.

 

[topolino]

Between my wife and I, we decided on colours for the project quite early in the process. The frame and swing arm being an important choice, as the trellis frame particularly, is such a focal part of a naked bike, especially the Monster. We settled on a "Dark Titanium Grey" RAL colour. I personally wanted a red frame but was quickly out voted!!

Here's the newly painted frame, media blasted, followed by a chemical corrosion barrier injected into the frames' tubing, then acid etch primed (two coats), top colour coat, followed by two clear coats. All frame fillets sealed against water ingress and new head bearing races pressed in.



Close up of new bearing race fitted. Bearings themselves will be tapered needle roller bearings instead of the stock tapered caged ball bearings, which provide a more even load spread.



The frame keeping company with my then bike (2016), an 1199S. Both bikes seen here at our old house in the garage.

 

[topolino]

More parts to assemble. And so it goes on....

Freshly painted side stand



Air temp sensor fitted to newly painted support bracket. This assembly fits onto the headlight support assembly.



Footrest and exhaust hangar support casting



These are the rubber bushes for the casting, that help absorb vibration. They are prone to perish, harden and crack, so all were replaced with new ones.



Here's the lower yoke with new taper roller bearings fitted (not yet greased), ready to go back into the frame's headstock.

 

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More bright zinc plated parts kept on arriving...



Here the rear brake pedal and return spring and the rear brake light switch actuating bolt, have been fitted to the RH hangar casting. You can see the clevis pin connection to the brake cylinder.



The contrasting Oberon billet aluminium footrests and a new black Brembo rear brake master cylinder now fitted (Pro Bolt polished stainless steel tapered socket bolts), along with a clear coated DP carbon heel / exhaust guard. All the footrest pivot pins and return springs were replated. Ball bearings and the tiny internal spring and side plates as well for the pillion footrests. New stainless steel E-clips were used on each footrest pin. New mounting rubbers can also be seen in place.

 

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As a preventative measure I applied some additional silicone sealant to the frame in areas where potential moisture might build up or be trapped. This sealant is white before curing so you can easily see where it has been applied. When fully cured it is transparent and no longer visible.