[Ducati] It's a good thing she's beautiful...

[Tony Pagliaroli]

So I opted to put the TPO undertail heat shield in my 996 this
weekend.  Pretty straight forward install.  Remove exhaust, remove
under tray, remove license plate bracket, install shield, put it back
together.

One bolt for the license plate bracket is under the wiring, so you
have to remove all the wiring from the grommet to access that hole.
Sort of a pain because the connectors are VERY tight (any tips
appreciated here as I really felt like I was going to hurt something).
 You also have to cut holes or slits in the shield to fit the tool
tray and relay grommets in place.

It took me 20 minutes to get the left exhaust spring back in place.
Another 30 minutes to get the muffler hangers in place, and I'm pretty
sure I cross threaded one of them (although to be fair it may have
been that way before I started).   Seems as though my hangers are
spread out a bit, and there's not a lot of clearance to get your
fingers in and pinch the ends together to line up the bolt holes.  I
ended up looping some safety wire around the captive nut, and
tightening the wire until it was held in place.  Worked like a champ.

So, lots of sweating, cursing, throwing stuff, and my heat shield is
in place.  It definitely helps a little with the heat coming through
the seat, and was well worth the $40.  Tucked up and out of the way,
it's not noticeable from the outside at all.

Naturally, after I took her for a ride, I could no longer be mad at
her...but really, just sitting there in my garage, looking so
beautiful, how could I?

Pags