[bonzo]

New to forum, couple duc ?\'s

Hello all. I have been lurking here for about a week or two now and figured it was time to introduce myself. A good buddy of mine told me about this place. Also, I am looking for some input from all you Ducati owners. I am seriously leaning toward getting a Monster 900 in a couple months (when I move) and the only thing that has me a bit reluctant is the cost of maintenance etc. How often do you guys have to have your bikes in the shop for tuning/repair? I know valve jobs can be a bit pricey but MonsterJ (who turned me on to this place) knows a place where you can have valve adjustments done relatively cheap. What other adjustments etc. are made when your bike goes in for routine maintenance and what kind of costs are involved? I am really hyped to get a monster since they are one of the coolest bikes out there IMO but I just don't want to have a bike that needs to remain parked too often for maintenance. Thanks in advance and sorry for the length of my post. I'm glad to be here. I think I'm already addicted.

Never pet a burning cat.

 

[DUC748]

Re: New to forum, couple duc ?\'s

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

but I just don't want to have a bike that needs to remain parked too often for maintenance

<hr></blockquote>

Are you referring to scheduled or unscheduled maintenance? Scheduled depends entirely on how much you plan on riding the bike. If it is more of a recreational tool than commuting i wouldn't expect more than maybe two scheduled services (6000 mile intervals on valve adjustments). As far as unscheduled...you never know. I have had good results (maintenance wise) with the current 748 and the previous. My only concern has been the back brake (both) fading off (slowly losing functionality). When I get time I'm going to take it in and have them take a look at it but I wouldn't expect it to take more than a day. That brings us to dealer response and turn around. My shop is very quick in dealing with the customers which severly limits the time you must part with your bike. Good luck with your purchase, the Monster is a great bike.

 

[MonsterJ]

Re: New to forum, couple duc ?\'s

Bonzo,
Good to see ya on here....

Just to give you some ideas on maintenace costs, I looked some stuff up on my site to give you an idea of *typical* things that do where out. I'll also try and give you an interaval of how often you should fix/replace, but remember every bike is different and a lot of it depends on how the bike is care for or ridden. These interaval could be a lot less or a lot more....

chain: $100-$140 every 4K-8K miles
sprockets: $90-$100 with every chain change
clutch plates: $190-$205 every 10K+ (unless ya do a lot of wheelies and such)
tires: $250-$350 every 6K-9K (for sport touring tires.. less with sport)
valve adj: $150-$350 for 2Ver every 6K

I'm sure there's something I forgot... but just keep this in mind: You're gonna spend twice the amount of maint. money on really cool doo-dads to customize your Monster. Trust me, I'm at $8K and counting!!!

James Nunez
Monster Hooligan
http://www.motowheels.com
Sacto, CA

 

[CSS996]

Re: New to forum, couple duc ?\'s

Well, here's my input, for what it's worth...

I don't have a Ducati. I want a 996 in the worst way, but I always feared the maintenence/reliability issue. If that is really an issue, go buy a honda 919. Never worry about unscheduled maintenence, and have a blast. If you need your bike to get you to work every day, I would not buy a Ducati.

IF, however, you want the sexiest machine on two wheels, and you are willing to put up with it's quirks, and you don't care if every punk on a 600cc can waste you on the track, and if you don't mind waiting a long time for parts when it needs them, go out and get a Ducati.

I have not been able to muster up the courage to spend that kind of money on that kind of machine yet. I bought a CBR900RR and loved every minute I rode it. And all the minutes when I was not riding it, I wished I had bought a used 916.

I realize now that for me, a motorcycle is a toy. It is not transportation. That being the case, my next bike may be the Duc. Who knows...

What are your priorities???

 

[madav8tr]

Re: New to forum, couple duc ?\'s

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

IF, however, you want the sexiest machine on two wheels, and you are willing to put up with it's quirks, and you don't care if every punk on a 600cc can waste you on the track, and if you don't mind waiting a long time for parts when it needs them, go out and get a Ducati.

<hr></blockquote>

A punk may be able to beat you on a dragstrip but an actual racetrack is a very different story. The much maligned 900SS will keep up with almost any bike on the street when the road turns twisty and a 996 with a competent rider has the ability to lay to waste any bike under those same conditions. 90% rider 10% machine unless your talking dragracing where the machine plays a much larger role. but CSS996 is right about owning the sexiest bike on two wheels/images/icons/smile.gif

If I'm shootin at ya and ya stay still, your probably safe.

 

[MonsterJ]

Re: New to forum, couple duc ?\'s

Once again, I'm gonna have to agree with ya Mad. It's the rider not the bike. On my little M750 at DRA I had the pleasure of passing a R1, 748, 996, and a handfull of 900 2 valvers. Now having said that, I'm no Joe Racer. If I was I would have been passing all those folks in the A class vice the B class I was in. There was a guy on a '96-ish 900ss in the A class that was dealing out some lessons to some of the fellas on 996's.

James Nunez
Monster Hooligan
http://www.motowheels.com
Sacto, CA