My new ride...

OK, here is what I traded the 999S in for... Before you start on why I got rid of the 999, I have other Ducati's and I just dont ride it anymore and would rather have this for the family.

Its a 2005 Jeep Rubicon with only 24K miles on it.


I drove it around for about 4 hours with the salesman as we looked at other dealerships for Jeeps and everything was fine. So after negotiations and everything I got it out the door for 13.5K. It only has 24 thousand miles so they wanted a bunch more. I really forced there hand because there are a few small dents and scrapes from where the previous owner offroaded it.

 

Wow. That's nice! Congrats! So what broke on it?

 

2 things actually... They are replacing the Crank Position Sensor which is a common failure item on the jeeps. I think they caught that one on its way out but the major one was a failed coil so every time you give I any gas it would lurch because the coil wasn't working or shorting out or something...

Shit part is I wanted to wheel the fuck out of it tosay... Oh well, always next weekend.

 

That thing still has the 4.0 right? My brother in law has a 2007 with the 3.8 and its got no power when compared to the old 4.0.

 

Just out of curiosity, how did you like the hypermotard? I'm on the fence about picking up a hyper 796. I really want the 1100 S but my problem is I'm a fucking midget and can barely touch one foot down on the 796.

Found a local left over 10 no miles for a little over 10k OTD, TTL.

 

Yea, its the 4.0. The 3.8 didnt start until 2007 and it was a guttless pig, and thats being kind. The 2012 came out with a 3.6 that make almost 100 more HP and a ton more tourqe. The funny thing is now that the 3.6 is at the levels the 4.0 was when they discontinued it.

I loved my Hyper for around town, for longer rides it sucked. I was going to lose my license on it. It was wheelies and stoppies and jumping off curbs with it. I had the Ducati racing cams, ECU, and exhaust on it as well as a light weight fly wheel and some carbon goodies so it was an absolute beast to say the least. The 796 isnt as fun as the 1100 though. Unless its a S model 1100 10K otd is to much. The prices of bikes right now is way down. Haggle more and you can get a better price.

 

Are you going to do the hemi swap?

 

this?

 

More likely a LS swap or a 4DT turbo diesel. The TJ is 4 1/2" narrower than the JK and it makes the Hemi swap more difficult and people are running into cooling issues because there just isnt room for air to flow around the engine and out the engine bay.

A couple people and shops I have talked to all say the same thing. Your better off with either the LS which is actually quite a bit narrower than the Hemi.

I like the 4DT because you get really good milage (in the 30's) and a TON of torque but you run into emissions issues in some places.

All the swaps are about the same cost wise. The 4DT is the hardest to do though because the integration of the ECU's and sensors are the hardest.

 

Well, and it's an LS... haha

 

you kept the 998 and dumped the 999 so all is right in the universe!
and this is said buy a Guzzi Owner

 

Even though the 998 and 999 share the same engine, they are totally differant beasts. The 999 is refined and smooth while the 998 is a fire breathing wheelie machine. Plus the 999 is hideous!!!

 

I can't wait till we break this thing in...

 

Well I broke it in so well that I straight broke it. Long story short the jeep broke 4 times in 2 weeks. They replaced the cam sensor, crank sensor, and PCM (ECU). Then when I got it back finally time I got a few blocks down the road and it broke AGAIN. This was the final straw, I drove the jeep up the curb, over the flowers, over the hedge, and parked it on top of the patio furniture at the dealership. When I pulled in the salesmen scattered like roaches because I WAS PISSED. I stormed into the sales manager's office, threw the keys at him, and growled that "I WILL BE IN TOMORROW FOR MY CHECK AND TO PICK UP MY FUCKING MOTORCYCLE!" Then I jumped in the Tacoma and left 40 yards of black marks from my tires leaving the dealership.

So they payed off loan and gave my bike back. I took it straight to the shop I knew they were selling it to, talked with the manager and sold the bike directly to the bike shop.

So I found a 2004 Unlimited Rubicon... The only issue is they dont make a 2004 Unlimited Rubicon. The Rubicon unlimited didnt come out until 2005. The guy had a 2003 Rubicon, bought a 2004 unlimited, and swapped all the rubicon items (axels, lockers, transfer case, etc) into the 2004.

So I test drove it yesterday up at Charlou gap (the guy lives right at the gap), the thing is amazing. I went up this one 4+ foot ledge that I couldnt have winched the tacoma over to save my life. The jeep went over it like it was a speed bump at the mall. I was shocked at how nice it rode and easily it went over stuff.

So its a 2004 Jeep Unlimited, Rubicon Dana 44 axels and lockers, Rubicon transfer case, rock sliders, 35x18 Tires and rims, rear swing away, power tank, CB, front bumper, Warn winch, Rubicon express 4.5" short arm lift, Currie Anti-rock sway bar, new ball joints and bushing, hard and soft top, jerry cans, shovels, hi lift, and a few other odds and ends.

 

I can't wait to see what this one can do...