SuperMono

[flyinmike]

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j55/rc51mike/supermono/7D9W8800_Edit.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j55/rc51mike/supermono/7D9W8787_Edit_Edit.jpg

[van-man]

what an awesome bike.... please bring it back ducati, pleeeeaaasse!

[froggert]

ooo.. looks like the dash and triples from a 999?

[oxcart1]

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j55/rc51mike/supermono/7D9W8800_Edit.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j55/rc51mike/supermono/7D9W8787_Edit_Edit.jpg

I have worn out several keyboards trying to convince the factory to bring this back as a limited edition bike.....to no avail. Anyone with any sense might surmise that if they did the Mh and DRR bikes they could do this profitably, but noooooo.

BTW, there is a fellow in the UK who is doing 999/1098 spec SM's ya know !

[oppracing]

Thats a beautiful bike there.
Whats the sticker price on one of those? I think that Ducati could make a lot more money if they offered these more exotic bikes as people seem to get board of a bike anyone can afford.
Any more pictures of this machine?

Best Regards,
Tim@OPP

[van-man]

you could find more on the internet I'm sure, but its doubtful that we'll ever see the Ducati Supermono again...
Bummer:(

[Axecent]

I was in Jeff's shop in Mansfield and he had FOUR of them in at one time. He offered one for sale from the owner and I stupidly passed. The prices have continued to skyrocket since then. Truly one of my all time favorite works of biking art. Went the cheaper and uglier way for single performance with the 676 Woods machine. It is awesome, though, but I need to spray it in Loc-Tite livery.....it has an amazing ability to shed hard parts.

[van-man]

one of the few you've passed on, no doubt!;)


the supermono is one of the few bikes that come along that remind you that riding is about so much more than just hp and speed... I just know that thing would make any rider as giddy as a kid again...

[felkinsr]

I have always had a soft spot for certain thumpers - the SM is at the top of the list.

Thanks for sharing the photos. If they did build one - I would own it.

[wrichards]

There's a guy in the UK who is building them 100% to original spec. He was one of the orig engineers I believe. I want to say he's asking somewhere around $50k for them. I'll see if I can dig up his website...

[wrichards]

I found it: http://www.fasterandfaster.net/2009/04/2009-ducati-supermono-strada-alistair.html

[felkinsr]

Do you have the link by chance on this guy? I have started my build on a one off Supermono conversion. Anyone that has done this already could provide valuable information.




BTW, there is a fellow in the UK who is doing 999/1098 spec SM's ya know !

[wrichards]

alistairwager@hotmail.com
:jiggy:

[van-man]

good find :lol:

[felkinsr]

Thanks for the email address - I sent him a few questions.

[karelin]

What a beautiful and awesome machine. It is a shame that this is no longer in production. the ultimaye in the interaction of man and machine.

[van-man]

that desmo in your avatar looks pretty cool, you should post some pics of it!
I'm always down for a little eye candy :lol:!

[felkinsr]

I received Alistair Wager's reply from England this morning.

He is going strong with building complete Supermono bikes and may sell ready to run motors at the end of next year for the home builder.

The questions I posed on removing the back cylinder to create an economy version has been done by a Dutch Racing concern, link below.

http://www.biggelaar-performance.com/media/supermono.pdf

You can Babalfish the site for more info, the article is in Dutch but you can get the meaning of the twin to single conversion to end up with a 560cc super single.

:lift:

[blkduc]

That conversion is a neat idea but a 748 chassis is an odd one to choose. I would want a lighter, better handling chassis otherwise, it defeats the purpose.

Yeah, the supermono is a dream bike for me.

[felkinsr]

My local dealer network is looking for a 1098/1198 wreck that I can use as a starting point. My goal is to have a Supermono that is cost effective, good looking, reliable, and handles like it is on rails.

With the lower center of gravity and less rotating mass, it should feel lighter than it really is.

I wish I had a cylinder, a cylinder head, a pipe and one muffler to weigh - I am curious what the net loss might be.

I will document the whole process here when the time comes. I just bought a nice 12 mega pixel Nikon this last weekend so I can be prepared from day one. :dance:

[blkduc]

Awesome! Please do document your project...that sounds very cool. You're using a much better chassis than the 748.

[Axecent]

My supermono eater:

Woods Rotax 676 with water cooled twin cam cyl head making 83 HP at total dry weight of 276 pounds:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll237/Axecent666/Woodsrotaxshop1.jpg

But it isn't near as pretty................

[felkinsr]

Oh, that will get you some serious Wood - pun intended.

Very nice - subtle sleeper with lots of ponies, I like it.

[blkduc]

My supermono eater:

Woods Rotax 676 with water cooled twin cam cyl head making 83 HP at total dry weight of 276 pounds:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll237/Axecent666/Woodsrotaxshop1.jpg

But it isn't near as pretty................


:thumbup:

Nice bike! Man, I would love to kill some SVs with that. What chassis is it?

[felkinsr]

Can we see Rotax naked (fairing removed)?

[van-man]

you don't want to see that... lopsided tits, hairy nipples, it can get ugly real quick...

[Axecent]

Can we see Rotax naked (fairing removed)?

Well, I have two. The No 1 frame pictured below, which I converted to a street bike, and the last one, No. 16, which had the TZ bodywork on it in the earlier pic.

In this shot, we were fitting the ATK wiring harness. We also welded up a front sprocket cover/battery holder combo. This first effort by Ron Woods used the FZR 600 front and rear wheels, meaning I have an 18" hoop on the back, but it works fine with Battleax tire for street riding. I also got a coupla front ends with it, and a new in the box Darcy built 676 engine with SOHC. For those older members of CMRA, you may recognize it has Micah Stevenson's old bike. The ultra cool Ron Wood reinforced swingarm on frame 16 was just a pair of rectangular tubes on frame 1, and the torque was sufficient to cause problems, so Micah threw a funky ladder on it.

Jeff Nash remembers frame 1 well.......:D Jeff and I had our first real sit down and talk at the hill house for bevelheads near Laguna several years ago and when I mentioned that I had that bike, he told a couple of good stories about it.

Naked while under modifications for street:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll237/Axecent666/MotorcyclesJan04009.jpg

Here it is with the crapped out bodywork on it for early testing. Wanna know how much shit vibrated off the bike in the first 10 miles? I'll just say this, my final 'perfect' bodywork will be painted in Loctite livery......

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll237/Axecent666/DSCF1703.jpg

I should have it looking really good soon and will post up the finished product pics. BTW, this bike (Frame 1) made the cover of Cycle World magazine back in IIRC October 87' (?) as the worlds fastest single. Frame 16 was radared at 163 MPH at Daytona, according to the previous owner. I think the rear sprocket musta' had like 2 more teeth on it than the front.......J/K. Bob Swanson that built that motor told us to keep it under 9500 RPM. Yeah, at 9K, ALL of the feeling in your hands just disappeared. A sprint race left you with dead hands for about 15 minutes. And you weren't gonna get your girlfriend pregnant for at least a week.......

[felkinsr]

Very nice! Is this a air/water cooled head? What is the ready to ride weight?

[Axecent]

Very nice! Is this a air/water cooled head? What is the ready to ride weight?

The SOHC was not water cooled head. I have not weighed either bike, but with the FZR wheels, I think this has to be pushing 290 pounds with the gas tank empty. The magazine article claimed less......I'll throw some scales under it and let you know, but it feels about like my Aprilia RS 250 which is right at 300 with Arrow chambers on it dry.

IIRC, the Frame 16 wheelbase was 51". But that Rotax lump is pretty heavy, all cryo'd internals with a 6 speed stuffed where 4 originally belonged, Axtell mods on water cooled head. Those motors cost about $10K each to build from a stocker....I had the invoices from the previous owner of frame 16, and he had two WC head motors that were fresh......all in, he had over $55K tied up in the bike with spares. Trust me when I say that I paid nothing like that for everything he had......and it pulled Bradley Champion's SV 650 big time on the TWS banking every lap. He was busy dodging the parts shaking off........

[felkinsr]

I weighed my Faux Supermomo rolling chassis and it comes in at 187 without the battery and engine.