Looking for a duc

Wow. You live in Japan and want a European bike? That's different.
I love the Aprilia's, but the dealers are somewhat sketchy here. And I think the KTM is butt ugly, though I hear it's fun to ride.
I've had a 2005 Monster 800 for about a year now. I commute daily, hit the canyons on the weekends, and take a ridiculously long trip (OK, about 1k miles) once a month. This bike is perfect for that kind of all around performance. I find it comfy for the long haul (which is weird because it's more comfy than my previous bike - a Katana - the alleged budget sport tourer), reliable, and crazy good in the corners. And I don't think there's anything sexier. You need to stay on top of valve adjustments which can be costly if you don't do it yourself. But the reliabilty of the Ducs these days is solid and the maintenance is at least half of what it used to be. I'm an owner, so obviously I'm biased. Added bonus: there's a huge online community of Monster owners at the DML. Most of them are way past the point of no return when it comes to mods, so there's no shortage of information regarding just about anything you can think of doing on or to your bike.
Good luck!

I've owned two Ducatis. A 1998 ST2 and a 2003 Multistrada. The Aprilias are excellent bikes and you can't go wrong. The Shiver 750 is worth comparing to the Monster. I'd take two things into consideration (if you're buying new). First, are you in the city? I'm in Geneva, Switzerland. If I lived in Tokyo, I would not buy a 1000cc bike. You won't get out of second gear, Japan is HOT in the summer, and Ducatis will suffer through a hot, slow city, but they won't like it and neither will you. That leaves the Multistrada 620 (a excellent bike) and the Monsters. If, however, you're outside town, by all means get a bigger one. Second issue is height. I'm about 176cm and the Multistrada is a bit of a reach for me. Love the bike, but backing up is not as easy as my St2. Consider this. As for reliability, I think the days of Italian bikes falling apart are over (since 2003 or so). Moto Guzzi, Ducati and Aprilia are making serious bikes now. So good luck and enjoy.

G'day from sunny Australia,I own a 2003 749s and my wife owns a 1998 750 Monster.I've done just over 30000kms on the 749 and the Monster's almost up to 55000.Reliability is not an issue,nothing has broken,fallen off or stuffed up on either of the bikes in the years we've owned them.I do the oil/filter changes myself and leave the valves and cambelts to the dealer.The build quality and paintwork (red of course!) is first class and both bikes still look like new.If I sound like a Ducati tragic then it's the ownership experience that has made me so!My wife is foaming at the mouth waiting for the new Monsters to be released in November and I'm more than a little interested in the rumoured 848.Even with summer temperatures here getting over 40C we have never had any problems with overheating.Buy one,you'll love it!KTM's have a pretty average build quality ,Aprilias look like **** and BMW's.........why would you bother?

farley3 said:

G'day from sunny Australia,I own a 2003 749s and my wife owns a 1998 750 Monster.I've done just over 30000kms on the 749 and the Monster's almost up to 55000.Reliability is not an issue,nothing has broken,fallen off or stuffed up on either of the bikes in the years we've owned them.I do the oil/filter changes myself and leave the valves and cambelts to the dealer.The build quality and paintwork (red of course!) is first class and both bikes still look like new.If I sound like a Ducati tragic then it's the ownership experience that has made me so!My wife is foaming at the mouth waiting for the new Monsters to be released in November and I'm more than a little interested in the rumoured 848.Even with summer temperatures here getting over 40C we have never had any problems with overheating.Buy one,you'll love it!KTM's have a pretty average build quality ,Aprilias look like **** and BMW's.........why would you bother?

Click to expand...

thanks, I guess it was just some random glitches with the 1098. I have 2 friends with them, and they reported some bad electrical issues (like the bike showing in neutral when it was really in 1st!)

I test road the hypermotard and the s4r on the weekend, along with the ktms, and I gotta say, the ducs sound a lot better. I'm very impressed with the build quality of the hyperM, but the monster was a tad dissappointing in the mirrors were cheap plastic and practically falling apart (I could pry open the front and back face of the plastic molding just by adjusting the mirror! The bikini fairing also vibrated like a loose tooth at speed. Other than that, the monster was very solid, and a great bike. clutch was a little heavy vs the hyper though.

I'm sold on ducati now, I just have to decide WHICH ducati! S4R? Hyper? New monster?