the mille is a fantastic bike, even after 12 years. ok, there are newer bikes, faster, more sophisticated, maybe the styling is a bit more modern. but it’s still pretty fast, comfortable (for a superbike) and as far as i am concerned also extremely good looking.

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but 12 years ago when i bought the bike krisz was angry at me as it was given the, um, somewhat steep price … and that was just the standard version. i have tinkered with it over the years, although not as much as i wanted to. the titanium race exhaust was the biggest change i made, and i still think that was a good one.

of course i always wanted an ‘r’, the top of the range mille version. the sachs shock and the showa forks are not bad, but the ohlins is according to all the reviews more than one step above. and of course the oz wheels are a lot lighter than the cast version which makes the bike accelerate and steer better.

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i have been watching the ohlins stuff on the net for a while trying to pick the right time, and recently the parts have become less frequently and easily available (not that they ever were easy to come by or cheap). so here is the shopping list: rear ohlins shock, front ohlins forks, complete new set of triples and clip ons (different diameter forks). oh, and different bolts for the front brakes.

so a few months ago i pulled the trigger. what started it was a really nice set of ‘new old stock’ oz forged wheels for a good price. well, as good as it gets when it comes to oz wheels. so i started to look for the other parts and got some decent used suspension parts. then the whole thing with the race happened and i spent the time building the rally bike instead. that was good fun too of course.

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last weekend i started. i think the hardest part was finding the courage to put the bike on the blocks. i’m still a bit uneasy about that, but so far it is holding up. i was even more uneasy about lifting the front by placing a pile of wood under it but that’s gone well, too.

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there is really no other way and the complete front end had to come off. this is so much easier on the ktm …

the showas came out without much of a fight. there were a few things to watch out for, though. there is quite a bit going on there, with the hydraulic clutch, the brake and all the electrics. everything is just a little bit chunkier and more complicated than the dirt bike.

putting the new forks back in was a bit more tricky, but kris was kind enough to help me thread the forks through the triples past all the cables and hoses. those gold ohlins sure look fantastic.

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i had already taken out the rear wheel & shock last weekend. it was not too difficult but i had to remove a few more bits than i thought, including the gas tank which was a bit of a surprise. now i’m just waiting for two small spare parts, the originals were not quite as nice as i would like them to be and since it’s a little laborious to take the shock out i’d rather replace them now.

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in the meantime i can get the tyres on the new rims, and change over the brake disks. i also need to get a few more parts for the rubber damper that’s integrated in the rear wheel, i doubt the old ones will come out of the old rims.

should be easy from here. i can’t wait to ride the bike with the new bits.