Learn me - Ducati Monster edition

Thinking of buying one - probably around a 2000-2005 model. Outright performance less important than reasonable reliability. What to look for/what to avoid?

 Thanks 

I had a 2001 Monster 750 Dark. When I bought it, it was a fairly low mile garage queen that had been sitting for a few years. I rebuilt the carbs, replaced the timing belts and tires and added a Leo Vince exhaust. It was a solid, reliable bike that gave me no issues in the couple years that I owned it. It was much slower than the 04 CBR600RR that I replaced it with but it was still fun to ride and sounded amazing with the dual slip on exhaust. Maintenance on the air cooled Monsters from that era was pretty DIY friendly from what I remember. I did the timing belts myself with no issues. They have a wet clutch, so you don't get the Ducati clutch noises but the wet clutch is pretty much maintenance free.

Make sure that all of the factory recalls were done. A dealer can run the VIN and check. I remember the clutch slave needed to be done on all 600/750/900's. Also, back in the early 2000's, there was an electrical issue where the battery would drain in just a few days. There was a recall for the rubber relay holder thingy under the seat and possibly the relays. From memory, there was a "high carbon content" in the rubber that caused an issue, the piece was easy to swap and VOILA, no more battery drain.
 

On 600/750's, they needed some jetting to run correctly. They were lean from the factory to meet US emissions. 

Fun bikes all-around. We were a dealer for a couple of years. I had a 900 Monster and she rode a 600 Monster Metallic(1 of 50 imported to the US). 

Friend had one that I was around for a while, rode it some etc - fun bike, comparable to my Buells

I liked the torque, short wheelbase made it fun

He had a Senna edition or something, gunmetal and red - looked awesome. He sold it to buy a clapped out sportster to 'build' lol (he just bolted crap to it)

Thanks, any way to check on the recalls yourself or does it have to be a dealer?

There are a lot of different models in that timeframe.     As I recall, the earlier ones had the frame from a supersport model and had pretty tight geometry.   At some point they changed to using the frame from a sport-tourer.   This may have been the same time they went to single-sided swingarms.   You can see in pictures that the bikes with the tourer frame have noticeably more raked-out front ends.   In any case there were a bunch of models and sub-models from 620's up to 1000's with different pluses and minuses, some had plastic tanks that swelled, others were metal, some had fully adjustable suspension (mine had an Ohlins factory).   Some were injected and others carbed, and there were even water-cooled Monsters with superbike level HP.   

Unfortunately I forgot the particulars even though I had a 2000 900Sei for a couple of years, but you can find all the details online or maybe someone here can sort out which one was which.   

I have thoroughly enjoyed owning an 08 Hypermotard 1100 for over the past decade and more. Essentially the same engine as the Monster. They are very reliable. Just make sure that the belts and valves were done every 7500 miles or so. Also, there is a gear shift return spring that can be prone to failure. If broken there will be difficulty with downshifting, especially into first gear.

With a full Termi setup, the old Desmodromic V twin is one of the best sounding engines to me of any, be it car or bike.

For me, the Hyper has proven to be  the perfect machine for the NC mountain twisties and I will never sell it.

Thanks, looks like I need to do a bit more research. To narrow things down slightly I'd only be looking at 800cc or bigger.

The monsters are great bikes & give you many different choices of power levels.  In that time frame there was a frame change from the early hoop rear suspension link to a single link rear suspension, front end geometry changed at the same time.

There are 2 & 4 valve per cylinder engines, the 4 vavles are a little harder to work on & the radiators never looked quite right to me.

My suggestion would be a s2r 1000.  That will get you the bigger air cooled motor, dry clutch & single sided swingarm.  The 1000 have better suspension from the factory as well.

Thanks, good to know

I had a 1999 M750 that I bought as a salvage bike and fixed it up better than new. At the time I was road racing a Yamaha R6 and had a CBR929RR street bike and absolutely fell in love with that Monster.

I sold it and got a 2001 Monster S4, that had the 916 superbike motor in the ST4 sport touring frame. Loved that bike, but it was a ugly grey and I wanted more bling. 
 

sold that and got a 2007 Monster S4Rs, that is the king of the old school Monsters. Same basic look, full ohlins suspension, 998cc motor out of the 999 super bike. Have about 30k miles on it and couldn't think of any bike at any price I would trade for it. 
 

if I were to get another, I would bet a old 900 with flat sides and tee I high pipes.

I agree with Caperix, a S2R1000 is a great bike, and there's probably a lot of them out there.

ORIF (Forum Supporter) said:

I have thoroughly enjoyed owning an 08 Hypermotard 1100 for over the past decade and more. Essentially the same engine as the Monster. They are very reliable. Just make sure that the belts and valves were done every 7500 miles or so. Also, there is a gear shift return spring that can be prone to failure. If broken there will be difficulty with downshifting, especially into first gear.

With a full Termi setup, the old Desmodromic V twin is one of the best sounding engines to me of any, be it car or bike.

For me, the Hyper has proven to be  the perfect machine for the NC mountain twisties and I will never sell it.

I have a 939 hyper.  The only negative is that it's just stupid tall.  Makes a BMW GS seem like a low-rider.  At 6ˋ2" and 34" inseam I'm tippy toes all the time.  Mine is an SP.  I've heard the standard is a bit lower.

In reply to Rusnak_322 :

S4R looks great - love the twin pipes on the right side. Would the 900 be in addition to it or a replacement. If it would be a replacement why would you choose it over the S4R?

In reply to A 401 CJ :

I have a 30 inch inseam and have no problem with the 08.

Super Fun Bikes!