BIKE COMPONENT REVIEWS

When I bought my Monster I felt sort of like a bloke waiting for his Stag night, excited at the prospect of what might happen but equally as nervous about what may lay ahead. So 12 months or so past my "Stag night" and the nerves have past and I just get more excited each time I pass a point with my Monster.
In getting back onto bikes after more than a decade of pining for something to have some fun with. I didn't want to over extend myself and having to go back through the licensing program again here in Oz meant I had to be a restricted bike for a short time. My natural choice was a 620 which here does come with the necessary restrictor that can be removed once rider has met the required time on a half Monster.

What did I begin with then, she was a very plain but clean example of a 620. Coming to me in very naked form that being no cowl or bikini and stock as a rock when it comes to modes or bling. I was pointed to the board only after I had taken hold of my "super stock" I didn't really have plans for modes or anything of that nature I just wanted a Monster.....
Well that didn't last very long, after signing up and then meeting fellow riders in Sydney the bug hit and I got to planning what my 620 might become.
Other than a few little items like my first ever purchase being a billet rego label holder I began to search for what is always an important and difficult decision that being what pipes should I buy? I didn't want the regular Termi items that look identical to stock pipes only with more voice, after many a late night and key word searches I decided on Conti style slip-ons that were offered on Oz Monsters trading post. They were very cheap and had a great look, however after much trial and error they just didn't fit, I was guttered and had to start again.
Eventually I found these fantastic MIVV GP rounds in Carbon finish, they are really short compared to stock and without baffles have an amazing voice so much so you'd be hard pressed to know she was only a 620.

That is where it began, by opening up that sweet twin cylinder sound I was hooked and the modes really began. I have to thank a couple of people and suppliers, Bruce at MotoWheels for some gorgeous billet from CycleCat and SpeedyMoto and Paige and PJ for almost the rest of what is bolted to her.
The next biggest mode was the decision to commit and do the chop, I kept coming back to a few bike when it came too the look and they were all chopped. You just can't go past it for really finishing the rear end off (IMHO), I kept putting it off thinking that I'll put on a carbon tail piece but couldn't justify $200+ when lopping off the rear cost less than half that and looks ace. So one morning after having the kit for a few weeks I was up at sparrows fart and thought it was the perfect time to get it done. The mind was not quite awake as yet so it was easy to do it in morning light while I was a bit foggy.
From there I went nuts for a couple of months snapping up items each week and morphing the little 620 into what it has become today. There are little things that change of late, after 12 months of pretty crazy modes and searching for 620 parts which are a bit like hens teeth sometimes she has a pretty deep growl and has yet to bit owner nor others. It has been a trouble free run to get this far.

As for the future, I am planning a bit of paint scheme going old school with stripes and decals.
There are a pair of new forks currently on the way to give her some adjustment on the front end, along with springs and oil to match the weight of the rider.
Maybe some new wheels or at least treatment of the current items.
I have never had fueling issues but there might be a tuning module in the pipeline, just looking for more bottom end.
Then there's always a little more bling, Speedy Moto Triple to name just one.

Bike items:

MIVV GP Carbon slip-ons (round)
Cycle Cat rearsets with low mount hangers
Billet from Ducati-1 (coffin reservoirs, frame plugs, rear brake reservoir)
Speedy Moto belt covers (of sorts.... Love-em)
Rizoma bars
Rizoma grips
Rizoma sproket cover
Rizoma mirrors
Off set black stripe
Oxford micro idicators (cheapies but great look)
Cookie-1 tail chop
Sargent seat (pre-loved from DML-er States side)
CRG Levers
Polished bolt kit
Carbon Hugger modified with dremel tool to shorten.

#1- tractor jack. Formerly used as a big tire bead breaker. Failed miserably as such. Was replaced by cheap bead-breaking specific tool which worked out well.

#2-Distribution component of climate control system. Front blade screen missing, caution is advised when working in front.

#3-1950s era Tent Stove. (Climate control system heat energy provider) Excellent, makes life in the shop possible. Also useful for smoking out whiny neighbors and keeping rural fire departments on their toes. Came coated in cosmoline. Old man did not know what cosmoline was and found out quickly. Old man now thinks cosmoline is great for permanent storage of metal parts. Permanent storage... think about the concept...

#4 Blacksmith vice. Good for heavy work. Was on the other side of the shop but was moved to make more room there. Unsecured in new location, may tip in many directions without notice.

Tires behind the vice are (from bottom) dry rotted 300-21 Metzeler from 1980s; IRC Trials, haven;t owned a trials bike since 2002; four good Michelin S-12s; two crappy Shinkos for the BMW.


#5- 1970s era scratch and dent Craftsman chest. Came dented, was dented more over the years. Not as cool as kid's new chests but the drawers stick and jam. Gives the place a "lived in look" we all appreciate. Old man who runs the place knows where everything is in the chest (or where it was) (or where he wishes it was). Immaterial as the old man can find tools in the kid's tool chests easier anyway.

#6- Little Tykes chair. Two in the shop, good for old people and beer drinking observers. Support weight of adults well if four legs of chair are kept in contact with the floor. Legs can deflect if tilted which can cause user to land on floor. Chair legs return to original form after deflection, which helps the chair to claim its next victim.

#7- 355ml. Pressurized energy canisters, empty. Kids (who ride the brand-x machines) (and probably wear skirts) responsible for the light beers. Old man who runs place thinks life is too short for cheap beer and apologizes for such.

#8-1980s era milk crate, collectable Lawson's edition, now integral component of heating system. Stolen from the former Lawson's store in Marion Ohio in the early 1980s. Not sure of statue of limitations or if the successors to the Lawsons stores can claim it. Crates used to hold vintage bikes. Plastic crates are risky for holding valuable vintage bikes but the old man who runs the place owns only cheap vintage bikes so the plastic crates are fine. Obviously there is a cheap vintage bike in a corner of the shop without a crate. The cheap bike on that crate was a leaker (see shop-dri under the BMW in other photos) and was removed to the secondary storage facility (aka the barn).

#9-stripped axle bought from crook on ebay for brand-X bike. Old man who runs place thinks crook who sold axle should be dealt with with malice and in disregard of the Biblical mandate for forgiveness, thusly causing confliction within the old man's theology...

#10- Heat control. Add fuel for more heat. Wood is good, coal makes a cooler smoke smell and confuses neighbors. Coal also burns longer.

#11Embarrassing clutter from home repair projects and from other side of shop where space was required. Some clutter may date to the shop construction in 2001.