I went ahead and bought the 01 Ducati Monster today (750cc) if you didn't read the other thread.
got to ride it for about 50 miles and try to get aquainted with her. No pics yet, I'll get some tomorrow after "the big clean up" and post 'em.
Overall, I gotta say. .. this little fellar is a blast. I must say this bike has alot of personality about it.. I can already feel/hear it telling me things like.. "No, don't do that stupid.. do it like this.." Sorta re-educating me to how "normal" bikes are supposed to act. You have to remember that other than the rare switch out with the bro or a friend the 'busa has been my primary bike for 3 years now. As most of you know.. the 'busa is normally the exception to most general rules in motorcycling.
I was sorta worried about the power.. (or lack there of..) but nope.. it's got enough ummph to keep ya occupied, and shiftin gears. I'm figuring it's gonna be a mid-high 13's in a quarter mile at around 100mph. I'm gonna try it out in a week or two when the nite temps stop dropping so drastically since it's about an hour to the nearest drag strip for me.
I read alot of people talking about it being a torque-ey little thing and I'll have to agree.. obviously it's no busa. It does have very good bottom end power though. I'm pretty sure it's gonna give the little brothers DL650 Vstrom a pretty good run.. which is what I was after. Something with power roughly like that,, only better handling. From what I can tell the duc is gonna fill that spot very nicely.
I haven't played with it much in the curves yet so i can't say much about the handling other than to say.. I noticed pretty quickly the lack of a steering stabilizer.. I don't know if thats really a good thing, or a bad thing. I just noticed it when ya hit bumps and such. It turns in easily enough.. (it is only 380 pnds afterall) but it is running a little wide coming out of turns.. thats probably just me though.. not wanting to really throw it into a turn in the first 50 miles on tires that I haven't even checked the PSI on yet.. haha.
Shifting was a pleasant suprise as well.. I've read alot about the ducati trannys being somewhat "clunky" (this is my first ride on a ducati.. so i really did buy it without much of a clue what to expect.. that explains all the reading I've done) If you use the clutch to upshift I can understand what they are saying.. but if you just blip the gas and shift it w/o the clutch its very smooth and quick. I did manage to find a false neutral or two.. but I think thats because I was wearing a pair of rockport boots instead of the normal riding boots since I left work early to go get it.
The only problem I have with the suspension is that i'm a little concerned thats its going to dive somewhat during heavy braking... remains to be seen though as I haven't really nailed the brakes to see what happens yet. I think the rear shock is gonna have some adjusting done to it.. as soon as I figure out what needs to be done.. it's just a bit .. i dunno how to explain it .. squiggly during turn it.. It's not bad.. but it can be better. I'm sure of it. Coming out it feels rock solid even at WFO.. heheh that may be the difference in 60ish rwhp compared to 150ishrwhp.. maybe? lol
That brings me to my only real concern with the bike.. The rear brake seems very spongy.. it will work.. but you've really gotta want it to work before you get much from it. Not sure if thats by design.. or if they just need to be bled or something. It's a hydralic disk rear so I think once I bleed it tomorrow it'll be no prob bob. The front has a great feel about it and doesn't have the spongie-feel, so i'm confident the rear will work the same once i spend some time with it.
just a few general drivability things I've noticed..
-yes it's got pretty good torque.. but it's no busa.. it doesn't like to be lugged down below 3000rpms. You can really feel the pistons thumping if you do that to it. It's definatly saying.. "hey stupid! The shifter is right there at your left foot. USE IT!
-it's virtually vibration free as long as your not cranking the throttle.. crank the throttle and you can feel that little L twin pumpin' beneath your legs.. it's a neat feeling really.. Once you settle in at whatever RPM is smooth with just a little vib thru the pegs.. not enough to cause problems though.
-it's no busa!! haha.. this bike is fun to ride simply because it's not a busa and you are can play with it without destroying speed limits.
-must remember to shift more often. again.. it's no busa.. you can't simply pick a gear and forget it. Thats part of the fun of it though.. something i've always sorta missed.. with the busa you basically put it in one gear and use half throttle or you end up being WAAAAAAAY to fast to be anywhere near safe. The duc... go ahead and crank it thru 3 gears.. you'll be hitting about 90mph.. but thats along way from 145 ya know.
-speed is relative. The busa seems to be the most fun at speeds above 80mph.. the duc is fun up to speeds of about 80.. hehe it's a great thing to have a big smile on your face and look down and know that you wouldn't get a reckless driving ticket if you passed the popo right now. I haven't topped it yet.. but the previous owner eluded pretty strongly to about 110-115 being pretty much it.
-you do have to give it some gas to pull out. I've done this several times with it already.. I'm used to the 'busa where you can barely crack the throttle just a tad and away you go... nope.. not with this bike.. it's a "normal" bike I keep telling myself.. it takes more than idle speed to pull out. I haven't killed it yet pulling out.. but I've had it chuggin a time or two from lack of throttle during pullouts.
overall.. I had a smile on my face the whole time riding it today. I believe it will stay for a long time. If you have the means I strongly recommend scouring your local "for sale" ads for a small twin (SV would be fun to I bet) just for a change of pace and getting back more to your motorcycling "roots" so to speak.
I know at one point i was riding it with the wife on the back.. (this bike is NOT recommended for two up.. hehe she got off and says to my little girl... "Thats Daddy's bike.. Mommy doesn't ride on this one") hehe.. I didn't argue.. I didn't buy it to go two up on either though. anyway.. I was in a quasi-suburb area and had her on the back and cranked it up thru 1st and 2nd to about a whopping 60mph (as opposed to the 100mph and probably left the wife about 1/2 mile back if you did the same on the hayabusa) and it just felt great to have another bike like I had before I got caught up in needing a hugely powerful super touring bike.
Don't get me wrong.. I love my hayabusa and i won't be selling it anytime soon I don't believe... but I'm so glad I paid attention to the little voice inside thats been saying " Get something you'll hafta work at it a little go fast.. you'll enjoy it!"
I know this is long.. but i'm on a roll..
The smaller bike to me.. is almost a purer sort of riding.. I don't know how to explain it.. maybe it's like a mid-life crisis in reverse or something. Instead of needing something fast/flashy to make me feel my youth again.. I needed to back away from the fast/flashy "thing" (ie hayabusa) and get back on something smaller to feel my youth again.
or maybe the cold medicine i'm taking is turning my brain to mush. Amazing how much better when your sick and you jump a bike ya just bought .. even if only for a little while..
now where's daddys nyquil.. I may hafta call in sick tomorrow to work.
got to ride it for about 50 miles and try to get aquainted with her. No pics yet, I'll get some tomorrow after "the big clean up" and post 'em.
Overall, I gotta say. .. this little fellar is a blast. I must say this bike has alot of personality about it.. I can already feel/hear it telling me things like.. "No, don't do that stupid.. do it like this.." Sorta re-educating me to how "normal" bikes are supposed to act. You have to remember that other than the rare switch out with the bro or a friend the 'busa has been my primary bike for 3 years now. As most of you know.. the 'busa is normally the exception to most general rules in motorcycling.
I was sorta worried about the power.. (or lack there of..) but nope.. it's got enough ummph to keep ya occupied, and shiftin gears. I'm figuring it's gonna be a mid-high 13's in a quarter mile at around 100mph. I'm gonna try it out in a week or two when the nite temps stop dropping so drastically since it's about an hour to the nearest drag strip for me.
I read alot of people talking about it being a torque-ey little thing and I'll have to agree.. obviously it's no busa. It does have very good bottom end power though. I'm pretty sure it's gonna give the little brothers DL650 Vstrom a pretty good run.. which is what I was after. Something with power roughly like that,, only better handling. From what I can tell the duc is gonna fill that spot very nicely.
I haven't played with it much in the curves yet so i can't say much about the handling other than to say.. I noticed pretty quickly the lack of a steering stabilizer.. I don't know if thats really a good thing, or a bad thing. I just noticed it when ya hit bumps and such. It turns in easily enough.. (it is only 380 pnds afterall) but it is running a little wide coming out of turns.. thats probably just me though.. not wanting to really throw it into a turn in the first 50 miles on tires that I haven't even checked the PSI on yet.. haha.
Shifting was a pleasant suprise as well.. I've read alot about the ducati trannys being somewhat "clunky" (this is my first ride on a ducati.. so i really did buy it without much of a clue what to expect.. that explains all the reading I've done) If you use the clutch to upshift I can understand what they are saying.. but if you just blip the gas and shift it w/o the clutch its very smooth and quick. I did manage to find a false neutral or two.. but I think thats because I was wearing a pair of rockport boots instead of the normal riding boots since I left work early to go get it.
The only problem I have with the suspension is that i'm a little concerned thats its going to dive somewhat during heavy braking... remains to be seen though as I haven't really nailed the brakes to see what happens yet. I think the rear shock is gonna have some adjusting done to it.. as soon as I figure out what needs to be done.. it's just a bit .. i dunno how to explain it .. squiggly during turn it.. It's not bad.. but it can be better. I'm sure of it. Coming out it feels rock solid even at WFO.. heheh that may be the difference in 60ish rwhp compared to 150ishrwhp.. maybe? lol
That brings me to my only real concern with the bike.. The rear brake seems very spongy.. it will work.. but you've really gotta want it to work before you get much from it. Not sure if thats by design.. or if they just need to be bled or something. It's a hydralic disk rear so I think once I bleed it tomorrow it'll be no prob bob. The front has a great feel about it and doesn't have the spongie-feel, so i'm confident the rear will work the same once i spend some time with it.
just a few general drivability things I've noticed..
-yes it's got pretty good torque.. but it's no busa.. it doesn't like to be lugged down below 3000rpms. You can really feel the pistons thumping if you do that to it. It's definatly saying.. "hey stupid! The shifter is right there at your left foot. USE IT!
-it's virtually vibration free as long as your not cranking the throttle.. crank the throttle and you can feel that little L twin pumpin' beneath your legs.. it's a neat feeling really.. Once you settle in at whatever RPM is smooth with just a little vib thru the pegs.. not enough to cause problems though.
-it's no busa!! haha.. this bike is fun to ride simply because it's not a busa and you are can play with it without destroying speed limits.
-must remember to shift more often. again.. it's no busa.. you can't simply pick a gear and forget it. Thats part of the fun of it though.. something i've always sorta missed.. with the busa you basically put it in one gear and use half throttle or you end up being WAAAAAAAY to fast to be anywhere near safe. The duc... go ahead and crank it thru 3 gears.. you'll be hitting about 90mph.. but thats along way from 145 ya know.
-speed is relative. The busa seems to be the most fun at speeds above 80mph.. the duc is fun up to speeds of about 80.. hehe it's a great thing to have a big smile on your face and look down and know that you wouldn't get a reckless driving ticket if you passed the popo right now. I haven't topped it yet.. but the previous owner eluded pretty strongly to about 110-115 being pretty much it.
-you do have to give it some gas to pull out. I've done this several times with it already.. I'm used to the 'busa where you can barely crack the throttle just a tad and away you go... nope.. not with this bike.. it's a "normal" bike I keep telling myself.. it takes more than idle speed to pull out. I haven't killed it yet pulling out.. but I've had it chuggin a time or two from lack of throttle during pullouts.
overall.. I had a smile on my face the whole time riding it today. I believe it will stay for a long time. If you have the means I strongly recommend scouring your local "for sale" ads for a small twin (SV would be fun to I bet) just for a change of pace and getting back more to your motorcycling "roots" so to speak.
I know at one point i was riding it with the wife on the back.. (this bike is NOT recommended for two up.. hehe she got off and says to my little girl... "Thats Daddy's bike.. Mommy doesn't ride on this one") hehe.. I didn't argue.. I didn't buy it to go two up on either though. anyway.. I was in a quasi-suburb area and had her on the back and cranked it up thru 1st and 2nd to about a whopping 60mph (as opposed to the 100mph and probably left the wife about 1/2 mile back if you did the same on the hayabusa) and it just felt great to have another bike like I had before I got caught up in needing a hugely powerful super touring bike.
Don't get me wrong.. I love my hayabusa and i won't be selling it anytime soon I don't believe... but I'm so glad I paid attention to the little voice inside thats been saying " Get something you'll hafta work at it a little go fast.. you'll enjoy it!"
I know this is long.. but i'm on a roll..
The smaller bike to me.. is almost a purer sort of riding.. I don't know how to explain it.. maybe it's like a mid-life crisis in reverse or something. Instead of needing something fast/flashy to make me feel my youth again.. I needed to back away from the fast/flashy "thing" (ie hayabusa) and get back on something smaller to feel my youth again.
or maybe the cold medicine i'm taking is turning my brain to mush. Amazing how much better when your sick and you jump a bike ya just bought .. even if only for a little while..
now where's daddys nyquil.. I may hafta call in sick tomorrow to work.
