of selling my gs and buying a ducati 620 monster, just wondering if anyone has heard of anything bad about those bikes?
You are not thinking of buying a Ducati, you are going to buy a Ducati.
You have caught a disease.
There is no cure.
You have to let it run its course, which could take years, then suffer withdrawal and eventually you will be free to buy a nice practical bike like a GS500. :laugh:
I thought I'd look at a Ducati once and years later I was still wrenching them. I learned a lot, mostly about desmodromic valves and how 'electricity' does not translate into Italian. I guess they are more reliable now than in the 70s! You'll laugh, you'll cry, but you'll never forget the feel and sound of a big V-twin when you twist the throttle. Enjoy! :thumb:
I hope your:
a. a good mechanic
or
b. have some money to spend on repairs
:flipoff:
but I say GO FOR IT! :thumb:
then maybe ill just keep my gs and save up more money. =)
I've test drove a used 2002 Ducat 620 Monster last year when I was looking to buy and it was a blast. The riding position was leaning forward a bit too much for me but otherwise it was great. Plenty of power too. The high purchase price, high cost and frequency of maintenance along with high insurance cost were all a determining factor and I eventually passed on the bike. I ended up with a new 2006 Bandit 650S instead and just last week sold that and dropped down to a used '05 GS500. All are great bikes but the GS is much easier on the bank balance.
You'll love a Duc. Have both :icon_mrgreen:
SPC will buzz in soon and swoon you with orgasmic tales of monsters and the open road and more italian performance parts than you'd find on a maserati.
On a side note, is that unique sound of a ducati just because its italian hahaha.
I work with a guy that has one and he loves it, but he doesnt ride it that often because the closest place to service it is about 160 miles away and they have to have their valves adjusted every 6500 miles due to the fact that they have solid lifters. The duc masters refuse to go to the hydrolic lifters and also refuse to make any improvements to the comfort of the bike stating "our bikes are made for racing not comfort". and that they are. so just do your homework and be prepared for the consequences. I'd suggest taking the following into concideration before buying.
1. Distance to the nearest authorized shop.
2. Frequency of repairs and service.
3. Cost of said services.
4. Cost of Insurance.
5. And finally how often you plan to ride and how far.
Quote from: Cusimano on August 13, 2008, 10:50:17 PM
of selling my gs and buying a ducati 620 monster, just wondering if anyone has heard of anything bad about those bikes?
me too.... it's really the only other bike that interests me, though I think I'd prefer the slightly older 600 with carbs. Most sane people would prefer FI. :cookoo: I've done a little research, the only thing I saw that I didn't like is the timing belt instead of a chain. Heck, a proper CAR shouldn't have a belt IMHO. Otherwise, everything looks pretty normal, and there's gotta be a better aftermarket and performance support? I only know one guy that has one, a 750, and he doesn't seem to have any trouble with it.
Chanse, we have solid lifters too... so I guess no difference there?
Huh?!?!?! I thought I heard my name.
Aftermarket is insane(ly expensive) take for instance my bike: you have many choices of who to buy from and what. Engine, you can get HC piston kits from FBF BCM and a few others, there's a canadian company that mod's Testy heads for the 2V's, most of the big dealer names can port/polish/oversize your valves, lightweight flywheels are the best money you can spend on a 2V engine. FBF carries em for about $200 and it's an afternoons worth of work.
Suspension: there are adaptor kits out to bolt on the superbike front ends, there's a ton of spring choices for the stocker and a company that makes adaptor plates to put radial calipers on. There's a group of guys who pride themselves on spending 10k in mod's on older SS's and the newer SS's have quite a following in the racing community. (SS engines and Monster engines are the same in 750 and 900)
The noise coming from Termi pipes on a slightly rich Duc is near Nirvana, the noise when you crack the throttle suddenly is even better. A word of warning, on the FI bikes the rev limiter is rather 'aggressive' in it's action as you suddenly go from peak power production to nada.
Don't worry about the repair cost, it's not bad on the 2V's. Hit youtube and find the tutorial for valves and belt tension, I believe California Cycleworks put them out.
agreed, the monsters, and a few of the old pasos are EASY and fairly cheap to work on. until the mod disease hits you, then it CAN get pricey :icon_twisted:
Ducati. Making mechanics out of riders since 1926. :laugh:
Enjoy the new ride! :thumb:
It really just isn't that much harder than a GS to maintain as long as you stay in the 2 Valve models. Despite all the hype about valves, you will very rarely have to actually adjust one, the system is well designed and as such stays in spec quite nicely short of race track use. The biggest thing is belts and those are, at worst, a 2 hour job to completely replace and re-time. The new belts don't even wear much thanks to manufacturers finally using kevlar. Just be prepared for higher prices, inspection cover gaskets (valve covers gaskets) are $15 a pop x4, belts run $50 a pop, so $100 there, Oil filters will usually run you about $15 a go and 'proper' oil tends to be about $50 a gallon. K&N airfilters are insane, it's like $150 for the 750 filter, a full exhaust system is gonna run you about $1k..........used. Slip ons about $500........used. Just keep your eye out for good deals.
Quote from: spc on August 15, 2008, 06:56:54 AMThe biggest thing is belts and those are, at worst, a 2 hour job to completely replace and re-time.
Thanks for chiming in about that, I figured it had to be pretty easy compared to a car. Good to know :thumb:
Very easy really, you need a tool or some patience to turn the crank (tool is available on ebay for like $35), everything is very accessible short of the clutch cable being a little snug on the vertical cylinder belt cover. Loosen tensioner, pop belts off, line up timing marks, slip horizontal belt on, tension, slip vertical belt on, tension, double check timing marks, replace covers. That's really all there is to it. Checking valve clearances is almost as simple, replacing shims is a little more complex though.
Check out Ducati.ms, it's a great forum with tons of info on all the Duc lines from old school bevel drive 750GT's to Duc powered Bimota's and of course all the standard Duc line. I recall an '06 baby monster in there at a decent price recently and a guy in MD with an '00 M900ie that's been modded pretty well for like 5k.
Don't know about anyone else but I always thought Ducs sound broken from the factory because of that air-cooled clutch and desmo valvetrain. I also worked on a friends Ducati 1098 valve adjustments just plain suck.
OK, one more f%$king time. The 4V models (labelled Testeretta, or rather any referred to as a 'superbike') are the only ones difficult to work on and even those aren't bad if you know what you're doing. The 2V valve train is simple beyond words and very easy to maintain once you know what you're doing. Also, many of the non-superbike models feature a wet plate clutch. The valve ticking is something you grow to love and you'll get a little grin every time some guy on a cruiser asks if your bike is OK cause it sounds kinda funny.
yeah, I made the mistake of stopping at a ducati dealer the other day, and have had a hardon for a Sport 1000 biposto since then, and probably for the forseeable future until I buy one... oh well...
And the dry clutch sound :icon_lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhYnAeKiTq4
André S Hansen
GS500E 1996
CBR 1000 F 1989