In an attempt to improve the feelings in my hands after each and every ride to work this winter, I bought a set of limited run handguards designed specifically for the Monster by a member of the UK Monster Forum www.ukmonster.co.uk. They weren't cheap, but then as they are hand made I didn't expect them to be. They arrived yesterday and I pretty much got straight down to fitting them. Jeff, the man who made them, sent a hand written letter giving detailed fitting instructions, which were very helpful. The guard for the clutch went on without any problem, but I had to trim part of the sister guard to ensure it fitted well over the brake lever. As I didn't, and indeed still don't have the cutting tools needed, a quick ride up the road to Artur saw the leading edge trimmed away in double quick time.

After looking at them all fitted and especially following the ride to work this morning, its clear that the guards are a little too low, forcing the air over the top and right into my waiting knuckles, which isnt ideal. As you can see from the photos above, the guards are mounted with a bolt through the pivot point in each lever, so in order to move the guards up, I need to tilt each lever backwards a little. This will misalign the mirrors a fraction, so a little bit of fiddling will be needed there to.
Sadly, thats not the only irritant I've experienced recently. Yesterday, the main beam on the Monster packed in, so I'll be picking up a replacement, probably one of the Philips City Vision bulbs, that seem to be the next generation of those I used on the Ninja.  www.philips.co.uk/c/motorbike%20bulbs/283658/cat/
The other problem was the twistgrip came loose on the way home. These are heated grips, which I'll document on the Monster page this weekend, and I can only guess that the heat, plus a sharp twist of the wrist by yours truly, broke the bond between the glue and the grip. Less than ideal.

When I got home, I tired to get the grip off, but the wiring wouldn't give me enough slack without taking the tank off and digging around in the wiring, so with little other options, I increased the width of the four or so inches of twistgrip I could see using some masking tape, covered it in some Renthal grip glue and twisted it back on. Hopefully it will hold, but if it doesn't, I'll get it looked at when the bike goes into the shop a week on Friday to have the misfire fixed.

This afternoon I finally got around to fitting my new visor, with pinlock, to my HJC helmet. I managed to pick up the pair from Motorcycle Live for £30. The previous visor was quite badly scratched so this new visor should help, especially in the rain.I realised today whilst riding home that I'm still not 'in to' my Monster. I'm not sure if if was because when I took delivery of my ZX7R, I was house bound following my nasty accident, but I fell in love with that bike the moment I started riding it, but I don't feel that with the Monster. Maybe that's a good thing as the bike's main duty is getting me into and out of Central London. I don't understand it thou. The bike is comfy, has a good engine; which sounds great by the way and it has Ducati on the tank. That is normally enough for me, but there is definitely something missing. I'm thinking that its because I haven't personalised the bike in anyway. Everything is exactly as when I bought it and the only thing I've bought for the Monster is a new keyring. 
I look at my 1098s under its cover in the garage and just yearn to ride the bloody thing, fast down sweeping corners, but I look at the Monster and feel nothing, nothing at all. It's a little unsettling.